Very little is currently known about the programs, which have sprung up all over the country since the early 1990’s and which Miller estimates now serve thousands of American children. Miller said today that Congress needs more information about these programs so it can monitor and regulate them effectively.

“Across the country and abroad, treatment facilities that in many cases appear to be unregulated, unlicensed, and unaccredited are enrolling thousands of American children. In countless cases, children have reported acts of physical and emotional abuse by staff members at these facilities,” said Miller, the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “Yet Congress has nothing more than alarming anecdotal information about the true extent of this problem.

“There is no issue more serious than the health and safety of our children. Congress needs this information so it can act to keep children safe.”

In 2003, newspapers reported allegations of abuse at residential treatment programs operated by the Utah-based World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools (WWASPS), which now has facilities in the United States and Jamaica. Between 1996 and 2004, state, local, and international authorities shut down at least eight facilities operated by or affiliated with WWASPS, according to press reports.

In November 2003, Miller asked then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate WWASPS for allegations of “child abuse, human rights violations, fraudulent and deceptive advertising, fraud and unjust enrichment under the Internal Revenue Code, and violations of other Federal civil or criminal laws.” Despite repeated requests from Miller for an investigation, the Justice Department never launched one.

In April 2005, Miller introduced legislation, H.R. 1738, intended to prevent child abuse at residential treatment facilities in the U.S. and abroad.

In August 2005, the Child Welfare League of America called for a GAO review of residential treatment programs.

The full text of Miller’s letter to the GAO is below.

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December 21, 2005