Bill affecting Native youth treatment center nears passage in Congress

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Bill affecting Native youth treatment center nears passage in Congress

Monday, July 18, 2022

Indianz.Com

A bill to address long-standing access issues at a Native youth treatment facility is almost across the finish line in the 117th Congress.

S.144, the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center Access Improvement Act, is due to be considered under a suspension of the rules in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, according to the Majority Leader’s calendar. The measure authorizes the Indian Health Service to acquire private land and build a permanent road to the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center in Hemet, California.

Approval in the chamber means S.144 can be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature. The U.S. Senate already passed the bill over a year ago, on May 26, 2021.

“By passing this bill the Senate has helped ensure that Desert Sage patients will have access to the care they need,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), the sponsor of S.144. “The old dirt road that currently leads to the facility keeps washing out in the rain. Our bill will fix the road and pave it so patients can safely travel to the treatment center.”

The Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center is located in Hemet, California. Photo: Indian Health Service

The House version of the measure is H.R.667. The sponsor is Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-California).

“As the only IHS Youth Regional Treatment Center in California, the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center provides crucial services to support our Native youth and build strong communities in our region and around the state,” said Dr. Ruiz. “It is unacceptable that there is no paved access to this facility.”

According to the IHS, the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center offers 32 beds for co-ed residential treatment for American Indian and Alaska Native youth between the ages of 12 and 17. The facility has been impacted by access issues ever since operations began almost five years ago.

“Since October 2017, the IHS California Area Office continues to perform regularly scheduled maintenance every other month including grading and backfilling low areas with gravel,” the IHS said in written testimony when the bill was considered during a prior session of Congress. “Emergency work is also done on an as-needed basis after major storm events.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office, purchasing and paving the half-mile access road to Desert Sage would cost about $1 million. Maintaining the road would require less than $500,000 over the next five years, the CBO estimates.

Prior versions of the Desert Sage Youth Wellness Center Access Improvement Act were considered by the House and the Senate during the 116th Congress. The bill did not clear both chambers before the session ended, according to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs report for S.144.