States Weigh New Rules to Regulate Juvenile Transport
While Oregon is the only state that regulates the secure transport industry, also known as “gooning”, in which men show up at a teenager’s home and force them into a vehicle, taking them against their will to a boarding school, foster home or treatment center, others appear to be following suit,
Landwebs
While Oregon is the only state that regulates the secure transport industry, also known as “gooning”, in which men show up at a teenager’s home and force them into a vehicle, taking them against their will to a boarding school, foster home or treatment center, others appear to be following suit, reports Jim Salter for the Associated Press. The Oregon law, implemented in 2021, prohibits the use of hoods, blindfolds and handcuffs, among other things, and now lawmakers in California, Utah, and Missouri are introducing legislation next session regulating the secure transport industry in their states.
California’s “Accountability for Congregate Care Act,” for example, would provide protections at youth facilities such as prohibiting solitary confinement and the use of chemical or physical restraints and also would provide for regulation of transport companies. However, because children are often picked up in one state and taken to another, advocates say that federal regulation, which does not exist, is vital.
