Home Economy Government State settles with DOJ to resolve ‘warehousing’ of children under DCYF care

State settles with DOJ to resolve ‘warehousing’ of children under DCYF care

By

Christopher Allen

-

12/19/2024

Bradley-Hospital — U.S. ATTORNEY FOR RHODE ISLAND Zachary A. Cunha on Thursday announced a proposed 5-year consent decree with the state to resolve allegations it systematically hospitalized children at Bradley Hospital (pictured) for longer than medically necessary./COURTESY BRADLEY HOSPITAL

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha on Thursday announced the Department of Justice has filed a proposed five-year consent decree in U.S. District Court to resolve allegations the state unnecessarily and systematically segregated children with disabilities by keeping them hospitalized at Bradley Hospital. A May 2024 report issued after a multiyear investigation

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PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha on Thursday announced the Department of Justice has filed a proposed five-year consent decree in U.S. District Court to resolve allegations the state unnecessarily and systematically segregated children with disabilities by keeping them hospitalized at Bradley Hospital. A May 2024 report issued after a multiyear investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found the R.I. Department of Children, Youth and Families “warehoused” children under state care at Bradley in violation of federal civil rights laws. From Jan. 1, 2017, through Sept. 30, 2022, 527 children either in DCYF care and custody or receiving services voluntarily through DCYF were admitted to Bradley Hospital. Of these 527 children, 116 were hospitalized in a single admission for more than 100 consecutive days; 42 were hospitalized for more than 180 days; and seven were hospitalized for more than one year, according to the findings. In a statement Cunha said while the decree will not “transform a broken system," it was “an enforceable, step toward getting these kids care, rather than confinement.” A court-appointed monitor and U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. will oversee state compliance with the order, which is still subject to court approval. The administration of Daniel J. McKee has agreed to make several policy improvements to help children currently hospitalized at Bradley Hospital transition to family settings “if their needs can be met there and they and their families want them to be at home"; provide services to improve that likelihood; improve access to intensive in-home services; address the shortages of foster care families and community-service providers; institute prompt mobile crisis interventions; and monitor the outcomes of these changes. “No child deserves to be isolated indefinitely in a locked psychiatric facility when their condition can be treated at home or in a less restrictive community setting ... “Our kids, our families, and our communities deserve – and the law demands - better than that,” said Cuhna. In a statement to Providence Business News McKee said the agreement "will build upon and further advance the behavioral health system transformation work already underway," citing the October launch of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers and mobile crisis response program that uses federal grant money to provide free health services in several communities. "The State of Rhode Island has been, and will continue to be, committed to serving children with behavioral health needs," he said. Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.