Rhode Island Unnecessarily Hospitalizes Youth With Behavioral Health Disabilities Violating ADA

Rhode Island has unnecessarily segregated nearly 600 children with mental health and/or developmental disabilities, which according to the federal Department of Justice (DOJ), violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The DOJ conducted a multi-year investigation and found that the state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) has routinely kept children with disabilities admitted to Bradley Hospital, an acute-care psychiatric hospital, for far longer than is medically necessary because sufficient community-based services were not available.

The hospital is meant to stabilize children and . . .