Provider Watch - June 1, 2011 - Regulation on Top of Licensing

Last week, Congressman George Miller announced that he intends to reintroduce HR911, Stop Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act, in the same form that it was passed by the House on two earlier occasions.  This bill would require states to license residential programs for teens and if implemented, would put additional requirements on the States.  This would be duplicative and unnecessary for many states. 

The Child Welfare League of America has taken a strong position against HR911. Their position is that "any Federal agency oversight/monitoring would be duplicative, unnecessary, unhelpful, and a poor use of resources. It will not be possible for a federal agency to establish a standard or a monitoring protocol that will be consistent/compatible with standards and protocols in all 50 states."  As written, the bill presents a workload increase on small businesses and providers, and will require a federal government hotline that will cost money and would in the end not provide the protection that we want.  There are better ways to protect children in residential care than burdensome and duplicative oversight.   

CWLA are "aware of practices that have compromised the safety and well-being of children in some residential placements and support the purpose for which Congressman Miller’s legislation was introduced."  They, like GAHSC, "want to support legislation that will effectively target residential programs that are engaging in practices that harm children or place them at risk for either physical or emotional harm, while at the same time precluding unintended consequences and damaging implications and effects on responsible residential programs that do not engage in those practices that are the focus of the legislation."     

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Provider Watch, an email newsletter of the
Georgia Association of Homes
and Services for Children
as a public service.
http://www.gahsc.org                            
                       Normer Adams, Editor
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