WSB/2/2
Sponsored by Adriana Milford of Smyrna 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: |
| 4 | Congregate care: a residential childcare community or treatment center that consists of 24-hour |
| 5 | supervision for children in structured settings such as group homes, residential treatment facilities, |
| 6 | or maternity homes |
| 7 | Residential programs: a 24-hour, live-in, seven-day-a-week treatment program facility providing |
| 8 | intensive rehabilitation services to individuals unable to live or work in the community due to |
| 9 | social, emotional, or physical disabilities resulting from substance abuse or problem gambling |
| 10 | Suicidal ideation: suicidal thoughts, is the thought process of having ideas, or ruminations about |
| 11 | the possibility of committing suicide. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Section 2: Establishes a bill of rights for every youth in congregate care |
| 14 | a. The right to physical well-being, including freedom all forms of physical, psychological, and |
| 15 | sexual abuse, neglect, exploitation, financial exploitation, and excessive medication; freedom from |
| 16 | aversive behavioral interventions, physical, mechanical, and chemical restraint or seclusion, |
| 17 | protection against unreasonable search and seizure; including the use of strip searches or cavity |
| 18 | searches as a means of punishment |
| 19 | b. The right to social and emotional well-being, including prohibition of extended periods of forced |
| 20 | silence, restriction of communication with staff, caregivers, child protective services, law |
| 21 | enforcement, or advocates; sufficient educational and life skills imparted onto them, reasonable |
| 22 | daily access to the outdoors |
| 23 | c. The right to have essential needs met including access to water, food, sleep, shelter, hygiene |
| 24 | products, proper clothing, a clean environment, and medical aid. |
| 25 | d. The right to individualized and appropriate treatment that is culturally competent, trauma- |
| 26 | informed, most supportive of such each youth’s personal liberty and development |
| 27 | e. The right to be free from abusive, humiliating, degrading, or traumatizing treatment by staff or |
| 28 | other youth; including the ability to report mistreatment anonymously without fear of reprisal, |
| 29 | access to a protection and advocacy agency |
| 30 | |
| 31 | Section 3: Youth residential programs are required to have one or more licensed nurses or doctors |
| 32 | on site, along with licensed therapists that are trained to deal with mental illness in children and |
| 33 | young adults. All staff members must be trained to recognize signs of suicidal ideation, depression, |
| 34 | and actions consistent with psychosis. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | Section 4: Staff members must receive training to recognize signs of dehydration, hypothermia, |
| 37 | hyperthermia, heat exhaustion, asthma attacks, seizures, injuries including broken or sprained |
| 38 | bones, torn muscles, and other common injuries; they must know procedures to help in these |
| 39 | |
| 40 | survival, they must have proper access to radio or other communication devices in case of |
| 41 | emergency, all excursions shall have a 1:4 ratio of staff to youth. All trips must have a minimum |
| 42 | of 2 staff members. |
| 43 | |
| 44 | Section 5: Residential programs must make daily updates to the files of each youth enrolled in the |
| 45 | program. Must document any complaints of pain, illness, depressive or harmful thoughts, or |
| 46 | violent actions from the youth. Any physical action used against the youth by staff must be |
| 47 | recorded including restrain or medication. A copy of the youth’s file will be given to the guardian of |
| 48 | child upon removal of the program. |
| 49 | |
| 50 | Section 6: Programs that violate the youth bill of rights will face a judge that will decide the |
| 51 | severity of the transgression and conclude if consequences will include individual prosecution, a |
| 52 | fine towards the program, or closure of the program. |
| 53 | |
| 54 | Section 7: The implementation of the youth bill of rights does not have a cost. |
| 55 | |
| 56 | Section 8: All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this are hereby repealed. |
| 57 | |
| 58 | Section 9: This act shall take effect June 1, 2024, the public welfare requiring it. |
| 59 |