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Committee considers bill to register and regulate private youth transport companies after troubling testimonies
Summary
Senate Bill 566 would require registration, notification and minimum safety standards for private companies that transport minors to treatment or placement programs; testimonies included accounts of youth handcuffed and shackled during long interstate transports.
Senator Laura Smith brought Senate Bill 566 to the committee after receiving testimony and written accounts about private companies that transport minors to treatment or placement programs, sometimes in the middle of the night. The bill would require private transport companies to register with the Department of Public Health and Human Services, maintain minimum operational standards and provide electronic notification to the department when transporting a child into or through Montana.
Several witnesses described traumatic transport experiences. Jennifer Shaw, a former educator at a Montana therapeutic boarding school, and Michelle Lyday, an attorney with the public defender's office (testifying privately), described cases in which youth were taken from their homes at night, handcuffed and restrained for many hours during interstate transport, and in one instance a youth sustained a head injury and rode in restraints during a 17‑hour vehicle transfer. Michelle Lyday said she has represented children who were transported in restraints and urged the committee to adopt registration and oversight requirements to prevent further trauma.
DPHHS informational witnesses said state social‑service transports that DPHHS uses are subject to protocols but acknowledged private out‑of‑state transport companies operate under minimal state oversight and that roughly 30 such agencies operate nationally, some of which transport to Montana programs. Committee members asked about the scope of regulation, whether the bill would cover private providers or only transports arranged by state agencies, and how the department could monitor out‑of‑state operators. The sponsor said the intent is to ensure transparency for law enforcement and child advocates, reduce the risk of human trafficking, and set safety standards that protect children during transport.
The hearing closed without committee action; the sponsor said she would work with DPHHS and stakeholders to refine registration and notification details.
