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Paris Hilton on Monday told Utah lawmakers about the abuse she suffered at multiple treatment centers for troubled teens while urging them to pass legislation requiring more regulation of the programs.
Hilton, 39, spent time in three of the facilities as a teen, including nearly a year at Provo Canyon School, where she said she was “verbally, mentally, and physically abused on a daily basis” when she was 16.
“Although Provo Canyon School marketed itself as a premier treatment center, it was as if hell itself was on Earth,” Hilton said. “I cried myself to sleep every single night, praying I would wake up from this nightmare.”
Provo Canyon School, which remains open, has faced widespread accusations of mistreatment, including beating, drugging, and sexually abusing clients, and cutting them off from their families so they can’t get help.
* Synopsis excerpt from HB219…
Makes changes in provisions concerning a school board’s use of time out and physical restraint, including providing that isolated time out, time out, and physical restraint may be used only under certain circumstances, prohibiting the deprivation of necessities and prone, mechanical, and chemical restraint, and requiring a meeting with school personnel if requested by the parent or guardian, the provision of information to parents and guardians, and written procedures. Effective immediately.
* Ms. Hilton filed as a proponent of the legislation. Here’s the legislative affairs director for the National Association of Social Workers’ Illinois chapter…
So this happened today…
If you are wondering the connection: https://t.co/H9EUn7AvNf
(Also her team has been great to work with on this bill.) #twill #ILHB219 pic.twitter.com/VffmQiM7F3
— Kyle Hillman (@kylehillman) March 3, 2021
And to the individuals who say a ban on seclusion rooms and prone restraint wont work - it has, it does, it just isn’t easy. We owe it to these kids to choose the harder path that protects them: https://t.co/iD0ixfqIiK #twill
— Kyle Hillman (@kylehillman) March 3, 2021
* Back to last April…
Five months ago, when Illinois schools Superintendent Carmen Ayala learned students were being repeatedly shut inside small rooms alone as punishment and physically held down on the floor, she said she cried. She vowed it would never happen again.
But Illinois State Board of Education officials negotiated with a key legislative rule-making committee to allow schools to use prone restraint for one more school year, aiming to phase out its use by July 2021. The decision last week came after a few small schools — including one whose advisory board includes state lawmakers — mounted letter-writing campaigns and direct appeals to government leaders. […]
At least 101 of the 149 letters that advocated keeping prone restraint — nearly 70% — came from two private schools, Giant Steps and Marklund Day School, and the A.E.R.O Special Education Cooperative, a public school.
“As a staff member at Marklund Day School, I have personally performed a safe prone restraint more times than I can count,” began each of the 350-word letters that about 30 employees of Marklund, a suburban school for students with autism, filed with the state.
The nearly word-for-word letters — sent by teachers, aides and other workers — urged ISBE to allow prone and supine, or face-up, restraints at school and touted the improvements shown by Marklund students with “maladaptive” and aggressive behavior because employees were allowed to physically restrain them. State enrollment data shows that Marklund Day School serves about 70 students. […]
Among those who advanced Giant Steps’ argument was the chief of staff for one of the Illinois House’s most powerful members, Republican leader Jim Durkin. The school’s suggestions were emailed to ISBE and the legislative rule-making committee by House staff, records show.
Durkin and five former Illinois lawmakers sit on Giant Steps’ eight-member advisory board, along with two lawyers. The school’s director, Sylvia Smith, said in a recent interview that she regularly speaks to Durkin and other legislators and has made building relationships with them a priority.
Almost all of the opponents are from Marklund.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 9:55 am
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Until Bo Derek weighs in, it’s not soup yet
Comment by TradedUpForMitch Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 10:17 am
That’s hot.
Comment by dan l Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 10:25 am
heh. this is like the first time I think Rich has ever written about Paris and I really look forward to periodic updates about her antics on cap fax in kind of a tmz type format
Comment by dan l Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 10:27 am
My first job after college was working at a “Wilderness Camp” for emotionally disturbed boys. After a month, I was told I needed to pick an argument with the biggest boy, and take him down in front of the others, to demonstrate that I was the Alpha male (seriously). That is when I decided to quit that job.
Almost all of the boys had been physically abused as children, and some had been sexually abused. All eventually turned to crime, and were sentenced either go to jail, or attend the “Camp.” That was the 1980s.
Fighting anger with anger, violence with violence, and hate with hate, rarely creates goodness.
Comment by H-W Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 10:29 am
Least restrictive environment should be law. I am surprised about Marklund attitude. I have known of them for years and never thought it would be almost a take down school. Those children have way more problems than autism. Many are bed ridden and not ambulatory
Comment by DuPage Saint Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 10:38 am
The issue of restrains is the one of the most egregious examples of how Illinois continues to fail children with disabilities.
Comment by Busy Mom Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 10:52 am
Well, if Paris Hilton is supporting it, that’s all I need to know.
Comment by Bruce( no not him) Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 10:59 am
On one of Jello Biafra’s early spoken word albums (like the early 90s, late 80s) he talks about that industry of helping ‘troubled teens’ for a bit and talks about their marketing (in particular in the back of airline magazines).
He used the phrase ‘rugby shirt pet’ and that whole riff has stayed with me 30+ years later.
Comment by OneMan Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:02 am
Unfawful restraint is a crime. Charge the teachers with the felony.
Comment by Masker Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:03 am
As a grandmother of two students at Giant Steps I am extremely saddened. At the first three comments above I am heartbroken. This is not a matter of frivolity, it is an extremely important issue. If your loved ones were subject to such conduct you would not find it funny.
Comment by Observer Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:07 am
Outlawing restraint would be a disservice to students and staff. There are situations in which, done correctly, it protects everyone involved. That is the rub though, doing it correctly and in the correct circumstances.
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:20 am
===That is the rub though, doing it correctly and in the correct circumstances===
The question becomes if the people doing it incorrectly are in high enough numbers to warrant a blanket ban. Proponents make that point. Opponents only point to themselves.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:22 am
I hope they have a better defense than “we’ve done this safely more times than we could count and don’t want to change now.”
Comment by NIU Grad Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:37 am
A bill was introduced in Congress last November (2020) that would ban the use of both seclusion and restraint nationwide.
The Keeping All Students Safe Act (S. 4924) includes both IL Senators among its 16 co-sponsors to date.
Comment by dbk Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:45 am
=There are situations in which, done correctly it protects everyone=
How is this done correctly and what are the alternatives? What support services are available to prevent the need for this type of response, especially now when schools are not fully open?
Comment by Observer Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:52 am
=Opponents only point to themselves.=
Primarily because I do not visit other schools and collect data on what everyone else does. I know how the districts (multiple) I have worked in as well as not-for-profit I worked for handle restraint.
What is the number that is high enough? I am not going to die on this hill, but I don’t think Paris Hilton (pointing at herself btw) or Kyle Hillman are experts by any stretch. What happened to Hilton at her school in Montana was way beyond restraint.
CPI teaches that restraint is the method of last resort. De Escalation is emphasized. Required training for staff and hiring practices that find the right people are important. Not an easy task these days.
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 11:57 am
The physical and emotional abuse meted out by these “therapeutic” schools are a scandal. I know children (now adults) whose lives were permanently scared by them. They need to be very very tightly regulated if not abolished.
Comment by Banish Misfortune Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:03 pm
JS Mill
I have read your previous posts and respect your authority and knowledge. Please be aware that the information that you are provided may be given in a positive perspective. I only know the personal and I have had a grandson who was isolated for two months in a conference room (not Giant Steps) without any knowledge of his parents. It is very personal to me.
Comment by Observer Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:05 pm
@Observer- I have been doing what I do for more than 25 years. It is personal to me everyday.
What happened to your grandson is at least bad practice and possibly criminal. But my argument is about restraint and not isolation, especially long term isolation. No question that is unacceptable. Removing s student from the class for de escalation while supervised is one thing. I am talking about 15-20 minutes or thereabouts. Not all day or days.
with respect
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:42 pm
= What is the number that is high enough? =
One.
= I am not going to die on this hill, but I don’t think Paris Hilton (pointing at herself btw) or Kyle Hillman are experts by any stretch. =
They are not claiming to be experts. They are advocates.
Comment by Dirty Red Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 12:55 pm
=One.=
Ridiculous. And I was asking Rich.
=They are not claiming to be experts. They are advocates.=
I stand corrected, but my opinion remains the same. And I was speaking to restraint not torture or isolation. Restraint, done properly in the correct circumstance is neither.
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 1:05 pm
=They are advocates.=
Um,Paris Hilton is a little more than an advocate; she was a victim. There’s a difference.
Comment by dbk Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 1:24 pm
=They are not experts, they are advocates=
From years of advocacy experience many advocates carry lived experience that more than qualifies them as experts.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 1:46 pm
Ever calm down when someone’s says to do so? How about when they decide to put hands on you? Restraint is only for imminent, grave danger to one’s self or others. De-escalation should not be a priority, it should be prevention. Let’s not wait for the fire to start. Restraint and isolation are barbaric practices only used because it takes the least amount of skill.
Comment by Papa2008 Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 2:17 pm
=== I was speaking to restraint not torture or isolation. Restraint, done properly in the correct circumstance is neither. ===
That sounds a lot like the FOP’s defense of Choke holds and the White House defense of waterboarding.
The kids who were physically restrained say it was torture, they are the experts in the room we should go with.
Comment by Thomas Paine Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 2:23 pm
==Restraint is only for imminent, grave danger to one’s self or others.==
I suspect your opinion might change when you receive a call that your child was struck by an out-of-control classmate.
Comment by Jocko Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 3:02 pm
=Restraint and isolation are barbaric practices only used because it takes the least amount of skill.=
The hyperbole is not helpful and it is wrong. Done correctly, it can preserve safety.
Have you ever had a violent and aggressive student that was bent on self harm?
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 3:05 pm
Jocko - Revenge is not an appropriate reason for restraint.
JS - Never a student, but plenty of adult men in my 25 years of working with people with developmental disabilities. If it reached that point, I failed. And worked harder in the future to prevent it from happening again. Too often it’s used as a crutch instead of training/effort on the part of the teacher/instructor. It’s not easy to do, but it can be done. I stand by my statement.
Comment by Papa2008 Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 3:40 pm
Never a student, but plenty of adult men in my 25 years of working with people with developmental disabilities. If it reached that point, I failed. And worked harder in the future to prevent it from happening again. Too often it’s used as a crutch instead of training/effort on the part of the teacher/instructor.=
I cannot disagree with that at all. The point is to prevent the escalation.
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Mar 3, 21 @ 4:57 pm