The California Assembly passed a bipartisan bill on Wednesday that would institute greater public oversight of the use of seclusion and restraints for children and teens in residential treatment facilities, a protective measure advocated for by celebrity hotelier Paris Hilton.

Senate Bill 1043, The bill, written by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), would require both public and private short-term treatment programs to publicly disclose all instances of seclusion or restraint of minors, as well as any health or safety concerns. Policymakers across the country have expressed concern about the historic use of these disciplinary tactics against youth, many of whom are in foster care, and have criticized the lack of transparency about such cases.

The bill now goes to Governor Gavin Newsom for consideration.

California used to send foster youth with serious behavioral problems to out-of-state treatment programs, but after a wave of reports of abuse, the state legislature banned them from going to such facilities in 2021. Since then, California has set up short-term residential treatment programs, but they still use segregation rooms and restraints on minors.

Grove found that although young people regularly experience these tactics, foster parents and carers rarely know it's happening.

The bill would require the California Department of Social Services to publish searchable data on all cases of seclusion or restraint on a website. Grove's office said the department would be free to decide how to make the information public. Parents, foster parents, guardians and tribal representatives of children who have been subjected to the sanctions would also be notified.

The bill has support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including from Hilton, who traveled to Sacramento in April to testify before a Senate committee. Hilton, now 43, said that as a teenager he was held in a juvenile education facility and endured mental and physical abuse, including being locked in a restraint room or segregation unit that he likens to solitary confinement.

Grove agreed to an amendment in the council's personnel committee that would have required an investigation after every reported incident, but the amendment was removed after fiscal analysts determined it would have been too expensive. Currently, facilities are only investigated if a child's safety is at risk or if such disciplinary measures are misused.

Hilton's visit to the State Capitol was just one of many cameos she has made over the years in statehouses across the country, where she has acted as an advocate for victims of what she calls the “problematic teen industry.”