She calls for oversight of youth care facilities, recounting her personal experiences as a teen in Utah.
Reality TV star Paris Hilton called for increased oversight over youth care programs during a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, sharing the traumatizing experiences she endured after being taken to a Utah youth residential treatment facility at the age of 16. She recounted experiences of forced medication, violence, and sexual abuse.
Ms. Hilton testified that these youth care programs, which include foster care organizations, make up a $23 billion industry in the United States. She recommended that the committee support ways to monitor the safety and legitimacy of various programs.
“My parents were completely deceived — lied to and manipulated by this for-profit industry. So can you only imagine the experience for youth who don’t have anyone checking in on them?” the mom of two asked.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Representative Jason Smith as he chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.
- For members of the committee to receive God’s wisdom regarding the protection of children in foster care and youth care facilities.
Sources: Reuters, The Hill
