Fornits
Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform => Public Sector Gulags => Topic started by: Oscar on May 07, 2011, 03:31:16 AM
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SPLC Sues Mississippi County After 'Shocking' Video Shows Abuses at Juvenile Facility (http://http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/forrest-county?ondntsrc=MBQ110370FEQ&newsletter=newsgen-20110311) (Press-release from The Southern Poverty Law Center)
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Southern Poverty Law Center
03/08/2011
SPLC Sues Mississippi County After 'Shocking' Video Shows Abuses at Juvenile Facility (http://http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/forrest-county?ondntsrc=MBQ110370FEQ&newsletter=newsgen-20110311)
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) today filed a lawsuit (http://http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/case-docket/forrest-county) against Forrest County, Miss., to force the county to comply with federal law and provide the children held at the county's juvenile detention center with access to lawyers and civil rights advocates following reports of abusive conditions at the facility.
Video footage from the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center shows a youth hogtied and other abuses, including a youth slammed against a wall by a guard. The video was recently released despite the county's effort to prevent it from being aired. When advocates for the SPLC and DRMS sought access to the detention center in order to provide detained youth with federally mandated protection and advocacy services, county officials barred their access to the children.
• VIDEO footage (http://http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/forrest-county?ondntsrc=MBQ110370FEQ&newsletter=newsgen-20110311) (Adobe Flash Player)
"This shocking footage exposes the horrific abuse children at this facility have already suffered and demonstrates the need for increased monitoring and accountability in the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center. Federal law requires no less," said Jody Owens (http://http://www.splcenter.org/who-we-are/leadership/jody-owens-ii), lead attorney on the case for the SPLC. "It is unfortunate that Forrest County would rather spend taxpayer money to mount a legal fight instead of following clearly established federal law, which requires the county to allow protection and advocacy services."
In addition to the abuse documented in the video, the juvenile detention center has regularly confined children in filthy, crowded cells for 23 hours a day, according to the lawsuit.
(http://http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_detail/images/media/forrestbunk.jpg)
Bunk at Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center
DRMS and the SPLC work throughout the state to monitor the conditions at juvenile detention centers where youth are held and advocate on behalf of these children when their rights are violated. DRMS is a nonprofit agency with a federal mandate to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Under this mandate, they have a right to enter the facility, interview children, assess the conditions and work with the county to address these violations.
Numerous attempts have been made to explain to county officials the legal basis for the DRMS request, but the county has repeatedly rejected or ignored the requests.
© 2011. Southern Poverty Law Center.
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Some real intersting comments (http://http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/forrest-county?ondntsrc=MBQ110370FEQ&newsletter=newsgen-20110311) left for the above press release from SPLC, "SPLC Sues Mississippi County After 'Shocking' Video Shows Abuses at Juvenile Facility (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=37130&p=400676#p400658)" (03/08/2011; SPLC):
Laura Brady on Tue, 03/08/2011 - 12:28.
My son endured almost six years of abuse and neglect from guards at the California Youth Authority, now known as the Department of Juvenile Justice. The name may have changed but the abuse and neglect continues. I stand and support SPLC and DRMS efforts to expose this and I hope SPLC and DRMS will stand and support our efforts in California to stop these same civil and human rights violations. I belong to the organization Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and the campaign "Books Not Bars" We all need to stand together and say "Enough is Enough. Stop Abusing Our Incarcerated Youth" Sincerely, Laura Talkington-Brady, a founding member of Family's for Books Not Bars
Annette Martin on Thu, 03/10/2011 - 15:57.
I am not surprise of this kind of treatment. Thank God for this Law Group...May God continue to bless all who take a part into justice for all people.
Bridget Guzzi on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 11:58.
I did a mini-thesis on prisons and spoke to a prison in Japan where the walls had collapsed during an earthquake. The prisoners were sent home until the danger of the aftershocks was over. They were then told to return at which time they helped rebuild the prison. No force was needed to have them return. This sharply contrasts what would happen in the US. In Japan there is rehabiliation, education and common decency towards those who are detained. I also looked at a San Francisco horticulture therapy program where a large group from a city jail were given a grow project. Today they grow, sell and remain jail free. This weekend I met with a State representative who outlined upcoming budget cuts. Prisons are on this list. The answer lies in the mission of our prisons. Re-working that may lead to a successful intervention / rehabilitation instead of abuses.
Pat Bailey on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 13:07.
Most of the centers and foster care here in Pa. cover up the abuses to children in there care for fear of law suits by parents and children. My own son was assaulted by another boy leaving him without the ability to father children. The court system took my access to my sons records away from me after I questioned the incident, now he's 30 and childless.
Setit on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 15:52.
I am so sorry that you and your family have had to endure such horrific mistreatment. I pray that you, your son and family are compensated in some way for the loss and trauma.
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Lawrence Carroll on Tue, 03/15/2011 - 00:41.
While I knew that Europe was generally much more humane in their treatment of inmates, I wasn't aware of the Japenese situation (either good or bad). This is quite inspiring. It shouldn't be a surprise to me, I should say. I remember that when I was in junior high school back in the early 1970's, my class saw a film on Japan, and one excerpt dealt with the way the police dealt with student protesters. Rather than trying to knock them senseless with batons (or other insanely cruel methods), the police would use water spray -- but only a little bit! The narrator pointed out that in Japan there remains a mutual respect in most public situations -- there isn't anywhere the degree of "punish-punish-punish" that we have here. Of course, this isn't to deny that corruption, lies, and other scandals don't exist either in Japan or Europe. As the famous left wing journalist, John Pilger, points out in DEATH OF A NATION, England (despite being more humane in so many areas) was complicit (along with the USA and other Western Nations) in the mass-murder of 300,000 East Timorese. In addition, many of those involved were of the Labor party. To this day, no restitution, public apology, or trials for war crimes for this involvement have taken place, and none the principals have been brought to any type of justice.
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Lewis on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 12:06.
The sheriff who was in charge of this is running for re-election as of 3-14-'11
Dakotahgeo on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 12:11.
The abuse presented here in no way builds strength or character in the youth that are incarcerated. To earn respect, one must show respect, which is entirely lacking in this prison facility. A major shift from the top down must take place in order to build good citizens for tomorrow. Clear the ranks and start over from the top! The time is NOW! Dakotahgeo, M.Div. Pastor/Chaplain
Ira Presslaff on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 12:21.
It appears that the video seems to show that the guards did act with too much force, yet I would have to have a slower look, and a closeup look at the take down to see if the juvenile was "slammed" to the floor. When I worked at a max juvenile prison at Indiana there were a few guards that would brag about being "slammers." This being so I at the age of 71 took juveniles to the floor in a prpoer manner when the situation called for it. I never did this while a juvenile was cuffed. In a period of less than six months I was forced to take over twenty juveniles to the floor in a proper manner..The word juvenile is used as it should be, yet one must realize that these juveniles could stand over six feet and be over two hundred .jpounds. They could do harm to you or others if not contained, This had to be done when others in the unit or guards including myself were in danager. These young people were not nice kids, and were interested in harming someone. I would like to add here that at this Indiana juvenile max prison whenever physical force was used a report had to be made. The prison would have you rewrite the report until it suited itself. When the report was turned in many times the report showed little of what did happen during the take down. They would make the officer writing the physical report take words out like grap or push. The Indiana Dept of Prisons was more interested in covering up itself than protecting the youth or the guards..
MIke on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 12:38.
For a local news agency to do this in depth reporting is a rare thing. Thank you for taking your time and energy to report on these abuses. Thanks to the brave employee who had the courage to whistleblow on the abusers.
Pat Bailey on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 13:01.
Boys and girls are subjected to the same physical abuses. The Mercer County Courts in Pennsylvania would put parents in jail for here in Mercer County and more often than not juveniles are placed in Foster Care by Mercer County judges for physical abuses and then those same judges look the other way if a juvenile complains about similar treatment by Keystone or George Junior Republics employees. I personally watched a teen boy physically thrown to the floor by Keystone employees as though the boy was being arrested by local police, who treat most arrested people the same way; unless of course the people being arrested are rich adults or children of rich adults. The system is so out of control they even place retarded individuals in jail or prison after trial without the capacity to even understand why there in Mercer Court let alone appreciate any kind of detention to rehabilitate them. The head of keystone is a personal friend of the Mercer School Districts Superintendent; Mercer School District makes recommendations for boys and girls to go to Keystone. Someone should check out who the investors of Keystone and George Junior are (often referred to as friends of the Mercer School District, Keystone, Keystone Education Center, Greenville, Pa. and George Junior Republic, Grove City).
Suzanne Jamison on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 13:13.
As a senior in college many years ago, I worked with a 24-hour juvenile residence program which was considered the last chance for youth who were in serious trouble. These were bright, creative, and wonderful kids. As I learned how they got into trouble, I realized that I had done at least as bad, if not worse, when I was in school. Even though I was frequently caught, I did not get into much trouble. What made me different from them? Why were they in big trouble and I was graduating from college? There were four main factors: 1. I am white; they were brown. 2. I scored high on IQ tests; they had a difficult time taking tests. 3. I could perform well in class; they had been labeled slow and trouble-makers almost since first grade. 4. I had people who had advocated for me; they had no advocates. It was quite a shock to realize how white privilege and a high IQ test made such a difference in a person's life. It was so unfair. This is one of the realizations that shaped my life and my choice of community work that can empower people to help themselves.
Lois Sternberg on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 14:44.
It is people like you that give this country hope for a better future for those who do not have advocates, education, opportunity and care in this type of environment. The video where abuses were being committed against defenseless juvenile offenders in this residence were unconscionable. Please continue with your valuable work. This country needs advocates such as yourself.
Pat Bailey on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 20:51.
Suzanne, Thank you for stepping up to the plate for the kids, you're an asset to our democracy.
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GODSPLAN4THECHILDREN on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 14:16.
Our judicial system, courts, law enforcement, detention centers are no longer working for the people. They have become the corporation play ground for enslavement for profit. This whole system is about money. If you are poor you cannot buy your way out of their entrapment. The whole system needs to be held accountable along with the thugs that are employed by them. Judges own stock and have become the major investors for the detention centers for both the child and adults. They no longer care about the best interest of our youth or the public safety. It is all about profit. The courts system and detention center need to be reformed bringing justice and law back to the people and eliminated the so-called codes and statues which are put in place to extort money from the people and are used to eliminated personal rights, tax liberties, and put a price tag on the pursuit of happiness. The system we have now has been put in place to precondition the public for the New World Order agenda which is total enslavement for those who are not of the elite status. Government needs to be eliminated from controlling the family. We the people need to stop complaining and get off our lazy behinds and physically take back America.
Fred wallin on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 15:01.
County named after the founder of the KKK.
pat Bailey on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 20:42.
Interesting someone thought to bring up the KKK, I watched as the KKK rallied on the courthouse steps one year with state police, local police and sheriffs deputies protecting their freedom of speech and was once beat down by sheriffs deputies in front of a judge just for trying to speak up against the judge placing my sons in foster care after the Children's Aide Society here in Mercer recommended that my sons come and live with me, because mom had abused them, so I guess placing them in foster care for six months was the judges idea of protecting their rights. While in foster care my one sons was forced to take an apple out of the garbage and finish eating it by the foster father. The KKK according to courthouse history used to meet right in the courthouse. No wonder the locals refer to Mercer politics as the Mercer Mafia.
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Silvia Tennenbaum on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 15:36.
I watched the video showing the mistreatment of children housed in this prison, with shock and grief. I tried to tell myself it was the South, and the South has always been prone to violence. But then I remembered Attica and know that it is our entire prison system that is at fault (including our unwillingness to abolish the death penalty). We are a nation reared on violence and we accept it, some of us may even be proud of it. That violence, abetted by the abyss between white and black, is where injustice is nourished and grows, and it exists in every corner of this nation (which some demand you say is blessed by God). Were it not for groups like the SPLC, we would be in a harder place even, than the one we are in. While I don't agree with GOD'SPLAN4THE CHILDREN - he speaks the language of the perpetrator, and probably belongs to the TeaParty - he's quite right that most of the cruel and exploitive intercourse between our people is determined by who makes the money and who owns his power to it. We see it in Wisconsin, and can only hope that that's where a new, and kinder nation is born. We cannot let the billionaires dictate what is humane, decent and just for the American people. The truth is that, in our hearts we know the truth.
Jerry Moore on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 17:07.
We were made to pull our penis out while the man in charge slapped it with a rubber strap. His name was James Eudy.The place was Stonewall Jackson Training School in Concord,N.C. It was common for him and others in charge to kick you beat you with their fist or whatever they picked up. This is the same place that even castrated some boys back in the 40's. This sometimes happens because kids are afraid to tell because they know what's gonna happen next when the cameras are not on and the new of the story has worn off. I can remember the man in charge of us saying If you tell you'll see what a real beating is like. Someone has to watch the ones watching our kids.
Bennett Silverstein on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 18:27.
This only shows that our work is far from over. The struggle for social justice is one that can never end. The forces of hatred will always find ways to spew their venom, and it is up to us to prevent them from coloring public policy with it. We support wholeheartedly the work of the Southern Poverty Law Center and we look forward to continuing victories as we make our republic the nation of liberty and justice for all that we say it is.
Diana P on Mon, 03/14/2011 - 21:53.
The damage youth of the court system's failures. My son was arrested for drug possession. Sent to the county jail at age 21. First time ever in jail. Was then sexually assaulted and held by two men. When he wrote notes to the guards asking to be moved to a different cell because he was being sexually assaulted he got no response at all. Two days later he went to church to get away then stopped officers and begged them to move him. One officer said "well in here you have to suck *** or get beat up." These are the people working off our tax dollars. These are the ones guarding the delinquent. Who is the criminal. The one who should know better or the one who does not. Prison/jail is not the answer to everything. If you have at least a 50% recidivism rate it does not work, it makes more damaged people then when they started out.
© 2011. Southern Poverty Law Center.
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From the above SPLC press release (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=37130&p=400702#p400658):
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) today
filed a lawsuit (http://http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/case-docket/forrest-county) against Forrest County, Miss., to force the county to comply with federal law and provide the children held at the county's juvenile detention center with access to lawyers and civil rights advocates following reports of abusive conditions at the facility.[/list][/size]
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Case Docket
Disability Rights Mississippi v. Forrest County, Miss. (http://http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/case-docket/forrest-county)
Popular Name: Forrest County
The Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center in Mississippi was the site of numerous abuse allegations. Video footage from the facility showed youths being slammed into walls and beaten by staffers. One youth in the video was hogtied by a guard. In addition to the abuse documented in the video, the juvenile detention center regularly confined children in filthy, crowded cells for 23 hours a day.
When Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS) attempted to provide the youths with services to protect them from further abuse, Forrest County officials prevented DRMS from having access to the youths. The Southern Poverty Law Center and DRMS sued the county to force it to comply with federal law and allow DRMS access to the incarcerated children.
DRMS is a nonprofit agency with a federal mandate to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Under this mandate, they have a right to enter the facility, interview children, assess the conditions and work with the county to address violations. Numerous attempts were made to explain to county officials the legal basis for the DRMS request, but the county repeatedly rejected or ignored the requests.
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Agenda Area(s): Children at Risk
Case Number: 2:11cv53KS-MTP
Court where filed: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi
Date Filed: 03/07/2011
Plaintiffs: Disability Rights Mississippi
Defendants: Forrest County Mississippi
Case Related Items
Complaint (http://http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/Forrest-County-Complaint-030711.pdf) (pdf, 556.27 KB)
Motion for Injunction (http://http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/Forrest-County-Motion-for-Injunction-030711.pdf) (pdf, 140.8 KB)
Memorandum in Support of Motion for Injunction (http://http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/Forrest-County-Memorandum-030711.pdf) (pdf, 1.32 MB)[/list]
© 2011. Southern Poverty Law Center.
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Here's Disability Rights Mississippi's Complaint from the link provided under "Case Related Items" in the Case Docket (http://http://www.fornits.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=37130&p=400918#p400702):
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
F I L E D
Mar 07 2011
J. T. Molin Clerk
By ____________ Deputy
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI HATTIESBURG DIVISION[/list]
DISABILITY RIGHTS MISSISSIPPI,
Plaintiff,
v.
FORREST COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI,
Defendant.
Case No. 2:11cv53KS-MTP
DISABILITY RIGHTS MISSISSIPPI'S COMPLAINT (http://http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/case/Forrest-County-Complaint-030711.pdf)
FOR INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF[/list]
This civil action seeks to protect children imprisoned in the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center ("Detention Center") from harm and to enforce their rights to an effective, meaningful Protection and Advocacy System ("P & A"). Recently released video footage documents in graphic detail the abuse suffered by the children detained in the detention centers. The video—which was widely broadcast in the local media—shows staff members beating children and slamming them into walls, One staff member punched a youth repeatedly in the face, slammed him on the ground and continued to beat him as the child lay helpless on the ground. Another staff placed on child on his bed, and while the youth laid on his back, the staff member punched and slapped the youth. One youth was hogtied—laid on his stomach with his hands and legs tied to together behind his back—and left alone in a dark room. Girls are punished by being stripped naked, forced into a paper gown, isolated in cold cells and denied access to personal hygiene products. In addition to the physical abuse, for up to 23 hours a day, youth are frequently locked in filthy cells that reek of human waste. The abusive conditions are verified by numerous sources, including statements from over 30 youth who have been detained in the facility and reports from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety's Juvenile Facilities Monitoring Unit, and photographs of the facility. See Exhibit A
1. Plaintiff DRMS is a non-profit agency with a federal mandate to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. In order to ensure that DRMS can provide effective protection and advocacy services, federal law requires that juvenile detention centers provide DRMS with access to residents, facilities and records. DRMS has made considerable efforts in Forrest County to exercise its access rights without resorting to litigation, in the hopes of collaborating with the County to correct the unlawful conditions in the Juvenile Detention Center. Unfortunately, county officials have barred DRMS from providing protection and advocacy services to the children imprisoned in the Juvenile Detention Center. The County's failure to comply with federal law leaves Plaintiff DRMS with no choice but to seek declaratory and preliminary and permanent injunctive relief to prevent Defendant from denying DRMS its rights to complete, timely and unaccompanied access to the Juvenile Detention Center, its staff, records and youthful residents.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE[/list]
2. Plaintiff's cause of action arises under the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act of 1986 ("PAIMI Act"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 10801 et seq.; the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 ("PADD Act"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 15001 et seq.; the Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights Program ("PAIR Act"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 794e et seq. (these three laws are hereafter collectively referred to as "The P & A Acts"); and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Jurisdiction in this Court is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
3. Venue in this Court is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). Defendant resides in this district, and the events and omissions complained of occurred in this district.
PARTIES[/list]
4. Plaintiff Disability Rights Mississippi ("DRMS") is a nonprofit organization with a federal mandate to protect and advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities in Mississippi. Federal law extends this mandate to children with disabilities who are confined to juvenile detention centers. Through a contracted agent, DRMS devotes significant resources to investigating conditions of confinement and advocating on behalf of youth housed in juvenile facilities across the state of Mississippi. DRMS and its contracted agent, the Southern Poverty Law Center, have made considerable efforts to gain access to the children with disabilities who are confined in the Juvenile Detention Center in Forrest County and have been denied this access by the Defendant.(1) DRMS recently changed its name from Mississippi Protection and Advocacy Services, Inc. to Disability Rights Mississippi. Incorporated in 1976, DRMS has over thirty years experience protecting the rights of children with disabilities throughout the state of Mississippi. DRMS files this complaint in its own name to redress injuries to itself and to the children DRMS is mandated to serve.
(1) Federal law permits DRMS to designate agents with whom it contracts to assist in carrying out its responsibilities under federal law. 42 U.S.C. § 10804(a)(l)(A-B); 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(a). Pursuant to this authority, DRMS has contracted with the Mississippi Youth Justice Project (MYJP) to conduct monitoring activities in juvenile justice and mental health facilities throughout the state of Mississippi. When conducting monitoring under the P & A Acts, MYJP is an agent of DRMS and thus has the same access authority under federal law.
See Exhibit B (Memorandum of Cooperation between MYJP and DRMS).[/list][/size]
5. Defendant Forrest County is the governmental entity with responsibility to "establish and maintain detention facilities. shelter facilities,...or any other facility necessary to carry on the work of the youth court." Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-19. Forrest County is the entity with ultimate responsibility to secure and protect the rights of children held in the Juvenile Detention Center.
STATEMENT OF FACTS[/list]
6. The Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center is a 46-bed facility that holds children awaiting adjudication and disposition by the Forrest County Youth Court. It may also house youth for up to 90 days as a post-adjudication disposition. Miss. Code Ann. § 43-21-605(l)(k).
7. DRMS has probable cause to conclude that children detained in the Juvenile Detention Center live in abusive and unlawful conditions. The illegal conditions in the Juvenile Detention Center include dangerous and unsanitary living quarters, physical abuse, excessive use of restraints, overcrowding, excessive cell confinement, a lack of educational services, and inadequate mental health treatment. These accounts have been confirmed by multiple reports, including the media, and reports from the Mississippi Juvenile Facilities Monitoring Unit. Based on these reports, DRMS has probable cause to believe that youth detained in the live in abusive conditions.
8. Federal law requires that the County provide DRMS with access to the Juvenile Detention Center so that DRMS can protect the rights of the youth that it is mandated to serve. By denying DRMS access to the Juvenile Detention Center and its facilities, staff and detained youth, the Defendant has denied DRMS the right to exercise its federal authority and has denied children with disabilities detained at the Juvenile Detention Center their right to access DRMS's protection and advocacy services.
Plaintiff DRMS's Access Authority[/list]
9. Congress established Protection and Advocacy ("P & A") systems in 1975 to protect and advocate for the rights of persons with developmental disabilities, and reauthorized these systems in the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 ("PADD Act"). 42 U.S.C. §§ 15001 et seq. Congress provided P & A systems with the authority to investigate incidents of abuse and neglect against individuals with developmental disabilities and pursue legal, administrative, and other remedies on their behalf. 42 U.S.C. § 15043(a). Congress has expanded the scope of the P & A system to provide protection and advocacy services to all persons with disabilities. The Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act of 1986 ("PAIMI Act") provides for the protection of rights of individuals with mental illness, 42 U.S.C. §§ 10801 et seq.; and the Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights Program ("PAIR Act") was created to protect the rights of all other individuals with disabilities who are not covered under the PADD and PAIMI Acts. 29 U.S.C. §§ 794e et seq.
10. Pursuant to federal law, DRMS has rights to:
a. reasonable unaccompanied access, for monitoring and investigatory purposes, to public and private areas of the detention facility in the Juvenile Center, 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(b); 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(c); 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(f); 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(g);
b. interview facility service recipients, staff and other persons as part of an abuse and neglect investigation when DRMS determines it has probable cause to believe an incident has occurred, 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(b);
c. provide information and training on individual rights and services provided by the P & A system, 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(c); 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(g);
d. communicate privately with facility residents, 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(d); 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(h);
e. access to records of facility residents, 42 C.F.R. § 51.41; 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(a)-(e); and
f. access to facility incident reports and investigatory findings, 42 C.F.R. § 51.41(c)(2); 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(b)(1)-(2).
11. Because Mississippi receives federal funding under the P & A Acts, the state must have an effective P & A system. DRMS is the designated Mississippi P & A System. (See Mississippi Protection & Advocacy v. Cotten, 929 F.2d 1054, 1055-56 (5th Cir. 1991). Federal law permits DRMS to designate agents with whom it contracts to assist in carrying out its responsibilities under federal law. 42 U.S.C. § 1080a(a)(l)(A-B); 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(a).
12. To effectuate the Congressional mandate to protect and advocate for the rights of individuals with disabilities, the P & A Acts require that a P & A system and its authorized agents have physical access to individuals with disabilities, access to individuals' records, and physical access to the facilities housing these individuals. 42 U.S.C. § 15043(a)(2)(H)-(J); 42 U.S.C. § 10805(a)(3)-(4); 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22; 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(a)-(c). This access includes the right "to meet and communicate privately" with residents "both formally and informally, by telephone, mail and in person." 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(h); 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(d).
13. Under the PAIMI Act, "any public or private residential setting that provides overnight care accompanied by treatment services" is a facility that a P & A is authorized to access and monitor. These "[f]acilities include... juvenile detention facilities." 42 C.F.R. § 51.2. See also 45 C.F.R. § 1386.19 (specifying that facilities covered under the PADD Act include juvenile detention facilities).
14. The detention center at the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center is a covered "facility" as defined under the PAIMI Act and the PADD Act. 42 U.S.C. § 10802(3); 42 C.F.R. § 51.2; 45 C.F.R. § 1386.19.
15. Under the P & A Acts, Congress designated two distinct bases for access to facilities and residents: (1) access for the purpose of investigating allegations of abuse and/or neglect, 42 U.S.C. § 15043(a)(2)(B), 42 U.S.C. § 10805(a)(1)(A), 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(f), 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(b); and (2) access for the purpose of monitoring the facility and the treatment of its residents, 42 U.S.C. § 15043(a)(2)(H), 42 U.S.C. § 10805(a)(3), 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(g), 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(c).
16. To carry out its mandate to investigate incidents of abuse and neglect, DRMS is entitled to "reasonable unaccompanied access . . . to all areas of the facility which are used by residents or are accessible to residents . . . [and] shall have reasonable unaccompanied access to residents at all times necessary to conduct a full investigation of an incident of abuse or neglect." 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(b). See also 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(f).
I7. To carry out its monitoring duties, DRMS is entitled to reasonable unaccompanied access to all residents of a facility at reasonable times to provide P & A services and contact information, rights information, monitor compliance with respect to the rights and safety of service recipients, and to view and photograph all areas of the facility which are used by residents or are accessible to residents. 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(c); 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(g).
18. The PAIMI Act states that DRMS has the right of access to all residents of a facility "despite the existence of any State or local laws or regulations that restrict informal access to minors and adults with legal guardians or conservators." 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(e).
19. The PAIMI and PADD Acts provide DRMS with access to records of individuals who are in the custody of the state and with respect to whom a complaint has been received by DRMS or with respect to whom there is probable cause to believe that such individual has been subjected to abuse or neglect. 42 C.F.R. § 51.41(b)(2)(ii)-(iii); 45 C.F.R. § 1386.22(a)(2)(ii)-(iii).
20. The PAIMI regulations also require the Defendant to provide DRMS:
Reports prepared by an agency charged with investigating abuse, neglect, or injury occurring at a facility rendering care or treatment, or by or for the facility itself, that describe any or all of the following: (i) Abuse, neglect, or injury occurring at the facility; (ii) The steps taken to investigate the incidents; (iii) Reports and records, including personnel records, prepared or maintained by the facility, in connection with such reports of incidents; or (iv) Supporting information that was relied upon in creating a report, including all information and records used or reviewed in preparing reports of abuse, neglect or injury such as records which describe persons who were interviewed, physical and documentary evidence that was reviewed, and the related investigative findings. 42 C.F.R. § 51.41(c)(2).
21. The access provisions of the P & A Acts are interrelated and it is clear that Congress intended for the provisions to be applied in a consistent manner, and the PAIR Act expressly incorporates by reference, at 29 U.S.C. § 794e(f), the authority regarding access to facilities and records set forth in the PADD Act.
22. To the extent Mississippi state law protects the identities of minors and requires parental consent, this confidentiality is preempted by federal authority to monitor these facilities. 42 C.F.R. § 51.42(e).
23. Moreover, federal courts have widely recognized that a P&A is "the final arbiter of probable cause" for the purpose of investigating abuse or neglect. See Arizona Ctr. For Disability Law v. Allen, 197 F.R.D. 689, 693 (D. Ariz. 2000); see also Office of Prot. & Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities v. Armstrong, 266 F. Supp. 2d 303, 321-22 (D. Conn. 2003) (holding that P&A is entitled to make its probable cause determination independent of any other agency or third party review).
Denial of Access[/list]
24. In the wake of media reports of wide spread abuse inside the facility, Plaintiff DRMS asserted its access authority in January 2011. As a courtesy, DRMS gave County Officials advance notice of the date and time of the proposed visit. DRMS even went so far as to reschedule the visit once at the request of County Officials. Eventually, the parties agreed that DRMS could conduct a monitoring visit on January 28, 2011.
25. DRMS agents Jody Owens II, Corrie Cockrell, and Jed Oppenheim arrived at the Forrest County Juvenile Detention Center to conduct monitoring and investigation activities as required by the P & A Acts. Upon their arrival at the Juvenile Detention Center, Detention Center Director Chris Selman informed them that they were not allowed to speak to any of the children detained in the facility.
26. On March 1, 2010 DRMS sent the Defendant a letter requesting clarification of the policies regarding DRMS access to the juvenile detention center. Exhibit C Correspondences between DRMS agents and representatives of the Detention Center. The Defendant's counsel responded by claiming that the Forrest County Youth Court Judge would have to be consulted before DRMS could exercise its access authority.
27. In follow-up March 3, 2011 letter, Defendant's counsel described Forrest County's unlawful access policy requires DRMS to petition the youth court before it can conduct its federally mandated monitoring. See also Exhibit C.
28. As detailed above, Defendant's refusal to allow DRMS to exercise its Congressionally-mandated duties of protecting and advocating for the youth held at the Juvenile Detention Center, and has deprived these children of their rights to DRMS's services.
CAUSES OF ACTION[/list]
29. Plaintiff incorporates by reference all of the above factual allegations to support the following claim.
30. The policies, procedures, regulations, practices and customs of the Defendant violate and continue to violate the rights of the Plaintiff DRMS to full, complete, timely and meaningful access to the Detention Center, staff, residents and their records, in violation of the PAIMI, PADD and PAIR Acts, and under color of law in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
NECESSITY FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF[/list]
31. Plaintiff DRMS does not have an adequate remedy at law and will be irreparably harmed if the Defendant is permitted to continue prohibiting DRMS and its agents from:
a. having reasonable unaccompanied access, for monitoring and investigatory purposes, to public and private areas of the detention facility at the Forrest County Juvenile Center;
b. interviewing youth, staff and other persons as part of its duty to monitor the facility and investigate incidents of abuse and neglect;
c. providing information and training on individual rights and services provided by the P & A system;
d. communicating privately with facility residents;
e. accessing facility incident reports and investigatory findings; and
f. accessing residents' records.
32. In support of this Defendants rely on the following exhibits:
Exhibit A: Media Reports of Abuse at Forrest County Detention Center, Relevant Communications from Mississippi Department of Public Safety's Juvenile Facilities Monitoring Unit, and Photographs of the Detention Center.
Exhibit B: Memorandum of Cooperation between MYJP and DRMS.
Exhibit C: Correspondences between DRMS agents and representatives and counsel of the Detention Center.
Exhibit D: Agreed Orders between DRMS and Harrison and Lauderdale Counties authorizing DRMS access to youth.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF[/list]
WHEREFORE, the Plaintiff prays that this Honorable Court grant the following relief:
a. Declare that the acts and omissions of the Defendant violate the federal law;
b. Enter a preliminary and permanent injunction requiring the Defendant, its agents, employees and all persons acting in concert with the Defendant to cease their unconstitutional and unlawful practices;
c. Grant injunctive relief enjoining the Defendant and its agents and employees from denying DRMS and its contracted agent immediate, full, complete, meaningful and unaccompanied access to the staff, residents, records and facilities at the Detention Center to conduct monitoring activities and abuse and neglect investigations without advance notice and at any reasonable time, including business and visiting hours, in violation of the PAIMI, PADD and PAIR Acts;
d. Issue a declaratory judgment that the Defendant's polices, regulations, and practices of denying DRMS and its contracted agent immediate, full, complete, meaningful, and unaccompanied access to the staff, residents, records and facilities at the Detention Center to monitor and to conduct abuse and neglect investigations, without advance notice and at any reasonable time, including during business and visiting hours, violate the PAIMI, PADD and PAIR Acts;
e. Award to the Plaintiff reasonable costs and attorney's fees; and
f. Grant the Plaintiff such other relief as the Court deems just.
This 7th day of March, 2011
/s/ Jody E. Owens II
Jody E. Owens II, MS Bar No. 102333
Poonam Juneja, MS Bar No. 103181
Corrie Cockrell, MS Bar No. 102376
Sheila A. Bedi, MS Bar No. 101652
Mississippi Youth Justice Project
A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center
921 N. President St., Suite B
Jackson, Mississippi 39202
601-948-8882 (telephone)
601-948-8885 (fax)
Robert B. McDuff, MS Bar No. 2532
767 North Congress Street
Jackson, Mississippi 39202
60I-969-0802 (telephone)
601-969-0804 (fax)
Wendy White, MS Bar No. 100409
Disability Rights Mississippi
5305 Executive Place
Jackson, Mississippi 39206
60I-981-8207 (telephone)
601-981-8313 (fax)
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