The Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families is accused of “traumatizing” children with developmental disabilities by routinely over-hospitalizing them, according to a federal investigation.
“It is nothing short of appalling that the state has chosen to warehouse children in a psychiatric institution, rather than stepping up to provide the community care, support, and services that these kids need, and that the law requires,” said US Attorney Zachary Cunha. “I am hopeful that the findings we announce today will spur swift action by the state to meet its obligations under federal law, and far more importantly, to ensure that the civil rights of these children are upheld.”
According to U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Rhode Island, the investigation found that the department failed to provide services that would have helped hundreds of children with mental health and developmental disabilities live independently at home or in a family home instead of a psychiatric hospital.
Over a four-year period, the investigation found that 527 children were admitted to Bradley Hospital, an acute-care psychiatric hospital, more than once a month. Of those, 116 were hospitalized for more than 100 days, 42 were hospitalized for more than 180 days, and seven children were hospitalized for more than one year. Many of these children were subjected to these avoidable and unnecessarily lengthy hospitalizations at Bradley because DCYF failed to provide the community-based services they need, the US Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
“Keeping a child hospitalized for an extended period when their needs could be served in a less restrictive setting only serves to exacerbate the child’s acute needs. Indeed, the investigation found that extended hospitalization often traumatizes the children as well as their families,” the statement said.
The investigation was conducted by the US Attorney’s Office in Rhode Island and the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights. The findings are part of a broader effort to reform the state’s child protection system and improve services for people with disabilities.
Statement from the Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families on the Federal Investigation into the Alleged Violation of Federal Civil Rights of Children with Mental Health or Developmental Disabilities
“Every child deserves the right to comprehensive care close to home,” said Tanja Kubas-Meyer, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families. “The Rhode Island Coalition for Children and Families comprises a dedicated group of professionals with extensive expertise and experience in children’s behavioral health and has advocated for years for a comprehensive system of behavioral health care. This includes everything from assessment and mental health supports for the youngest children to mobile crisis intervention and ready access to outpatient and in-home interventions at the needed level of intensity.”
“We need a well-resourced system of supports and services to prevent problems from escalating into crises that require hospitalization. These services need to be culturally and linguistically appropriate to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population. Rhode Island will need to invest in needs assessment, evaluation, and increased community behavioral health capacity including family and caregiver engagement if we want to change the trajectory for the children of our state and honor their right to receive care in the least restrictive environment under the Olmstead Act.
“The Coalition and our members are partners in the state’s effort to build a comprehensive and least restrictive system of home and community-based services. We stand ready to assist as the state moves forward with its response to this suit.”
Generative janus-faced intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
