CCHR Demands Urgent Reform to Stop Child Abuse in Youth Behavioral Facilities
LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 9, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Amid a surge of reported abuse and deaths in psychiatric and behavioral residential programs for youth, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is urging immediate and sweeping federal intervention. CCHR warns that continued inaction by state and federal agencies endangers lives and enables a mental health system where vulnerable children and adolescents are subjected to trauma, neglect, and avoidable harm.
In December 2024, Congress passed the bipartisan Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, calling for a study by the National Academies of Sciences into the state of youth in institutional programs. However, the legislation granted a three-year window to complete the investigation—a delay CCHR deems unconscionable now, given ongoing reports of harm.
'Children are dying. Others are being restrained, secluded, forcibly drugged, or sexually abused,' said Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International. 'How many more cases of tragedy must occur before regulators respond with urgency? A three-year timeline is a death sentence for some of these children.'
A 2024 peer-reviewed study in Psychiatric Services confirmed that the use of seclusion and mechanical restraints remains widespread in U.S. psychiatric hospitals, despite the documented trauma and risk of death. The study called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission to implement reforms to end the practice.
A previous New York Times investigation estimated at least 86 deaths in youth behavioral programs from 2000 to 2015, noting that children in these institutions are often subjected to conditions that would be unlawful for prisoners—including isolation, and physical and chemical restraint.[1]
In just the past few weeks, a string of new incidents has surfaced from across the U.S. involving youth facilities, including: Two girls, aged 12 and 13, died by suicide in May in a North Carolina behavioral treatment facility, forcing its closure.[2]
Reports of hundreds of prolonged restraint incidents in a single California psychiatric facility within months.[3]
A teenage boy was repeatedly sexually abused by staff at a New Mexico behavioral facility.[4]
Seclusion and restraint of children as young as five; Vermont state authorities confirmed over 500 cases.[5]
New legislation was passed in Maryland restricting the use of physical restraints during youth transport to psych facilities.[6]
Although multiple federal investigations have led to substantial fines and civil settlements, CCHR asserts these penalties have failed to deter misconduct, patient harm, and deaths. 'Financial penalties are clearly not enough. Many of these settlements are treated as the cost of doing business,' Eastgate noted. CCHR also emphasizes that current tools used by government agencies—such as consent agreements or Corporate Integrity Agreements (CIAs)—do not work. These measures allow institutions with a history of serious violations to remain operational after promising internal improvements. 'Voluntary promises are violated again and again, and children suffer the consequences,' Eastgate said. 'These agreements create a dangerous illusion of accountability.'
The organization is calling on Congress and the Administration to take such actions as: Accelerate the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act investigation.
Withhold CMS and Medicaid funding from facilities with substantiated abuse records.
Freeze new licenses or bed expansions for companies under investigation.
Establish criminal penalties for executives and staff found complicit in systemic abuse.
Prohibit the use of further Corporate Integrity or improvement agreements for known violators.
In June 2024, a U.S. Senate Finance Committee report into several for-profit youth behavioral hospital chains described the harms children experienced resulted, in part, from financial models that prioritize revenue over safety. The Committee urged 'bold intervention' to prevent further tragedies.
Prominent legal professionals agree. KBA attorney Kayla Ferrel Onder stated: 'More effective oversight systems need to be in place to protect patients. This includes stricter penalties for facilities found guilty of abuse or fraud. Jail time for executives and significantly larger financial penalties may be necessary to curb misconduct prevalent in the behavioral healthcare industry.'[7]
Attorney Tommy James cites horrendous physical abuse and emotional trauma in behavioral residential facilities, stating, 'those responsible must be held accountable.'[8] Another attorney, Kayla Ferrel Onder said the abuse is so extensive that it reflected a 'systemic failure,' which needs to stop.[9]
CCHR maintains an extensive record of documented youth abuse in psychiatric facilities, including seclusion, restraint, sexual assault, and forced drugging. 'Children should not be warehoused, abused, or silenced,' said Eastgate. 'What is happening now is a humanitarian crisis hiding in plain sight.'
Quoting lawmakers who have supported the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, Rep. Ro Khanna stated: 'The industry has gone unchecked for too long.'[10] Senator Tommy Tuberville added: 'We need more sunlight… to stop the waste, fraud, and abuse in the system.'
'This is not a policy debate—it is a moral imperative,' Eastgate concluded. 'We are calling on legislators, prosecutors, and health agencies to act now. No more broken promises. No more promises of avoidable deaths. No more children forgotten in the system.'
About CCHR : The government-acclaimed watchdog and award-winning advocacy group was established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz.
To learn more, visit: https://www.cchrint.org/2025/06/06/children-abused-dying-in-psychiatric-hospitals-while-u-s-agencies-stall/
Sources:
[1] Alexander Stockton, 'Can you punish a child's mental health problems away?' The New York Times , 11 Oct. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/10/11/opinion/teen-mental-health-care.html
[2] Jeffery Collins, 'Residential treatment school closes in North Carolina after deaths of 2 girls,' AP News , 3 June 2025, https://apnews.com/article/therapy-school-closes-north-carolina-asheville-academy-9854c3ca7cda11cc06f05d9fccef4112
[3] 'California watchdog finds for-profit psychiatric hospital abused patients,' San Francisco Chronicle , 19 May 2025
[4] 'Suit alleges teen repeatedly abused by worker at former youth residential treatment center,' Santa Fe New Mexican, 29 May 2025, https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/suit-alleges-teen-repeatedly-abused-by-worker-at-former-youth-residential-treatment-center/article_be37888c-4bbe-41db-bd35-c76f3c8eb6c1.html
[5] 'Youth in Vermont custody have been physically restrained hundreds of times in recent years,' VT Digger , 22 May 2025, https://vtdigger.org/2025/05/22/youth-in-vermont-custody-have-been-physically-restrained-hundreds-of-times-in-recent-years/
[6] https://legiscan.com/MD/text/SB400/id/3232730
[7] https://kbaattorneys.com/acadia-abuse-behavioral-health-facilities/
[8] Erica Thomas, 'Tuskegee youth facility dubbed 'House of Horrors' in latest lawsuit,' 1819 News , 27 Aug. 2024, https://1819news.com/news/item/tuskegee-youth-facility-dubbed-house-of-horrors-in-latest-lawsuit
[9] 'Letter: The alarming pattern of abuse at Acadia Healthcare facilities,' Springfield Daily Citizen , 29 May 2025, https://sgfcitizen.org/voices-opinion/letters/letter-the-alarming-pattern-of-abuse-at-acadia-healthcare-facilities/
[10] https://www.cchrint.org/2024/12/27/paris-hilton-congress-praised-for-teen-behavioral-treatment-abuse-prevention-and-oversight/ citing https://khanna.house.gov/media/press-releases/khanna-merkley-cornyn-tuberville-and-carter-joined-paris-hilton-celebrating
MULTIMEDIA:
Image link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/25-0609-s2p-cchrcrisis-300dpi.jpg
Image caption: 'Children should not be warehoused, abused, or silenced. What is happening now is a humanitarian crisis hiding in plain sight.' – Jan Eastgate, President, CCHR International.
NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Keywords: Family and Parenting, Reform, Stop Child Abuse, Youth Behavioral Facilities, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, CCHR International, Jan Eastgate, LOS ANGELES, Calif.
This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire . Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126791 APNF0325A
To view the original version, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/cchr-demands-urgent-reform-to-stop-child-abuse-in-youth-behavioral-facilities/
© 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA.
RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT.
Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
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Yet, it notes the U.S. Supreme Court has never conclusively ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees all such protections.[3] While the Italian court ruling is significant, CCHR notes that it stops short of banning Trattamento Sanitario Obbligatorio (TSO), the Italian legal framework for compulsory psychiatric hospitalization.[4] The U.S. similarly authorizes involuntary psychiatric treatment through legislative orders. In both countries, forced interventions remain legal despite mounting ethical criticism. Coercion in mental health settings has increasingly drawn global condemnation. Critics argue that forced psychiatric treatment fundamentally violates human dignity and autonomy. 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Following sustained advocacy by CCHR Hungary, others, the Court and the President of the Republic, a new regulation was enacted on December 20, 2024, guaranteeing—for the first time—the legal right to compensation for victims of unlawful psychiatric detention.[7] CCHR's international work continues to gain recognition. On June 2, 2025, New Zealand CCHR volunteer Victor Boyd was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by King Charles III. The honor recognized his 50-year campaign with CCHR to expose coercive psychiatric practices, particularly those used against children at the now-closed Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital's Child and Adolescent Unit. Boyd's relentless advocacy through CCHR helped prompt a formal government acknowledgement of the abuse and torture carried out by a psychiatrist heading the unit. The award is endorsed by the New Zealand Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Cabinet.[8] Momentum is also growing at the global policy level. The World Health Organization (WHO) released its Guidance on Mental Health Policy and Strategic Action Plan in April 2025, recommending the prohibition of involuntary psychiatric practices—including forced hospitalization and treatment—and affirming individuals' right to refuse such treatment. The WHO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have repeatedly called for mental health systems to move away from coercion and adopt rights-respecting, support-based alternative approaches. These international reforms are grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Italy ratified in 2009. The CRPD explicitly rejects coercive interventions in mental health care. Its General Comment No. 1 affirms that all individuals—regardless of disability status—retain full legal capacity and must be supported, not substituted, in making decisions about their lives and health.[9] About CCHR: Since its founding in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, CCHR has worked alongside survivors, whistleblowers, and international legal experts to expose systemic psychiatric abuse and advocate for transparent, non-coercive mental health care. The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide—and CCHR says now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings. To learn more, visit: Sources: [1] 'CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,' European Times, 5 June 2025, [2] 'Study finds involuntary psychiatric detentions on the rise,' UCLA Newsroom, 3 Nov. 2020, [3] Hannah-Alise Rogers, 'Involuntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections,' Health Care; Law, Constitution & Civil Liberties, 24 May 2023, [4] 'CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,' European Times, 5 June 2025, [5] Eva Brekke, et al., 'Patients' experiences with coercive mental health treatment in Flexible Assertive Community Treatment: a qualitative study,' BMC Psychiatry, 18 Oct. 2023, [6] Beate Wild, et al., 'Reduction of coercion in psychiatric hospitals: how can this be achieved?' The Lancet, Dec. 2023, [7] [8] 'King's Birthday Honours: Advocate dedicates award to survivors of abuse in care,' RNZ, 2 June 2025, 'Abuses in psychiatric care: The shameful story of the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent unit in Aotearoa New Zealand,' Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2023 Sep;57(9):1193-1197, [9] 'CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,' European Times, 5 June 2025, MULTIMEDIA Image link for media: Image caption: The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide—and now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings. – CCHR International NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: General Editorial, Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, CCHR Italy, human rights decision, Italy Constitutional Court, Forced Psychiatry, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126957 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
Associated Press
09-06-2025
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CCHR Demands Urgent Reform to Stop Child Abuse in Youth Behavioral Facilities
LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 9, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Amid a surge of reported abuse and deaths in psychiatric and behavioral residential programs for youth, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) is urging immediate and sweeping federal intervention. CCHR warns that continued inaction by state and federal agencies endangers lives and enables a mental health system where vulnerable children and adolescents are subjected to trauma, neglect, and avoidable harm. In December 2024, Congress passed the bipartisan Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, calling for a study by the National Academies of Sciences into the state of youth in institutional programs. However, the legislation granted a three-year window to complete the investigation—a delay CCHR deems unconscionable now, given ongoing reports of harm. 'Children are dying. Others are being restrained, secluded, forcibly drugged, or sexually abused,' said Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International. 'How many more cases of tragedy must occur before regulators respond with urgency? A three-year timeline is a death sentence for some of these children.' A 2024 peer-reviewed study in Psychiatric Services confirmed that the use of seclusion and mechanical restraints remains widespread in U.S. psychiatric hospitals, despite the documented trauma and risk of death. The study called on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission to implement reforms to end the practice. A previous New York Times investigation estimated at least 86 deaths in youth behavioral programs from 2000 to 2015, noting that children in these institutions are often subjected to conditions that would be unlawful for prisoners—including isolation, and physical and chemical restraint.[1] In just the past few weeks, a string of new incidents has surfaced from across the U.S. involving youth facilities, including: Two girls, aged 12 and 13, died by suicide in May in a North Carolina behavioral treatment facility, forcing its closure.[2] Reports of hundreds of prolonged restraint incidents in a single California psychiatric facility within months.[3] A teenage boy was repeatedly sexually abused by staff at a New Mexico behavioral facility.[4] Seclusion and restraint of children as young as five; Vermont state authorities confirmed over 500 cases.[5] New legislation was passed in Maryland restricting the use of physical restraints during youth transport to psych facilities.[6] Although multiple federal investigations have led to substantial fines and civil settlements, CCHR asserts these penalties have failed to deter misconduct, patient harm, and deaths. 'Financial penalties are clearly not enough. Many of these settlements are treated as the cost of doing business,' Eastgate noted. CCHR also emphasizes that current tools used by government agencies—such as consent agreements or Corporate Integrity Agreements (CIAs)—do not work. These measures allow institutions with a history of serious violations to remain operational after promising internal improvements. 'Voluntary promises are violated again and again, and children suffer the consequences,' Eastgate said. 'These agreements create a dangerous illusion of accountability.' The organization is calling on Congress and the Administration to take such actions as: Accelerate the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act investigation. Withhold CMS and Medicaid funding from facilities with substantiated abuse records. Freeze new licenses or bed expansions for companies under investigation. Establish criminal penalties for executives and staff found complicit in systemic abuse. Prohibit the use of further Corporate Integrity or improvement agreements for known violators. In June 2024, a U.S. Senate Finance Committee report into several for-profit youth behavioral hospital chains described the harms children experienced resulted, in part, from financial models that prioritize revenue over safety. The Committee urged 'bold intervention' to prevent further tragedies. Prominent legal professionals agree. KBA attorney Kayla Ferrel Onder stated: 'More effective oversight systems need to be in place to protect patients. This includes stricter penalties for facilities found guilty of abuse or fraud. Jail time for executives and significantly larger financial penalties may be necessary to curb misconduct prevalent in the behavioral healthcare industry.'[7] Attorney Tommy James cites horrendous physical abuse and emotional trauma in behavioral residential facilities, stating, 'those responsible must be held accountable.'[8] Another attorney, Kayla Ferrel Onder said the abuse is so extensive that it reflected a 'systemic failure,' which needs to stop.[9] CCHR maintains an extensive record of documented youth abuse in psychiatric facilities, including seclusion, restraint, sexual assault, and forced drugging. 'Children should not be warehoused, abused, or silenced,' said Eastgate. 'What is happening now is a humanitarian crisis hiding in plain sight.' Quoting lawmakers who have supported the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, Rep. Ro Khanna stated: 'The industry has gone unchecked for too long.'[10] Senator Tommy Tuberville added: 'We need more sunlight… to stop the waste, fraud, and abuse in the system.' 'This is not a policy debate—it is a moral imperative,' Eastgate concluded. 'We are calling on legislators, prosecutors, and health agencies to act now. No more broken promises. No more promises of avoidable deaths. No more children forgotten in the system.' About CCHR : The government-acclaimed watchdog and award-winning advocacy group was established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Professor of Psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz. To learn more, visit: Sources: [1] Alexander Stockton, 'Can you punish a child's mental health problems away?' The New York Times , 11 Oct. 2022, [2] Jeffery Collins, 'Residential treatment school closes in North Carolina after deaths of 2 girls,' AP News , 3 June 2025, [3] 'California watchdog finds for-profit psychiatric hospital abused patients,' San Francisco Chronicle , 19 May 2025 [4] 'Suit alleges teen repeatedly abused by worker at former youth residential treatment center,' Santa Fe New Mexican, 29 May 2025, [5] 'Youth in Vermont custody have been physically restrained hundreds of times in recent years,' VT Digger , 22 May 2025, [6] [7] [8] Erica Thomas, 'Tuskegee youth facility dubbed 'House of Horrors' in latest lawsuit,' 1819 News , 27 Aug. 2024, [9] 'Letter: The alarming pattern of abuse at Acadia Healthcare facilities,' Springfield Daily Citizen , 29 May 2025, [10] citing MULTIMEDIA: Image link for media: Image caption: 'Children should not be warehoused, abused, or silenced. What is happening now is a humanitarian crisis hiding in plain sight.' – Jan Eastgate, President, CCHR International. NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: Family and Parenting, Reform, Stop Child Abuse, Youth Behavioral Facilities, Citizens Commission on Human Rights, CCHR International, Jan Eastgate, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire . Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126791 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
