More than 600,000 inmates with disabilities in prisons across the country spend more time in prison, under harsher conditions, than inmates without disabilities, according to research. Today, Amplifying Voices of Prisoners with Disabilities (AVID), a project of Disability Rights Washington, released Making Hard Time Harder: Programmatic Accommodations for Inmates with Disabilities Under the Americans with…
On May 31, P&A and the SC Department of Corrections agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that P&A had brought to improve treatment of inmates with mental illness. The case was filed in 2005 and trial was held in 2012. In 2014 the trial judge announced his decision. It said that mental health care…
We would like to say thank you to all the sponsors of the 2016 Celebrating Abilities Gala as well as Nelson Mullins, It’s Jenny Catering, and Cathy Jansen and Lance Roper for helping us host a great event. P&A was honored to present the Star of Justice Award to J. Michael Baxley, Esq. for his…
The State Inspector General (SIG) has released a report “Review of the Community Residential Care Facilities Program, Department of Health and Environmental Control” on the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s oversight of Community Residential Care Facilities (CRCFs). There are 471 CRCFs serving 17,000 people across the state; the report focuses on small facilities with compliance…
2014-2015 Team Advocacy Annual Report For information about Community Residential Care Facilities and P&A’s Team Advocacy Project click here. For any additional information about a Team Advocacy Inspection report, contact P&A at 866-275-7273 (voice)/866-232-4525 (TTY) or info@pandasc.org. For any follow-up action taken by regulatory agencies contact: Department of Health and Environmental Control’s (DHEC), Division…
Thousands of poor South Carolinians with disabilities continue to live in grossly inadequate conditions in community residential care facilities (CRCFs) across the state. April 9, 2013 Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) released Still…No Place to Call Home, an update of its 2009 report, No Place to Call Home. The new report documents conditions at 14 CRCFs across the state. The report’s findings reveal continued lack of oversight of facilities that are dirty, provide inadequate food, do not administer medications correctly, violate residents’ rights, and do not provide protection from potential harm. You may also view the report’s cover letter HERE.
Circuit Court Judge Michael Baxley ruled on January 8, 2014, that the S.C. Department of Corrections mental health program is “inherently flawed and systemically deficient in all major areas,” and prison officials should address the constitutional deficiencies and provide more humane treatment of prison inmates with serious mental health illnesses. Order Granting Judgment in Favor…