🚨 Petition to Oppose SB0240 & Protect Vulnerable Youth 🚨

To: The Utah Senate Health and Human Services Committee
From: Concerned Citizens, Advocates, and Survivors

We, the undersigned, strongly oppose SB0240—a bill that would strip the Utah Department of Licensing of its authority to restrict new admissions into youth residential programs that have been placed on conditional status due to active investigations of child abuse, neglect, or even death.

Why SB0240 Must Be Stopped:
🔴 It Endangers Children – This bill allows facilities under investigation for severe violations to continue admitting new children, placing more youth at risk.

🔴 It Protects Bad Actors – SB0240 extends the appeals process for programs found guilty of serious harm, delaying their closure and allowing abuse to continue unchecked.

🔴 It Undermines Accountability – Utah has made critical progress in regulating the troubled teen industry, including strengthened oversight laws passed in 2021 with the support of Paris Hilton and survivor advocates. This bill rolls back that progress and gives bad actors the ability to operate without consequence.

🔴 It Was Written to Protect a Problematic Industry – This bill seems designed to cater to specific facilities that have repeatedly failed to keep children safe, such as Maple Lake Academy, which was shut down after a history of abuse and a child's death.

We Call on the Utah Senate to Reject SB0240!
Children in residential care deserve protection, not policies that put them at further risk. We urge lawmakers to stand with survivors, child welfare experts, and advocates by voting NO on SB0240.

📢 Sign this petition and make your voice heard! Let Utah legislators know that we will not allow the safety of vulnerable youth to be compromised.

#ProtectKids #NoOnSB0240 #StopTheAbuse #UtahLegislation