Hotel heiress and Hollywood socialite Paris Hilton joined California state lawmakers on Monday to push for legislation aimed at cracking down on the industry that cares for troubled teens by requiring more transparency from youth treatment facilities.
Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican from the Central Valley, drafted Senate Bill 1043 to bring attention to short-term residential therapy programs, which are designed to house and care for young people who have experienced abuse, neglect, or other forms of trauma.
Hilton, 43, has testified against the "troubled teen industry" in Congress and has openly disclosed her background in it. She described the emotional and physical abuse she endured at a Utah boarding school when she was 17 in a recent Netflix documentary titled "Hell Camp."
"As a survivor of the 'Troubled Teen Industry,' I am proud to partner with Senator Shannon Grove - a champion for children in California - on the Accountability in Children's Treatment Act to bring much-needed transparency to California youth facilities," Hilton said in a statement.
Hilton, whose company called 11:11 Media is sponsoring the bill, referred to the bill as "a game changer" that will hold children's residential treatment facilities accountable and bring attention to child maltreatment.
For many years, California used comparable out-of-state facilities as a landing for individuals considered "troubled children." However, following reports of staff abuse and assault, the state discontinued this practice in 2021 and began using short-term in-state facilities in its place.
Grove said she was troubled to learn that the Department of Social Services would not release information regarding the treatment of young residents in short-term residential centers after viewing a documentary about the out-of-state facilities. Grove then looked into how California currently handles its vulnerable youth.
Furthermore, Grove argues that short-term facilities should be more open, even though in-state programs offer a higher level of care than the previous out-of-state options.
