Justice Department Files Complaint and Reaches Settlement to Improve Conditions at...

Justice Department Files Complaint and Reaches Settlement to Improve
Conditions at Texas State Facilities for Persons With Developmental
Disabilities

WASHINGTON, June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Justice Department
announced today a simultaneous lawsuit and settlement with the state of Texas
concerning the care given to residents of the state's 13 facilities for
persons with developmental disabilities. Along with the settlement agreement,
the Department will file a complaint initiating a lawsuit against the state in
federal court. An independent monitor will be appointed to oversee the
state's compliance with the settlement agreement and the court will retain
ultimate jurisdiction.

The facilities are state-owned and operated residential facilities
that serve nearly 5,000 persons with developmental disabilities. The
agreement, which will be subject to the approval of the U.S. District Court in
Austin, Texas, addresses concerns about conditions and practices at the
facilities, which led the Department to investigate potential violations of
the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA).

"The Justice Department is committed to protecting the fundamental
rights of all our citizens. This agreement reflects that principle by
protecting the civil rights of some of Texas's most vulnerable residents,"
said Attorney General Eric Holder.

The state of Texas fully cooperated with the Justice Department's
investigation. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the state will
work to ensure that facility residents are safe and that they receive the care
and services necessary to meet their individualized needs. Specifically, the
state has agreed to undertake a variety of measures, including: providing a
safe and humane environment with zero tolerance for abuse or neglect of
residents; providing adequate medical care, nursing services, and nutritional
and physical support, including therapy and communication support; providing
adequate psychological and behavioral services and psychiatric care; providing
adequate habilitation; providing adequate integrated protections, services,
treatments, and supports; and, ensuring that residents are free from undue
bodily restraint. The state will also ensure that each resident is served in
a setting that is as well integrated into the community as possible, as
required by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the U.S. Supreme Court's
decision in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999).

Under the terms of the agreement, Texas will fund and work with an
independent monitor, who will oversee the state's compliance with the
agreement. The agreement contemplates that the state will reach compliance
within five years, but it will continue until compliance is achieved.

"We commend the state for working with the Department to ensure that
persons living in these institutions receive the protection, care, and
services that they need and deserve, and that they have expanded opportunities
to live their lives in more community-integrated settings, consistent with
federal law," said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil
Rights.

The remedial agreement represents a negotiated resolution of the
Justice Department's investigation that would not have been possible without
the cooperation and commitment of the Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, the Texas
Department of Aging and Disability Services, the Texas Attorney General's
Office and the Texas Legislature.

The agreement comes near the tenth anniversary of the Olmstead
decision, which held that unjustified institutional isolation of individuals
with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans
With Disabilities Act. As part of the commemoration of this anniversary,
President Obama launched the "Year of Community Living," a new effort aimed at
providing opportunities for community living, and for full inclusion in the
life of our nation, to individuals with disabilities. The Justice Department
also is strengthening its partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services to ensure vigorous enforcement of the laws that protect the
civil rights of individuals with disabilities.

CRIPA authorizes the Attorney General to investigate conditions in
certain institutions owned or operated by, or on behalf of, state or local
governments. These institutions include nursing homes, residential facilities
serving persons with developmental disabilities, mental health facilities,
jails, prisons, and juvenile correction facilities. CRIPA's focus is on
systemic deficiencies rather than individual, isolated problems.

More information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice
Department, and the laws it enforces, is available at
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt.

SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Justice, +1-202-514-2007, TDD: +1-202-514-1888