The mental health industry watchdog, CCHR, calls for an end to potentially lethal physical and chemical restraint methods used in youth transports to psychiatric treatment facilities.
-- A growing movement exemplified recently in Maryland seeks to bring long-overdue accountability to the youth transport industry, which has been accused of using abusive and inhumane tactics to forcibly transfer children to psychiatric and behavioral treatment facilities. The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International highlighted the severe risks associated with unregulated youth transport services. Known as “gooning,” these operations involve the forced removal of minors from their homes—often at night—using physical and chemical restraints. Once transported, many are delivered to treatment facilities that have been exposed for neglect, abuse, and even fatalities.
The Dangers of Unregulated Youth Transport
The Regulatory Review has documented how desperate parents, often acting on misleading marketing, hire private transport companies to stage abduction-style removals of their children or troubled teens. These extractions can involve violent restraint, blindfolding, and forced sedation before the youth are flown or driven to remote residential treatment facilities (RTFs). Once admitted, these facilities have been linked to physical abuse, forced medication, and prolonged solitary confinement.
Efforts to address these concerns in Maryland included survivors of these “kidnapping” actions speaking out, with a focus on several key areas to curb abuses in youth transport, including:
• Prohibiting the use of blindfolds, hoods, and other physical restraints.
• Banning nighttime removals between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. to reduce traumatic experiences.
• Establishing legal accountability for individuals subjected to harmful transport practices.
Similar efforts in other states, such as Oregon and Illinois, have already led to restrictions on chemical, mechanical, and other forms of restraint in child-caring agencies and transport services.
A significant issue in this industry is the use of chemical restraints. Some transport companies use psychotropic medications that restrict a youth's freedom during transport. Nationally, there has been growing recognition of the dangers of chemical restraint, with experts warning that such practices can cause severe physical and psychological harm.
Today, transport companies hired by government agencies and misled parents use physical and chemical restraints to transport children and youths to psychiatric facilities. This is an unacceptable practice that requires urgent attention. CCHR has called for greater oversight and regulation of chemical restraints in youth transport services.
Transport companies typically charge fees ranging from $2,000 to $4,000. Parents may also incur case management consultant fees that can cost up to $10,000. Some wilderness therapy camps charge an upfront admission fee, which ranges from $1,500 to $5,000. Additionally, some financial institutions offer loans for these services, with amounts reaching as high as $100,000, preying on the desperation of distraught parents.
The American University Washington College of Law reported: “Most state laws make no mention of this industry at all. As a result, there are no legal requirements regarding personnel or procedures through which companies take, maintain, or transfer custody of a child. Not surprisingly, there are many documented—and likely many more undocumented—instances of physical and emotional injury during these transactions.”
The National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) estimates that the industry profits $1.2 billion annually from a process that “dehumanizes youth and literally deprives them of their freedom.”
A former practice associated with youth mental health transport was “bounty hunting.” In the 1990s, CCHR, a mental health industry watchdog established by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, exposed this disturbing practice of companies being paid fees to kidnap children and teens and take them to psychiatric facilities. One of the most compelling cases occurred in 1991, when a 14-year-old, Jeremy, was abducted from his parents' home—without their consent—by two imposing men and transported to a psychiatric hospital owned by the now-defunct psychiatric hospital chain. A psychiatrist had filed for the boy’s detention and forced treatment based on an unsubstantiated and false claim made by Jeremy’s 12-year-old brother, who alleged that Jeremy was a substance abuser. It took considerable intervention from a Texas authority to secure Jeremy’s release, which garnered national attention. The company that owned the residential psychiatric hospital had been offering up to $2,000 in referral or "bounty hunter" fees for sending patients to its psychiatric facilities. As a result, due to CCHR’s efforts, Texas outlawed psychiatric hospital bounty-hunting.
Today, greater protections are essential to safeguarding vulnerable individuals from restraint abuse in the behavioral-psychiatric transport industry. CCHR International has called for broader reforms to ensure accountability in youth transport and residential treatment centers, urging stricter regulations and oversight.
Jan Eastgate, president of CCHR International, says, “With growing concern over the treatment of youth in behavioral-psychiatric settings, efforts to reform these practices could set a national precedent for safeguarding the rights of those subjected to these controversial practices. By doing so, we can ensure that children and youths are not subjected to unnecessary harm and that their rights to dignity and safety are upheld.”
Contact Info:
Name: Amber Rauscher
Email: Send Email
Organization: Citizens Commission on Human Rights International
Address: 6616 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90028, United States
Phone: +1-323-467-4242
Website: https://www.cchrint.org
Source: PressCable
Release ID: 89153081
Should you detect any errors, issues, or discrepancies with the content contained within this press release, or if you need assistance with a press release takedown, we kindly request that you inform us immediately by contacting error@releasecontact.com (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our expert team will be available to promptly respond and take necessary steps within the next 8 hours to resolve any identified issues or guide you through the removal process. We value the trust placed in us by our readers and remain dedicated to providing accurate and reliable information.
