LOS ANGELES - s4story -- A new bill introduced 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 Preventing Abduction in Youth Transport Act (HB 497), introduced by Delegate Vaughn Stewart, aims to outlaw certain restraint practices and establish legal safeguards for those subjected to these transfers.[1]

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International and National CCHR office presented written and oral testimony testimony in support of the bill to the Maryland House Judiciary Committee, highlighting 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.[2]

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.[3]

Survivors of these "kidnapping" actions spoke out at the Maryland Judiciary Committee hearing. The Maryland policy proposes several key reforms 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, allowing individuals and the Attorney General to pursue civil action against violating transport companies.

This initiative aligns with efforts in other states, such as Oregon and Illinois, which has already restricted chemical, mechanical, and other forms of restraint in child-caring agencies and transport services.[4] HB 497 aims to build upon these protections by holding transport providers accountable for abusive practices.

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Illinois took action in 2022 to ensure that youth would not be subjected to any form of restraint during transportation services provided or organized by the Department of Children and Family Services. Their definition of restraints includes manual, mechanical and chemical restraints. The latter relates to the use of "medications that restrict a youth's freedom during a behavioral crisis or emergency, and is not a part of the youth's standard treatment…."[5]

In February 2025, the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) announced major changes in the long-term care surveyor guidance for nursing homes and their compliance to restraint regulations.  Although relating to nursing homes, it could also be applied to the transporting of youths to residential treatment centers. CMS defines "chemical restraint" as any drug that is used for discipline or staff convenience and not required to treat medical symptoms. It categorizes "unnecessary use of psychotropics" to specify a "resident's right to be free from chemical restraints." "Convenience" is considered any action that alters a resident's behavior to the point where less care is needed, without serving the best interests of the resident.[6]

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 and should not be overlooked in critical legislation such as HB 497. CCHR, through a Maryland resident, mother, and grandmother, has called for the inclusion of chemical restraints in HB 497.

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. Thus, 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 who knows how many undocumented—examples of physical and emotional injury occurring during these transactions."[7]
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."[8]

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A former practice associated with youth mental health transport was "bounty hunting." Since the early 1990s, CCHR, a mental health industry watchdog established by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, has exposed this disturbing practice of companies being paid fees to kidnap children and teens and taking 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 National Medical Enterprises (NME). 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 the intervention of a Texas state legislator, Senator Frank Tejeda, to secure Jeremy's release, which garnered national attention. NME 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, laws were eventually passed, primarily in Texas, to outlaw psychiatric hospital bounty-hunting.[9]

Today, that same legislation is essential to protecting 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 policymakers to impose stricter regulations and oversight.

Jan Eastgate, President of CCHR International says, "With growing bipartisan concern over the treatment of youth in behavioral health settings, Maryland's push for reform could set a national precedent for safeguarding the rights of those subjected to these controversial practices.

Sources:

[1] mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0497?ys=2025RS

[2] www.cchrint.org/2024/07/12/abducting-troubled-teens-to-psychiatric-facilities/

[3] www.theregreview.org/2023/06/27/tsisin-the-troubled-teen-industrys-troubling-lack-of-oversight/; thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-u-s-news/ap-rules-sought-for-gooning-taking-troubled-kids-to-care/

[4] olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB710

[5] dcfs.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dcfs/documents/about-us/policy-rules-and-forms/documents/administrative-procedure/administrative-procedure-32-youth-transportation.pdf

[6] guidestareldercare.com/blog/new-cms-guidance-prevent-unnecessary-psychotropic-medications

[7] digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/432/, page 572, paragraph 2

[8] www.youthrights.org/issues/medical-autonomy/the-troubled-teen-industry/; www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/death-12-year-old-nc-wilderness-camp-ruled-homicide-rcna158691

[9] www.cchrint.org/2017/07/26/bring-criminal-psychiatrists-under-law/