A group of congressional Democrats said Wednesday that they plan to work with Paris Hilton to create new regulations to prevent the abuse of children in facilities for troubled teens.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said he is drafting legislation that would give children in youth facilities the right to call their parents, be free from restraints, and have access to clean drinking water and nutritional meals — none of which is currently ensured for thousands of children in these facilities nationwide.
“The multibillion-dollar troubled teen industry has been able to mislead parents, school districts, child welfare agencies and juvenile justice systems for decades,” said Hilton, a media personality and entrepreneur who has become a prominent activist calling for more oversight of youth facilities. “The reason is a systemwide lack of transparency and accountability.”
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Hilton revealed her experience as an adolescent in four youth facilities in a YouTube documentary last year. In an op-ed in The Washington Post this week, she said that during her time in those programs, she was choked, slapped, spied on while showering and deprived of sleep.
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