On April 19, 2005, the Montana Legislators Pass House Bill 628 to setup a state board (Board of Private Alternative Adolescent Residential or Outdoor Programs) to implement a registration process for programs and will study current regulations, industry standards, and the quality of alternative adolescent residential and outdoor care in the state.
Programs across the state of Montana recently united to pass ground-breaking legislation pertinent to therapeutic schools and programs statewide. In a nearly 6 month campaign, programs of different models, size, and perspective joined forces to educate Montana legislators about the components of House Bill 628.
Program owners and employees, lobbyists, students and parents joined forces to teach Montana legislators about therapeutic programs and the life-changing impact such programs have on the students who attend, their families, the staff members that serve those families and the communities in which these facilities exist. Montana stood as one of the last spots in the nation where licensure, registration, and other regulatory components were not integrated into the state level government for all the different facilities statewide.
This article was updated on: Apr 21, 2010
