U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Zachary Cunha said Monday that Rhode Island violated the civil rights of hundreds of children with mental health or developmental disabilities by routinely and unnecessarily segregating them at Bradley Hospital, an acute-care psychiatric hospital.
Rhode Island violated the civil rights of hundreds of children with mental health or developmental disabilities by routinely and unnecessarily segregating them at Bradley Hospital, an acute-care psychiatric hospital, federal prosecutors said Monday.
“It is nothing short of appalling that the state has chosen to warehouse children in a psychiatric institution, rather than stepping up to provide the community care, support, and services that these kids need, and that the law requires,” Cunha said. He hopes the investigation will prompt the state to take swift action to meet its obligations under federal law.
“While the administration has taken actions to improve our current placement system, we understand that more must be done, and we support DCYF’s continued cooperation with the U.S. Attorney and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” she added. “Together, we will continue to seek short- and long-term solutions to provide each child with a behavioral health disability the appropriate services in the most integrated setting.
Many of the children were subjected to avoidable and unnecessarily lengthy hospitalizations because DCYF failed to provide the community-based services they need, according to investigators, who said keeping a child hospitalized for an extended period when their needs could be served in a less restrictive setting only exacerbates the child’s acute needs.
To date, 90% of the youth in the program did not end up requiring psychiatric hospitalization, he said.
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