RHB/1/20
Sponsored by Ariana Patel, Sasha Villaruz of Brentwood High School
This legislation was filed in the Childrens Services category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1) Terms used in this act, unless the context requires otherwise, shall be defined as |
| 4 | follows: a) Wilderness Therapy Program- an experiential form of therapy that combines outdoor |
| 5 | experiences and therapy sessions. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | $2,500.00. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Section 2) This act will ban the act of forced and unwillful participation in a Wilderness Therapy |
| 10 | Camp as a Tennessee Resident and the allowance for said camps to be carried out in the state of |
| 11 | Tennessee. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Section 3) Individuals who are proven to have violated this act will be eligible to serve a jail |
| 14 | sentence of one (1) year and pay a fine of $2,500.00, which is the equivalent punishment for a |
| 15 | Class A Misdemeanor in the state of Tennessee. Additionally, the camp will be shut down |
| 16 | immediately and the camp participants will be returned to their legal guardians, who will also be |
| 17 | subject to serving the same sentence as stated above. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Section 4) Currently, there are an estimated 26 public Wilderness Therapy Programs in the U.S |
| 20 | that offer treatments for teenagers and adolescence. Tennessee is host to one of the programs, |
| 21 | and there are 3 that surround the state border. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Section 5) Between the years 1970-2024, over 200 teenagers have failed to return upon arriving |
| 24 | at a program. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Section 6) This bill will not cost any money |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Section 7) All laws or parts in law in conflict with this act are hereby repealed |
| 29 | |
| 30 | Section 8) This act shall take effect immediately upon becoming a law |
| 31 |