2024: Fitzpatrick Voted To Study Child Abuse In Federally-Funded Youth
Residential Programs. In December 2024, Fitzpatrick voted for ,
according to Congressional Quarterly, "the bill that would require the
Department of Health and Human Services, within 45 days of the bill's
enactment, to contract with the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine to study the nature, prevalence, severity and
scope of child abuse, neglect, and deaths in youth residential programs.
It would require the study to identify all forms of federal and state
funding and existing standards of care for such programs, and include
recommendations to improve the oversight of youth residential programs
that receive federal funding. It must also include the development and
implementation of education and training resources for those who
interact with children in residence to establish best practices and
eliminate the use of physical, mechanical, or chemical restraint and
seclusion and instead promote the use of positive behavioral
interventions. The study must also include recommendations for
innovative programs designed to provide community support and resources
for at-risk youth. It would require that under the contract, the
National Academies would, within three years of the bill's enactment and
every two years thereafter for 10 years, issue a report informed by the
study and make such report available to state agencies and the public."
The House passed the bill by a vote of 373 to 33. [House Vote 512,
12/18/24; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/18/24;
Congressional Actions, S.
1351]