The Michigan House of Representatives voted Tuesday to stop certain practices in the so-called “troubled teen industry.”
The industry includes boot camps, boarding schools, and other programs meant to serve kids with behavioral health concerns like defiance or drug use.
The bill would largely prevent kids from being blindfolded, handcuffed, or physically restrained in some other way while heading to a residential treatment program.
During the committee process, people who had traumatic experiences with those programs, including celebrity Paris Hilton, testified in support of the legislation.
One teenager discussed going to the hospital to receive medication recommendations then waking up in an unknown car. Another person said when she was a teenager, members of a transportation company surprised her in the middle of the night and handcuffed her to take her to a facility.
State Representative Cam Cavitt (R-Cheboygan) sponsored the bill. While speaking on the House floor Tuesday, he said the legislation was for survivors of those incidents.
“These were children, not criminals, children, whose parents were misled and who were subjugated to inhumane treatment with lasting consequences,” Cavitt said.
The legislation passed the Michigan House by a 104-1 margin, with five representatives not voting. It now heads to the state Senate.
