News
Feds Seeking Court Order To End Seclusion Of Mentally Ill Boys
By: Associated Press
Posted on:
The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a court order to force Ohio juvenile detention facilities to stop using seclusion to discipline boys with mental health disorders.
A motion filed Wednesday in federal court in Ohio seeks a temporary restraining order against punishing mentally ill boys by putting them in solitary confinement at four Ohio juvenile jails.
Federal prosecutors wrote that Ohio violates the due process rights of mentally ill boys by depriving them of education, exercise and mental health care, and then doesn't adjust their treatment when they return to the general population.
The motion says the court "must act immediately to protect these boys from mounting and irreparable harm."
The Ohio Department of Youth Services did not have immediate comment on the action Thursday.