Children Suffer ‘Routine’ Abuse at Residential Treatment Centers, Senate Finds

Children receiving behavioral health care at residential treatment facilities operated by four major providers are subjected to “routine” physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, a Senate committee reported on June 12. “There are endless examples of sexual, physical, and verbal abuse, improper restraint and seclusion of young children, unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and even a total lack of provision of behavioral health care,” said Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee investigating allegations of abuse. “Unfortunately, it seems more often than not abuse and neglect is the norm at these facilities. And they are set up in a way that makes it happen.”...