What Paris Hilton’s SICAA Bill 🏛️ Means for Troubled Teen Industry
Our Hot Take 🔥 on Paris Hilton’s Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act
Colin and I both have at least six friends from our respective troubled teen residential treatment centers - TEN PERCENT of the people we knew while we were there - who have passed away due to mental health-related issues in the years since we left treatment.
When we mention this two-data-point statistic to anyone who has worked in - or been admitted - to youth treatment programs, most don't bat an eye. They might not have the actual data in front of them - in fact, I don't know who has the complete picture - but this anecdotal stat mirrors what many of us have seen in programs for troubled teens and young adults across the board.
Disclaimer: Today is not the day we're getting into all the arguments we hear as to why it's not the programs' fault: "The death rate would be much higher for all those young people had they not gone to a program;" "programs are dealing with high-risk youth with mental illness," etc.…we understand the nuances! We're not trying to place absolute blame.
Instead, we are trying to understand why the percentage of young people who pass away in a few short years after leaving residential treatment hasn't seemed to decrease since we were in treatment twelve years ago.
Or wait…maybe it has???
Not Therapy’s First Year 📆
I promise this is all related…
For those who have been reading our newsletter for a while, you know how much I love labeling a blatant brag as a humble brag. But if you're new here, here's how far Not Therapy has come in precisely a year since we started:
In January of last year, 2024, Colin and I had just launched our website. We walked into the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP) annual conference as total unknowns—armed with a dream and a handful of stickers.
Today, we have collectively worked with 40 teens and young adults, about 75% of whom started with us immediately after leaving residential or wilderness treatment. Our clients represent 8 of the 10 NATSAP wilderness programs, 15+ NATSAP residential centers, and numerous IOPs and PHPs.
Over a year, Colin and I have built a multiple six-figure business with zero dollars from investors, friends, or family. Okay, shout out to my dad, who covered my student loan payments for 4 months, and to be fair, he still pays my cell phone bill at 30 🙏 (please don't read this and cut me off, Dad!) We didn't hire anyone to help us do anything until last month. As we tell our clients - or really, they tell us - "That's a slay."
We met an important handful of people through last year's NATSAP conference. Thank you for all the opportunities you gave us to appear on your podcasts and parent support groups. You know who you are - thank you for being welcoming and taking a chance to hear from the outsiders. You helped us reach so many families to ensure their child has success after your programs 😊
To circle back to my "where's the data, tho" comment → here's what we found through working with more than 40 teens, young adults, and their parents:
Not Therapy 3-month Coaching Outcomes:
Job Placement: 85% of clients secured jobs within the first 2 months of coaching.
Personal Development: 74% pursued new passions or developed skills (e.g., art, music, sports.
College Transitions: 45% successfully transitioned to or transferred colleges (the other 65% successfully re-enrolled in high school, are enrolled in trade school, or are working full time).
Neurodivergence: 68% had been diagnosed with Autism and/or ADHD before working with us, and 0% of those diagnoses prevented them from having these same outcomes
Now, we have the opportunity to hire more coaches and expand our business. We want to maintain our high-quality, results-oriented offering, but there's only so much we can do ourselves. While we've turned to hiring, this also led us to turn to the national stage…
Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act 🏛️
At the end of a successful year, Colin and I were delighted to see that my bestie and follower on TikTok, Paris Hilton, get her bill - Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act - passed unanimously in the Senate, passed with bipartisan support in the House (373-33), and signed into law on December 23, 2024. Yes sis 👏
We appreciate the emails NATSAP and other programs sent us last month expressing their support of this bill. This is the energy we're here for!
Okay, so those of us who only read the articles or Reddit thread and didn't read the actual bill, I gotchu.
The only thing it requires is that the Secretary of Health and Human Services (right now, the interim secretary) enters a contract with the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) "to conduct a study to examine the state of youth in youth residential programs and make recommendations," within 45 days of its enactment. So like, now.
But literally, that's it. It's not so much a law as it is a mandate for a comprehensive federal survey of the "state of the industry." The study aims to identify the prevalence and severity of child abuse, neglect, and fatalities within these settings.
Based on the findings, the National Academies will provide recommendations to build a federal database, improve coordination, and implement best practices concerning the health, safety, care, and treatment of youth in residential care. Additionally, the act emphasizes the development of educational and training resources for professionals in healthcare, law enforcement, social work, and child protection to better prevent, identify, and address child abuse and neglect.
Okay, we love all of this!
I think everyone reading this would agree that the intention of the act - at least how it's written - seeks to improve the quality of care programs are delivering.
Correct me if I'm wrong, tho. As I've stated in previous newsletters, Paris Hilton and this bill do not seek to "shut down the troubled teen industry;" instead, it requires treatment centers to improve the conditions and quality of care for teens and young adults whose parents or who the state deems need out-of-home treatment.
🔥 Our Hot Takes
NGL, I’ve been trying to publish this newsletter for weeks. Just ask Colin, lol.
I keep diving deeper and deeper into the minutia of the implementation, the people who wrote and sponsored this bill, the private equity firms who own treatment center's parent companies, and the advocates who went back to Capitol Hill year after year to make enough noise to mandate a comprehensive survey and study on this traditionally insular and opaque industry.
What’s a hyper-fixated girl to do??
Besides DM and email about 37 people involved in the passage of this bill to see how I can get on the National Academies’ SICAA study committee. Which, trust and believe, I have 💅 And when she sets her mind to something, she does it.
As a former data scientist who feels they’ve transparently navigated being in the middle-ground (see my TikToks I made years before starting Not Therapy, and read all the blog posts from the last year), here are my HOT TAKES on the implications of the SICAA bill:
…not to be taken as legal advice. obviously…
1️⃣ The federal government is coming for youth residential treatment centers’ data. And it’s going to skew negative.
The National Academies have been asked to identify the "nature, prevalence, severity, and scope of child abuse, neglect, and deaths in youth residential programs." They define "youth" as up to age 22. They need to identify private and public funding sources for youth residential programs, risk assessment tools, and data collection sources. All the questions they must answer skew negatively toward treatment centers' outcomes. No question in there reads something like, "How many of your former students are business owners? Doctors? Lawyers? Generally alive and content with their lives?" I know many young women from my treatment center who fall into these categories and will happily speak to their positive experiences, but do programs?
🙋♀️ Questions I have if I’m on the National Academies Committee:
How do you collect data from the youth in your program before, during, and after their treatment?
What are you required vs. what do you elect to report to state and federal agencies?
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING IS WORKINGGGG???
If kids’ parents send them to your program to keep them alive and safe, how safe and alive are they after leaving your program?
2️⃣ The federal government will consult former troubled teen treatment “alumni.”
While they are mandated to consult with the owners and staff at youth residential programs, they also MUST consult with “individuals with lived experience as children and youth in youth residential programs, including individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities and individuals with emotional, mental health, or substance use disorders.”
That’s me!! And Colin. And many of our closest friends. And the people on Reddit and TikTok.
🙋♀️ Questions I have if I’m on the National Academies Committee:
What are programs doing to help their alums after they leave their program?
Are we at least, bare minimum, doing a six-month check-in? What about a year down the road? Five years? Ten years?
How reliable is your outcomes data? Do they only complete surveys on their last day of the program, or can you stay in touch and follow up months and years later?
3️⃣ The federal government is going to scrutinize programs’ business models.
As someone who has transparently run two non-clinical mental health companies as for-profit businesses, I get it! I also understand that so many programs are operating with very little profit these days, and anything extra is probably going toward paying off loans or dividends on PE investments, etc. The study must identify “existing barriers in policy for blending and braiding of funding sources to serve youth in community-based settings.” Read: yo business model
🙋♀️ Questions I have if I’m on the National Academies Committee:
Who are your funding sources?
Do you have a parent company, or are you owner-operated?
Can I see your quarterly investor report? Are long-term outcomes included in those reports?
What data do your investors prioritize?
4️⃣ The federal government must make recommendations on how to track and improve the outcomes of program alumni.
The “unique needs, experiences, and outcomes of youth with lived experience in youth residential programs.” The recommendations are going to sound much more severe and skewed towards “program
🙋♀️ Questions I have if I’m on the National Academies Committee:
Given that we’re dealing with an “at-risk” youth population, so the data skews a specific direction, how many of the people who went to your program have committed suicide or died of overdose since leaving your program?
WHERE ARE THEY NOW???
Treatment alumni. Are they just like us??
When you ______ , about that I feel______ , and my hope for the future is ______ .
I don't know if there are any correct answers to these questions 👆 for programs. It's up to y'all to determine what will best prepare your program for what's coming down the pipeline.
Would love everyone who read this far (congrats, first of all), to share your thoughts on the following:👇
Colin and I developed a repeatable, easy-to-implement system proven to help youth residential treatment program alumni build a track record of success straight out of treatment. While the definition of success is unique to each individual with whom we work, the success we've built isn't a fluke.
Our only qualifications when we started were that we had been in our clients' shoes, felt good about our progress through our 20s, and decided to get a life coaching certification. I'm sure every program reading this has at least two alumni who feel the same way we do and might even be willing to think about getting a coaching certification.
Programs that might be struggling financially are missing out on an opportunity with their alumni. Programs that don’t know how well their process works the over months, years, and decades after their students left are missing out on an opportunity with their alumni.
Programs unsure of what the future is to bring with my girl Paris’ SICAA Bill are missing out on an opportunity with their alumni.
Programs that don’t provide resources to teens and young adults who need something more than therapy, but less than residential treatment, are missing out on an opportunity with their alumni.
Programs that want to improve their process, as proven by the long-term outcomes, are missing out on an opportunity with their alumni.
If you work for or run a program, or if you’re a former treatment kid who is passionate about helping other young people have a better experience than you had, hit me and Colin up 😎 We’re starting Not Therapy’s next phase now.
THANKS FOR READING!
If you found this valuable, this is your sign✌️ to send this to parents or young people who can relate to the feelings we’re having this week so we can make sure they know they’re not alone. Sharing is caring 😎
We’re in this to collaborate and support. Please feel free to reach out to us:
If you’re a parent who has a child in treatment or who is thinking about sending your child to treatment, we’re happy to answer any of your burning questions and share our experience in treatment and with transitioning out!
If you’re passionate about changing the narrative in the therapeutic program industry.