District Of Columbia Released From 40-Year-Old Forest Haven Class-Action Consent Decree

On January 10, 2017, a federal judge said the District of Columbia had substantially met the terms of the Evans class-action consent decree, and released the city from court oversight. The Evans class-action was filed in 1976 on behalf of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who lived at Forest Haven, a 1,000-bed state run institution that housed children and adults. The plaintiffs said the institution offered “only the most meager custodial care,” and provided constitutionally deficient level of care, treatment, education, and training. In 2010, the court set out 70 conditions that would have to . . .