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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 12:17 am
Time: 12:17 am
Results for developmental disabilities
3 results foundAuthor: Seevers, Rachel Title: Making Hard Time Harder: Programmatic Accommodations for Inmates with Disabilities Under the Americans with Disabilities Act Summary: The disproportionate incarceration of people with disabilities in the United States is a serious and growing problem. As the prison population ages, more inmates are reporting physical disabilities. 1 The U.S. has also seen a rise in the number of people with mental illness and developmental and cognitive disabilities in prison. 2 National surveys now indicate that as many as 31 percent of inmates in state prisons report having at least one disability. 3. While prison is hard for everyone, incarceration is even more challenging for inmates with disabilities. Research shows that inmates with disabilities are sentenced to an average of fifteen more months in prison as compared to other inmates with similar criminal convictions. 4 The time they serve is also harder, with more sanctions imposed and less access to positive programming than other inmates. 5 Prisoners with disabilities are also four times more likely to report recent psychological distress as compared to inmates without disabilities. 6. In a system intended to control and sanction behavior believed to violate the many regulations that govern prison life, inmates with disabilities who need accommodations are often overlooked, ignored, or even punished. Very few outsiders are allowed into the prisons, and the public rarely gets to witness the conditions in which many inmates are confined. In recent years, protection and advocacy agencies (P&As), organizations granted with special federal authority to enter facilities that serve people with disabilities, have been going behind prison walls to identify issues facing inmates with disabilities. P&As have received reports of inmates forced to drag themselves across their cell or sleep on the floor because their cane or walker was removed. Inmates with cognitive disorders, intellectual disabilities, or mental illness have sought assistance because they are unable to complete the programming required to move out of restrictive housing, forcing them to remain in segregation for years, if not decades. These same inmates may be punished for failing to follow the written rules of the prison, rules they either cannot read or cannot understand due to a disability, resulting in sanctions, loss of good time, or even additional criminal charges. Inmates in need of therapeutic diets or those who require assistance in activities of daily living often find themselves caught in an endless cycle of institutional grievances and appeals as they seek approval for accommodations in correctional policy and practice. In recognition of the growing population of inmates with disabilities, in 2012 Disability Rights Washington, the P&A for Washington State, began focusing more attention on the state's prisons, investigating the conditions of these correctional settings and working on creative solutions to some of the most serious problems faced by inmates with mental illness, brain injuries, and physical and intellectual disabilities. In early 2014, with increased funding through a private grant, Disability Rights Washington created Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities (AVID), a project with the sole purpose of protecting and advancing the rights of inmates with disabilities and assisting those who are reentering society.8 In September 2014, AVID brought together staff from the P&As in New York, South Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas, as well as from the National Disability Rights Network, to strategize about ways to increase national attention on the issues faced by inmates with disabilities. This report, which has grown out of that collaborative national effort, aims to highlight the difficulties that inmates with disabilities face as they seek to access programs and services in state prison systems. P&As from across the country provided examples of either past or ongoing advocacy to enforce the protections of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on behalf of inmates with disabilities. By no means exhaustive, this report provides an overview of the protections afforded to inmates with disabilities under the ADA as well as examples in which P&As have advocated effectively on behalf of inmates with disabilities. This advocacy is multi-modal, ranging from routine monitoring, to informal and individual advocacy, to systemic litigation. This report begins with a brief overview of the P&A system, describes the different types of advocacy P&As use, and outlines the ADA's application to prisons. Next, this report details the work P&As across the country have done to advance inmates' rights under the ADA, focusing on three main areas of prison life: (1) hygiene, health, and safety, (2) accommodations in communication, and (3) access to programming and services. A review of this work reveals that while the ADA has been in place for more than 25 years, much remains to be done to bring programs and buildings in the nation's prisons into compliance with the requirements of the ADA. This report concludes with a series of recommendations for future action. Highlights from those recommendations include: 1) Increased federal funding to the P&A network for corrections-based monitoring and advocacy; 2) Creation of independent corrections ombuds offices at the state level in order to address inmate concerns before they rise to the level of litigation; 3) Systemic accessibility reviews by state departments of corrections to identify both physical and programmatic barriers for inmates with disabilities; 4) Increased training for prison ADA coordinators and collaboration between these staff members and the local P&As to address inmate concerns. Ultimately, this report is intended to spur interest and action within the P&A network and other prison advocacy groups and increase focus on what has become a crisis within the nation's prison system. Details: Seattle, WA: Washington, DC: Disability Rights Washington, 2016. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 26, 2016 at: http://drme.org/assets/uncategorized/making-hard-time-harder-pdf-version.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://drme.org/assets/uncategorized/making-hard-time-harder-pdf-version.pdf Shelf Number: 146106 Keywords: Developmental DisabilitiesDisabilitiesPhysically Handicapped |
Author: Hollomotz, Andrea Title: Behaviour that Challenges: Planning services for people with learning disabilities and/or autism who sexually offend Summary: There are people with learning disabilities and/ or autism in every community, some of whom will engage in sexually offending and risky behaviour. Already a highly marginalised group, many will themselves be at risk of exploitation and abuse. Several local, regional and national authorities and multi-agency partnerships have overlapping responsibilities for their health and wellbeing - whether as a statutory duty or because supporting people who are vulnerable is integral to their role. The array of support agencies can be confusing and hard to access - both for individuals with learning disabilities and/ or autism and family members seeking help on their behalf. Early intervention and support can improve outcomes for the individuals themselves, make communities safer and reduce the number of victims, and lessen the high cost of crisis intervention. This briefing paper sets out the case for change: it draws on presentations and discussions from a seminar we held in May 2017. It includes practice examples and suggests practical ways forward and makes recommendations to improve outcomes for some of the most vulnerable citizens in our society. Details: London: Economic and Social Research Council; Prison Reform Trust, 2018. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 26, 2018 at: http://adaptingtreatment.com/files/2018/03/Behaviour-that-challenges.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://adaptingtreatment.com/files/2018/03/Behaviour-that-challenges.pdf Shelf Number: 149897 Keywords: AutismDevelopmental DisabilitiesDisabled PersonsLearning DisabilitiesSex Offender TreatmentSex Offenders |
Author: Herz, Denise Title: Probation Developmental Disabilities Study Summary: n December 2010, Public Counsel and its partners reached a settlement agreement in the case of I.T. v. Los Angeles County with Los Angeles County to reform conditions for youth with developmental disabilities in the juvenile halls, in group homes, and in the family homes under Probation's supervision. The agreement called for Public Counsel and Disability Rights California to monitor implementation of reform efforts for three years following the development of policies and procedures, and training to Probation staff on those policies and procedures. Monitoring activities began in November 2011 and continued through July 2015. The overall goals of the settlement agreement are to ensure that youth with developmental disabilities in the juvenile halls will be immediately and effectively identified; will not be detained longer than others because of the lack of available, appropriate community placements; and will be provided with appropriate services and effective supports to successfully transition back to the community and avoid recidivism and violence. Study Overview At the beginning of the settlement agreement, Public Counsel and Disability Rights California monitored its implementation by visiting the halls and community placements, observations, interviews with key staff, and reviewing data and documents provided by Probation. Public Counsel eventually received funding from the Keck Foundation to conduct a more formal assessment of the work by researchers at California State University Los Angeles. This study had two interrelated tracks: (1) to utilize Probation data collected as part of the settlement agreement, and (2) to conduct meeting observations, interviews, and reviews of documents related to the settlement agreement. Details: Los Angeles, California State University, Los Angeles, 2017. 55p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 31, 2018 at: http://www.juvenilejusticeresearch.com/sites/default/files/2016-12/Probation%20DD%20Report%20FINAL%202016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www.juvenilejusticeresearch.com/sites/default/files/2016-12/Probation%20DD%20Report%20FINAL%202016.pdf Shelf Number: 151325 Keywords: Developmental DisabilitiesDisabled PersonsJuvenile ProbationProbationersYouth Detention |