DOJ Settles Complaints About Conditions for Disabled Detroit Jail Detainees
by Matt Clarke
On July 11, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) approved an agreement with Michigan’s Wayne County that promised to improve conditions at its jail in Detroit for prisoners with physical and mental disabilities. The County also agreed to hire an expert consultant to assist in implementation of the agreement and submit monthly reviews to DOJ, as well as cooperate with the agency’s efforts to monitor compliance.
The agreement is intended to last for three years unless the DOJ determines sooner that the county has demonstrated “durable compliance” with its terms. It was reached after an investigation by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, which was in turn was prompted by multiple complaints from detainees and prisoners with disabilities, who were denied access to crucial medical, dental and mental health services, including prescription medication, mental health treatment and even prosthetics.
“Wayne County has a long and troubled history of providing inadequate services to inmates who have disabilities,” declared U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison. “We recognize that Wayne County is transitioning inmates into a new facility”—a new jail and juvenile detention center with capacity for 2,500 detainees that opened in September 2024. “However,” she added, “a new building does not ensure access to those vital services. This agreement addresses systemic issues that have prevented inmates who have disabilities from equal access to services, programs, and activities while at the Wayne County Jail.”
Per the agreement, the County must identify detainees with disabilities at intake, using a screening process that involves a licensed medical provider or registered nurse (RN), and then match those detainees to programs that ensure equal access to services such as medical and mental healthcare, as well as dental care and programs for detoxing from various substances. The County must also ensure appropriate administration of medication during scheduled medication rounds even if a prisoner or detainee is at court or newly received from another facility. Plus, the County must provide mental health programs and activities, including screening and assessment, individualized treatment plans, “regular and consistent therapy and counseling,” psychosocial and psychoeducational groups, structured and unstructured out-of-cell activities, and suicide and crisis watches according to the needs of the prisoner.
Additionally, the County is required to provide services to pregnancy-disabled prisoners, including examinations, testing, dietary supplements and assessments. It must also provide prisoners with any prescription medication and medical devices that they have been prescribed.
The agreement further requires the County to ensure adequate mental health staffing at the jail and make robust revisions to its suicide prevention program. A committee must also be created to review all in-custody deaths and craft a grievance program to resolve complaints. At its own expense, the County must additionally retain at least one expert to monitor compliance with the agreement and report to DOJ. Agency personnel must also be present when the monitor conducts on-site visits.
The agreement was reached in lieu of litigation. It took effect on September 15, 2024, and the County was given six months to fully comply with its terms. The DOJ’s investigation will remain open and active until the agreement is terminated, or until resolution of any suit filed by the DOJ that stemmed from the investigation. See: Settlement Agreement Between the U.S. and the Charter Cty. of Wayne, Michigan, DJ# 204-37-391
Additional source: Detroit Free Press
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