RI has housed children with mental health issues and developmental disabilities

BOSTON (AP) — Rhode Island violated the civil rights of hundreds of children with mental health and developmental disabilities by systematically and unnecessarily segregating them at Bradley Hospital, an acute-care psychiatric hospital, officials said Monday. federal prosecutors.

Zachary Cunha, U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, said the multi-year investigation found that — rather than complying with its legal obligation to provide services in the most integrated setting suited to the needs of children — the State had left them hospitalized at Bradley for months and in some cases for more than a year.

The results were sent to Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families.

“It is simply appalling that the state has chosen to confine children to a psychiatric facility, rather than stepping in to provide the care, support and community services that these children need and that the law requires,” he said. Cunha said. He hopes the investigation will prompt the state to take quick action to fulfill its obligations under federal law.

The results were sent to Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families.

“This troubling report identifies long-standing problems where improvements are clearly needed,” said Olivia DaRocha, McKee’s assistant, “problems that are exacerbated by the national shortage of home and community-based behavioral health services.”

“While the Administration has taken steps to improve our current foster care system, we understand that more needs to 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 every child with a behavioral disorder with appropriate services in the most integrated setting. »

Although inpatient admissions at Bradley were designed to last only one to two weeks, the federal investigation concluded that children with behavioral disorders in DCYF’s care were often forced to languish in the hospital despite They are ready to go out and despite the fact that children are better served in a family home, according to investigators.

From January 1, 2017 to September 30, 2022, 527 children in the care or custody of DCYF – or receiving services voluntarily through the agency – were admitted to Bradley Hospital. Among them, 116 children 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 a year.

Many children have been subjected to avoidable and unnecessarily long hospitalizations because DCYF has failed to provide the community services they need, according to investigators, who said keeping a child hospitalized for an extended period of time while his needs could be met in a less restrictive setting. only exacerbates the child’s acute needs.

DCYF takes these findings very seriously, according to Damaris Teixeira, the department’s public information officer.

Starting in November 2022, the department worked with Bradley Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital to expedite discharges to appropriate placements as quickly as possible, he said. The state also launched a new Mobile Response and Stabilization Services program to provide on-demand, time-limited crisis intervention services in any setting where a behavioral health crisis is occurring, including homes, schools and emergency services.

To date, 90 percent of youth in the program have not required psychiatric hospitalization, he said.

The state is also investing about $45 million to increase the state’s residential capacity, including a facility in Exeter that will house 16 youth. The state Legislature also allocated $11 million to build a 12-bed psychiatric residential facility to meet the state’s capacity needs.

The investigation, which was also conducted by the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also found that DCYF’s failure to seek serviced family home placements could lead to the both delayed discharges and inappropriate post-discharge placements. , which often leads to subsequent hospitalizations.

Office of Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said the investigation reinforces the agency’s commitment to continuing to protect the rights of individuals to live in their own homes and communities.

“We must do better for our children and the communities we serve, and states and others must follow federal civil rights laws to ensure that every child can access care without discrimination,” she said.