Paris Hilton testified at the House Committee on Ways and Means hearing on "Strengthening Child Welfare and Protecting Americas Children" on June 26, 2024. At age 16, Paris was sent to a residential youth treatment facility. She spoke about how the "troubled teen industry" is a "for-profit industry" that prioritizes money over protecting vulnerable children. She told the congressional committee that she was "ripped from [her] bed in the middle of night and transported across state lines" as a teen, then "force-fed medications and sexually abused by the staff" for two years.
"Can you only imagine the experience for youth who were placed by the state and don't have people regularly checking in on them?" she said.
Paris, now 43, was sent to the facility because she was struggling in school. Her parents were concerned about her behavior and were "completely deceived, lied to and manipulated by this for-profit industry about the inhumane treatment I was experiencing," she said.
Her parents thought she was attending a "normal boarding school."
Paris described the conditions of some of these facilities.
"There's no education in these places, there's mold and blood on the walls," she said. "It's horrifying what these places are like. They're worse than some dog kennels."
Paris has advocated for more federal oversight for child welfare programs, and does it to "be a voice for the children whose voices can't be heard."
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"This $23-billion-a-year industry sees this population as dollar signs and operates without meaningful oversight," Paris told the congressional committee.
The industry is "caring more about profit than the safety of children," she explained, which is why she's challenging people to consider, "What is more important? Protecting business profits or protecting foster youth lives?"
