WASHINGTON -- During an emotional hearing in the House on Thursday, lawmakers and witnesses likened the treatment of teens in youth boot camps to the kind of torture faced by prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
Investigators uncovered cases in which a program employee's pit bull was trained to bite students in the groin and where teens had bags placed over their heads and nooses slipped around their necks, testified Greg Kutz, who has led an investigation into youth residential programs for the federal Government Accountability Office.
"It's hard to believe that people would do this to somebody else's child," said a visibly angry Rep. George Miller, D-Calif.
Miller, chairman of the House education committee, introduced legislation this week to prevent such abuses and boost oversight of boot camps. Such programs also are commonly referred to as residential treatment facilities, behavior modification programs or therapeutic boarding schools.
Washington PostLast year's GAO reports about teen abuse and deaths in boot camps is horrifying.
Texas reviews scandal-plagued juvenile prison systemTexas youth prison board ousted amid sex abuse scandalTorture and Starvation at Juvenile Boot Camps - TalkLeftNPR: GAO: Poor Management Had Role in Boot Camp DeathsGAO: Boot camps neglected teens' fatal health problems - USATODAY.comDo you think a simple bill will stop the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) from 'marketing' their 'youth' programs?
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