Inclusion Daily Express -- Justice Department Sues Arkansas Over Conditions At CHDC

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Justice Department Sues Arkansas Over Conditions At CHDC
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
January 28, 2009

LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS--The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Arkansas over the treatment of residents at Conway Human Development Center, which houses 538 people with developmental and other disabilities.

According to the Associated Press, the suit was filed on January 16, the last day of the George W. Bush administration.

Arkansas Department of Human Services spokesperson Julie Munsell said the Justice Department was authorized to sue the state, but that authorization would have expired when President Bush left the White House.

The issues in the lawsuit reportedly include allegations that the state-run institution has failed to protect its residents from harm, to provide adequate care, and to ensure due process for them.

Conway Human Developmental Center has been the focus of Justice Department investigations for a number of years.

In April 2004, federal investigators reported that they found "conditions at Conway that violate the federal constitutional and statutory rights of residents."

"In particular, we find that residents of Conway suffer significant harm or risk of harm from shortcomings in the facilities' health care, habilitative treatment services, restraint practices, and protection from harm policies."

"The investigation found evidence of egregiously deficient, and at times life-threatening medical care, as well as deficient physical and nutritional management and therapy services."

The Associated Press story noted that Laura Sweeney, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the problems at CHDC could be resolved without a trial.

Related:
"Conway Human Development Center" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/institutions/ar/conway.htm

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