DRNJ Press Release

Hundreds of New Jersey Residents Released with Community Services After Years of Unnecessary Segregation in Psychiatric Institutions

Trenton, NJ – In a settlement agreement signed today with Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ), the New Jersey Department of Human Services agreed to release hundreds of people in the state psychiatric hospitals after years of institutionalization and to provide these individuals with the services they need to live independent, integrated lives in the community.

Under the agreement, over the next several years the state will provide community residential services for the approximately 300 people awaiting discharge since before July 1, 2008. The state will also develop 1,065 new supportive housing and other similar community residences between now and 2014 to eliminate the backlog of hospital residents awaiting discharge and prevent a recurrence of the problem.

“With its emphasis on supportive housing, this settlement agreement will ensure that hundreds of long-suffering state hospital residents receive the integrated community services they are entitled to and at a fraction of the cost of hospitalization,” said Robert Bernstein, Ph.D., executive director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. “It is a win-win result for everyone.”

Supportive housing will give these individuals their own apartments while providing them with the services they need to support their recovery and community involvement. Research shows that supportive housing is less costly, leads to more improvements in mental health symptoms, and is highly preferred by participating individuals over other types of housing for people with mental disabilities.

The agreement settles a 2005 lawsuit brought in New Jersey federal court on behalf of DRNJ and its constituents by the Bazelon Center, the law firm of Pepper Hamilton, and DRNJ attorneys that challenged the illegal confinement of nearly 1,000 individuals, all of whom had been adjudicated ready for discharge from New Jersey’s four state psychiatric hospitals. The suit alleged that the state’s failure to provide community services for these people violated its duty under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision to serve people with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. The complaint also alleged violations of the state’s due process obligations under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

These individuals have remained in psychiatric hospitals under New Jersey’s Conditional Extension Pending Placement (CEPP) commitment status, which allows continued hospitalization of a person who is ready for discharge if there are no appropriate community services available. According to the court complaint, the state abused its CEPP authority by failing to develop suitable community residences and by confining many of these individuals long beyond their need for hospitalization.

One such CEPP resident, Dean Marcovecchio, says he feels “caged and trapped, like in solitary confinement,” as he waits for the state to discharge him from the psychiatric institution. Mr. Marcovecchio was adjudicated ready for discharge and placed on CEPP status within a few days after his admission to the hospital. “I was only supposed to be here a few days.” If he could live in the community, he knows things would be different:

“I could interact with other persons, I could have an active life, what’s left of my life. I could spend my own money, go shopping for personal items, maybe I could enjoy the rest of my life socially. I would like to see my family and friends,” he said.

"The longer someone is kept in an institution unnecessarily, the greater the risk of abuse and neglect. In order to promote wellness and recovery, it is important to return these individuals to the community at the earliest opportunity," said Joe Young, Executive Director of DRNJ. "The next step is to ensure that the state continues to provide adequate resources in the community for those who are returning from the hospitals as well as those who are seeking to stay out."

The state’s unnecessary segregation of hospital residents also caused unnecessary spending of scarce taxpayer dollars. Hospitalizing a state psychiatric hospital resident costs about $220,000 per year, as compared to the $20,000-$40,000 annual cost to the state to support the same individual in the community.

The agreement obligates the state to implement a plan to ensure the timely transfer of all CEPP people into the community. “Hopefully, these reforms will prevent this waste of lives and money from occurring again. DRNJ plans to monitor the plan’s implementation carefully,” said Jeffrey Carr of Pepper Hamilton’s Princeton office.

For more information, visit: http://www.bazelon.org/incourt/docket/NJPA.html.

To speak with an expert on the case, contact:
Emily McKee, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, emilym@bazelon.org, 202-467-5730 x120
Joe Young, Disability Rights New Jersey, jyoung@DRNJ.org, 609-292-9742
Jeffrey A. Carr, Pepper Hamilton, carrj@pepperlaw.com, 609-951-4116

The Bazelon Center (www.bazelon.org) is the leading national legal-advocacy organization representing people with mental disabilities. It promotes laws and policies that can enable people with psychiatric or developmental disabilities to exercise their life choices and access the resources they need to participate fully in their communities.

Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ) is the private, non-profit agency serving as New Jersey’s federally funded protection and advocacy system for persons with disabilities. Its mission is to advocate and advance the human, civil and legal rights of persons with disabilities. DRNJ, which administers eight statewide protection and advocacy programs, is part of a nationwide network of federally funded protection and advocacy systems.

Pepper Hamilton LLP is a multi-practice law firm with more than 500 lawyers nationally. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.

Disability Rights New Jersey Files Complaint Against New Jersey Department of Human Services on Behalf of Family Seeking Records of Abuse

Trenton, NJ – Disability Rights New Jersey filed a lawsuit today against the New Jersey Department of Human Services, its Division of Developmental Disabilities and Hunterdon Developmental Center, seeking monetary damages and the release of the full investigative report of an incident of abuse and neglect involving a 41 year old resident of Hunterdon Developmental Center (HDC).

Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ), the state’s protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities, represents Daniel and Rosamund Caliendo, parents and guardians of Damian Caliendo, an individual with severe developmental delays and cerebral palsy who has resided at HDC for over thirty years.

When Damian’s parents came to visit him in December 2007, they discovered Damian in his wheelchair with the front wheels tilted back and off the ground. Damian was unable to move himself or his wheelchair and was stuck facing the wall and isolated from others in his cottage. Someone had done this to Damian as he is physically incapable of doing this to himself.

The Division conducted an investigation into the incident and prepared a report. The parents requested a copy of the complete report, but the Division has only offered them a summary which does not identify who is responsible for the incident.

DRNJ tried to get a copy of the report for the parents from the Division. But, the Division refused, and instead claimed that New Jersey law does not permit families to get a copy of investigative reports without a court order. In response DRNJ filed this lawsuit to put an end to forcing parents or guardians from going to court every time an investigative report regarding abuse or neglect of a developmental center resident is written.

“It is inconceivable that any information affecting the care and treatment of an individual in the custody of the state or a state provider can be withheld from a parent, family member, or guardian. We believe that the state has the legal authority to release that information now. If the court disagrees, then the law needs to be changed,” said Joe Young, DRNJ’s Executive Director.

“Every parent who has a child with severe developmental disabilities under the care of others feels a loss of control for their loved one’s care and protection. The abuse and neglect of Damian on December 1, 2007, shattered our confidence in Hunterdon Developmental Center. The lack of response by the NJ Department of Human Services, the Department of Developmental Disabilities and the Hunterdon Developmental Center in not providing the full investigative report reinforces our lack of control and further erodes our confidence thereby making a horrendous situation much, much worse,” stated the Caliendos.

DRNJ is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides services to all persons with disabilities regardless of race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, marital status, familial status, sex, sexual or affectional orientation, ancestry or disability.
Any concerns regarding the agency’s compliance with these non-discrimination efforts may be brought to the attention of the Executive Director.

Advocating and advancing the human, civil and legal rights of persons with disabilities