Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
WASHINGTON — At a congressional hearing this week, Paris Hilton brought star power to the difficult issue of child welfare reform when she addressed the House Ways and Means Committee hearing Wednesday.
This was Hilton's third visit to the Capitol; she was there in 2022 and 2023 as well. Her mission has remained the same: advocate for the children in youth treatment facilities. She testified to a packed chamber.
Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, said the committee found a way to get "people to be interested in a policy-heavy Ways and Means Committee hearing: invite Paris Hilton. Tax, trade and welfare never had such a big audience."
During her testimony before Congress, Hilton spoke about her allegations of troubling experiences in youth residential treatment facilities, including in Utah.
Hilton alleges mistreatment at youth facilities
"When I was 16 years old, I was ripped from my bed in the middle of the night and transported across state lines to the first of four youth residential treatment facilities," Hilton said, according to her written testimony. "These programs promised 'healing, growth, and support,' but instead did not allow me to speak, move freely, or even look out of a window for two years."
She said her parents were unaware of the treatment she endured, adding, "You can only imagine the experience for youth who don't have anyone checking in on them."
"When your child is born, your heart is full of all the hopes and dreams you have for them," Hilton said, adding verbal and physical abuse isn't what is envisioned for young people in these situations. She is a mother to a 7-month-old daughter, London, and an 18-month-old son, Phoenix.
Hilton spent time at four facilities, but has previously focused in on her alleged troubling experiences at Provo Canyon School. In 2020, she led a protest pushing for the closure of this school, which remains open after it was acquired by a different company in 2000.
Hilton also spoke at the Utah Capitol in favor of a bill bolstering regulations for these facilities in 2021 and ultimately championed industry reform in the state.
At the Capitol on Wednesday, Hilton, an author and reality TV star, supported the reauthorization of Title IV-B. Established as a part of the 1935 Social Security law, this program funds child welfare programs.
"For children who do end up in foster care, we cannot allow them to grow up in cold facilities that act like kid prisons," said Hilton. "I will not stop until America's youth are safe."
So far, her advocacy has helped pass at least nine state laws to increase protection for children, and she said she supports the federal bipartisan Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act that aims to reform youth residential programs.
"I recently went to Jamaica to support and find appropriate placements for American adopted youth who had been raped, waterboarded, held in solitary confinement in a facility internationally. Their parents had adopted them when they were young, promised them a better life, and then shipped them off to an international facility to be warehoused there until they turned 18. Progress isn't an option anymore, it's a life or death responsibility," she said.
Moore: Child welfare work crucial
Moore acknowledged a hearing on Title IV-B isn't "the most headline-capturing work" but "it's crucial." Its reauthorization will continue funding state courts and the timely management of cases.
Moore mentioned the bipartisan Court Improvement Program Enhancement Act he introduced to modernize the court system and incorporate technology for remote hearings.
Moore said he had met Rob Geen, a bipartisan policy center fellow and a chairman on the board of trustees for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, in his senior year of high school. "My life was never the same after that. So thank you for working on such an important thing," the Utah congressman said.
Moore asked Geen to elaborate on why the Title IV-B reauthorization is critical, and how "technological advancements can improve outcomes for children in foster care."
Congress sees the court improvement program is underfunded and ignored, and is willing to change that, Geen responded. "It's a relatively small amount of money but it is a critical resource to improve the quality of the hearings that take place every single day," he said.
Geen noted that strenuous conditions, because of the coronavirus pandemic, forced court systems nationwide to adapt.
"Court organizations have looked at those remote hearings and have suggested there are some very, very good positives coming out of it," he said. "But it's not a universal positive — you still need to hold those hearings in a quality fashion."
Moore turned to Hilton and expressed appreciation her for her advocacy work not only in Utah but on the federal level. He and Hilton have met on a few instances, and he said it was great seeing her again.
He asked her to draw from personal experience and interactions with those who have been through the foster care system, and suggest ways the federal and state government can effectively collaborate with community organizations to "improve outcomes for children and families in the system."
"Thank you, so good to see you again as well," said Hilton, before launching into her answer. "I think it's important for people to work together and figure out ways where they can make the biggest difference." She added transparency between various agencies is key.
Moore directed one of his questions to Tori Hope Petersen, the author of "Fostered," which details her own experiences in the foster care system. Petersen said she was separated from her younger sister within months of entering the system and lived in 12 different homes until she aged out. She noted her final foster family took her to church, where she was encouraged to share her story and hone her leadership skills.
"As I look back on my experience, I see the crucial role my community, nonprofits, and church played in bringing me to where I am today," she said. "I believe I wouldn't be where I am without them." She noted all these efforts are supported by the Title IV-B reauthorization.
Moore, who said he found Petersen's testimony "really touching," also asked her about the role federal, state and local agencies, including religious organizations, should have in helping foster youth.
Petersen responded that a small percentage of children in the system are like her and have parents, but no possibility of going home.
"I endured years and years of abuse and years of trying unification in which it didn't work," she added. "I was labeled un-adoptable, and I just believe that no child should be labeled that."
Petersen concluded, "Every child is adoptable, and it's why it's so crucial that communities, churches and organizations come together so that children can be in families."
