118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1351 

AN ACT 

To study and prevent child abuse in youth residential 

programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

†S 1351 ES

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Institutional 

3 Child Abuse Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEER5 ING, AND MEDICINE STUDY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services shall seek to enter into a contract with 

9 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and 

10 Medicine (referred to in this section as the ‘‘National 

11 Academies’’) to conduct a study to examine the state of 

12 youth in youth residential programs and make rec13 ommendations. 

14 (b) STUDY COMPONENTS.—Pursuant to the contract 

15 under subsection (a), the National Academies shall, not 

16 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the Stop 

17 Institutional Child Abuse Act, and every 2 years thereafter 

18 for a period of 10 years, issue a report informed by the 

19 study conducted under such subsection that includes— 

20 (1) identification of the nature, prevalence, se21 verity, and scope of child abuse, neglect, and deaths 

22 in youth residential programs, including types of 

23 abuse and neglect, causes of abuse, neglect, and 

24 deaths, and criteria used to assess abuse, neglect, 

25 and deaths; 
3 

†S 1351 ES

1 (2) identification of all Federal and State fund2 ing sources for youth residential programs; 

3 (3) identification of Federal data collection 

4 sources on youth in youth residential programs; 

5 (4) identification of existing regulation of youth 

6 residential programs, including alternative licensing 

7 standards or licensing exemptions for youth residen8 tial programs; 

9 (5) identification of existing standards of care 

10 of national accreditation entities that provide accred11 itation or certification of youth residential programs; 

12 (6) identification of existing barriers in policy 

13 for blending and braiding of funding sources to serve 

14 youth in community-based settings; 

15 (7) recommendations for coordination by agen16 cies of data on youth in youth residential programs; 

17 (8) recommendations for the improvement of 

18 oversight of youth residential programs receiving 

19 Federal funding; 

20 (9) identification of risk assessment tools, in21 cluding projects that provide for the development of 

22 research-based strategies for risk assessments relat23 ing to the health, safety (including with respect to 

24 the use of seclusion and restraints), and well-being 

25 of youth in youth residential programs; 
4 

†S 1351 ES

1 (10) recommendations to support the develop2 ment and implementation of education and training 

3 resources for professional and paraprofessional per4 sonnel in the fields of health care, law enforcement, 

5 judiciary, social work, child protection (including the 

6 prevention, identification, and treatment of child 

7 abuse and neglect), education, child care, and other 

8 relevant fields, and individuals such as court ap9 pointed special advocates and guardians ad litem, in10 cluding education and training resources regard11 ing— 

12 (A) the unique needs, experiences, and out13 comes of youth with lived experience in youth 

14 residential programs; 

15 (B) the enhancement of interagency com16 munication among child protective service agen17 cies, protection and advocacy systems, State li18 censing agencies, State Medicaid agencies, and 

19 accreditation agencies; 

20 (C) best practices to eliminate the use of 

21 physical, mechanical, and chemical restraint 

22 and seclusion, and to promote the use of posi23 tive behavioral interventions and supports, cul24 turally and linguistically sensitive services, men-
5 

†S 1351 ES

1 tal health supports, trauma- and grief-informed 

2 care, and crisis de-escalation interventions; and 

3 (D) the legal duties of such professional 

4 and paraprofessional personnel and youth resi5 dential program personnel and the responsibil6 ities of such professionals and personnel to pro7 tect the legal rights of children in youth resi8 dential programs, consistent with applicable 

9 State and Federal law; 

10 (11) recommendations to improve accessibility 

11 and development of community-based alternatives to 

12 youth residential programs; 

13 (12) recommendations for innovative programs 

14 designed to provide community support and re15 sources to at-risk youth, including programs that— 

16 (A) support continuity of education, in17 cluding removing barriers to access; 

18 (B) provide mentorship; 

19 (C) support the provision of crisis interven20 tion services and in-home or outpatient mental 

21 health and substance use disorder treatment; 

22 and 

23 (D) provide other resources to families and 

24 parents or guardians that assist in preventing 
6 

†S 1351 ES

1 the need for out-of-home placement of youth in 

2 youth residential programs; 

3 (13) recommendations relating to the develop4 ment, dissemination, outreach, engagement, or train5 ing associated with advancing least-restrictive, evi6 dence-based, trauma and grief-informed, and devel7 opmentally and culturally competent care for youth 

8 in youth residential programs and youth at risk of 

9 being placed in such programs; 

10 (14) recommendations on best practices regard11 ing the health and safety (including reduction or 

12 elimination of use of seclusion and restraints), care, 

13 and treatment of youth in youth residential pro14 grams to convey to States; 

15 (15) recommendations to improve the coordina16 tion, dissemination, and implementation of best 

17 practices regarding the health and safety (including 

18 use, reduction, or elimination of seclusion and re19 straints), care, and treatment of youth in youth resi20 dential programs among child welfare systems, li21 censing agencies, accreditation organizations, other 

22 relevant monitoring and enforcement entities, State 

23 child welfare agencies, State Medicaid agencies, 

24 State mental and behavioral health agencies, con25 sumers, and State protection advocacy centers; and 
7 

†S 1351 ES

1 (16) identification of aggregate data, including 

2 process-oriented data such as length of stay and use 

3 of restraints, and seclusion and outcome-oriented 

4 data such as discharge setting and ability to be safe5 ly maintained in school and community at least 12 

6 months after discharge, including— 

7 (A) recommendations on how such data 

8 should be shared across child-placing agencies 

9 and stakeholders, including individuals receiving 

10 services, families of such individuals, and advo11 cates; and 

12 (B) identification of barriers to sharing in13 formation across child-placing agencies. 

14 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the duties de15 scribed in subsection (b), the National Academies shall 

16 consult with— 

17 (1) child advocates, including attorneys experi18 enced in working with youth overrepresented in the 

19 child welfare system or the juvenile justice system; 

20 (2) health professionals, including mental 

21 health and substance use disorder professionals, 

22 nurses, physicians, social workers, and other health 

23 care providers who provide services to youth who 

24 may be served by residential programs; 

25 (3) protection and advocacy systems; 
8 

†S 1351 ES

1 (4) individuals experienced in working with 

2 youth with disabilities, including emotional, mental 

3 health, and substance use disorders; 

4 (5) individuals with lived experience as children 

5 and youth in youth residential programs, including 

6 individuals with intellectual or developmental disabil7 ities and individuals with emotional, mental health, 

8 or substance use disorders; 

9 (6) representatives of State and local child pro10 tective services agencies and other relevant public 

11 agencies; 

12 (7) parents or guardians of children and youth 

13 with emotional, mental health, or substance use dis14 order needs; 

15 (8) parents of children and youth with intellec16 tual disabilities and autism; 

17 (9) experts on issues related to child abuse and 

18 neglect in youth residential programs; 

19 (10) administrators of youth residential pro20 grams; 

21 (11) education professionals who provide serv22 ices to youth with complex needs in youth residential 

23 programs; 

24 (12) State educational agencies; 

25 (13) local educational agencies; 
9 

†S 1351 ES

1 (14) Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations; 

2 (15) State legislators; 

3 (16) State licensing agencies; 

4 (17) the Administration for Children and Fami5 lies; 

6 (18) the Administration for Community Living; 

7 (19) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

8 Services Administration; 

9 (20) the Department of Justice; 

10 (21) the Indian Health Service; 

11 (22) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv12 ices; 

13 (23) the National Council on Disability; and 

14 (24) others, as appropriate. 

15 (d) REPORT SUBMISSION AND PUBLICATION.—The 

16 National Academies shall submit to the Secretary for dis17 semination to relevant State agencies, and make publicly 

18 available, a report on the comprehensive review conducted 

19 under subsection (b), including the findings of the Na20 tional Academies under subsection (b); 

21 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.—The term 

23 ‘‘child abuse and neglect’’ has the meaning given 

24 such term in section 3 of the Child Abuse Preven25 tion and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 note). 
10 

†S 1351 ES

1 (2) CULTURALLY COMPETENT.—The term ‘‘cul2 turally competent’’ has the meaning given such term 

3 in section 102 of the Developmental Disabilities As4 sistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

5 15002). 

6 (3) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

7 The terms ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ and ‘‘Tribal organiza8 tion’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 

9 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 

10 Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

11 (4) PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS.— 

12 The term ‘‘protection and advocacy system’’ means 

13 a system established by a State or Indian Tribe 

14 under section 143 of the Developmental Disabilities 

15 Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 

16 U.S.C. 15043). 

17 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

18 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

19 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

20 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

21 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

22 (6) YOUTH.—The term ‘‘youth’’ means an indi23 vidual who has not attained the age of 22. 

24 (7) YOUTH RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM.— 
11 

†S 1351 ES

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘youth resi2 dential program’’ means each location of a fa3 cility or program operated by a public or pri4 vate entity that, with respect to one or more 

5 youth who are unrelated to the owner or oper6 ator of the facility or program— 

7 (i) provides a residential environment, 

8 such as— 

9 (I) a program with a wilderness 

10 or outdoor experience, expedition, or 

11 intervention; 

12 (II) a boot camp experience or 

13 other experience designed to simulate 

14 characteristics of basic military train15 ing or correctional regimes; 

16 (III) an education or therapeutic 

17 boarding school; 

18 (IV) a behavioral modification 

19 program; 

20 (V) a residential treatment center 

21 or facility; 

22 (VI) a qualified residential treat23 ment program (as defined in section 

24 472(k)(4) of the Social Security Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 672(k)(4))); 
12 

†S 1351 ES

1 (VII) a psychiatric residential 

2 treatment program that meets the re3 quirements of subpart D of part 441 

4 of title 42, Code of Federal Regula5 tions (or any successor regulations); 

6 (VIII) a group home serving chil7 dren and youth placed by any placing 

8 authority; 

9 (IX) an intermediate care facility 

10 for individuals with intellectual dis11 abilities; or 

12 (X) any residential program that 

13 is utilized as an alternative to incar14 ceration for justice involved youth, ad15 judicated youth, or youth deemed de16 linquent; and 

17 (ii) serves youth who have a history or 

18 diagnosis of— 

19 (I) an emotional, behavioral, or 

20 mental health disorder; 

21 (II) a substance misuse or use 

22 disorder, including alcohol misuse or 

23 use disorders; or 

24 (III) an intellectual, develop25 mental, physical, or sensory disability. 
13 

†S 1351 ES

1 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘youth resi2 dential program’’ does not include— 

3 (i) a hospital licensed by a State; or 

4 (ii) a foster family home that— 

5 (I) provides 24-hour substitute 

6 care for children placed away from 

7 their parents or guardians and for 

8 whom the State child welfare services 

9 agency has placement and care re10 sponsibility; and 

11 (II) is licensed and regulated by 

12 the State as a foster family home. 

Passed the Senate December 11, 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1351 

AN ACT 

To study and prevent child abuse in youth 

residential programs, and for other purposes.