CAMERON EVANS
The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety committee will hold a hearing and listen to testimony on Senate Bill 312, which would remove a licensing exemption for private alternative residential or outdoor programs operating as an adjunct of a Montana-based ministry.
Currently, residential treatment programs in Montana can house troubled children and teens without any state oversight if the program claims a tie to a religious organization.
Sen. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, said she planned to introduce the bill after religious programs were excluded from legislation she sponsored in the 2019 session that became law and moved oversight of private alternative residential programs for youth to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.