WHAT RIGHTS DO YOU HAVE WHILE A PATIENT AT A MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY?

WHAT RIGHTS DO YOU HAVE.jpg

While patients at inpatient mental health facilities do not have all the same rights that people have in the community, certain basic rights are protected. We will discuss SOME of the rights protected by the Massachusetts statute commonly called G.L. c. 123 s. 23 below.

FIRST, you have the right reasonable access to a telephone to make and receive confidential telephone calls. If you have trouble making your telephone calls, you can ask for and have a reasonable expectation to assistance when desired and necessary to implement such right.

SECOND, you have the right to “send and receive sealed, unopened, uncensored mail; provided, however, that the superintendent or director or designee of an inpatient facility may direct, for good cause and with documentation of specific facts in such person's record, that a particular person's mail be opened and inspected in front of such person, without it being read by staff, for the sole purpose of preventing the transmission of contraband.”

THIRD, you have the right to have access to reasonable quantities of writing materials and postage stamps. If you ask for reasonable assistance the staff at the facility shall provide it to you in the form of writing, addressing and posting letters and other documents upon request.

FOURTH, you have the right to have visitors daily, and in private, at reasonable times.

** The facility may limit visitors due to the pandemic and other safety concerns.

FIFTH, you have the right to a humane psychological and physical environment.

**“Each such person shall be provided living quarters and accommodations which afford privacy and security in resting, sleeping, dressing, bathing and personal hygiene, reading and writing and in toileting. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require individual sleeping quarters.”

SIXTH, you have the right to reasonable daily access to the outdoors, as weather conditions reasonably permit, at inpatient facilities in a manner consistent with the person's clinical condition and safety as determined by the treating clinician and with the ability of the facility to safely provide access.

The First, Third and Sixth items listed above MAY BE temporarily suspended, by specific designated people at the facility, if the patient’s exercise of such right would present a substantial risk of serious harm to such person or others and that less restrictive alternatives have either been tried and failed or would be futile to attempt. The suspension shall last no longer than the time necessary to prevent the harm and its imposition shall be documented with specific facts in such patient's record.

Otherwise, the facility should not deny a person these rights because they are exercising a protected choice, such as refusing medication. Additionally, a facility should not deny these rights as a form of punishment.

Have questions or concerns about mental health litigation? Contact us to discuss further:

E.M. Curran Legal LLC

10 Tower Office Park
Suite 314
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: 781-933-1542
Fax: 781-933-1549

U.S. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DISMISSING HUNDREDS OF CIVIL RIGHTS CASES

OCR US Dept of Education

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) has begun dismissing hundreds of civil rights complaints under a new protocol that went into affect on March 5, 2018.  The new protocol explained in the Department's "Case Processing Manual" is meant to help clean up and eliminate the backlog of complaints. The Department stresses that the protocol is meant to help the Department become more efficient in the handling of complaints.The protocol allows investigators to disregard cases that are part of serial filings or that they consider burdensome to the office. This is concerning as the OCR has clarified in several interviews that this did mean legitimate cases would be dismissed if there were other cases already filed that were comparable. Additionally, the new protocol also eliminates an appeals process for the office’s decisions and bars complaints based on reports or concerns raised in articles or other media outlets.

The mission of the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation through vigorous enforcement of civil rights. The Case Processing Manual (CPM) provides OCR with the procedures to promptly and effectively investigate and resolve complaints, compliance reviews and directed investigations to ensure compliance with the civil rights laws and regulations enforced by OCR.
— U.S. Dept. of Education CASE PROCESSING MANUAL - March 5, 2018

Many civil rights advocates in Massachusetts and across the nation are worried that this new protocol gives too much discretion to the office. Some fear that the office’s rejection of legitimate claims is just another example of the Education Department’s shrinking role in enforcing civil rights laws in the nation’s schools.  If there is evidence of a legal violation, the Education Department should be required to open a case and investigate – that is the purpose of the OCR.

The Education Department, however, cites statistics to support the new protocol. The Department reports that forty-one (41%) percent of the 16,720 civil rights complaints filed in 2016 came from just three people. In 2017, the Department reports that twenty-three (23%) percent of the 12,837 civil rights complaints filed came from the same three people. The Department categorizes these three people as ‘mass filers.'

These changes should be concerning to Education Advocates, Attorneys and parents of students in all schools in the United States. Since Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has assumed control of the Education Department guidance on issues related to protecting students of color, transgender students and students who are victims of sexual assaults on campuses have been deleted from the Education Department’s website. Efforts should be made to keep an eye on what the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights does with this new protocol over the next few months. 

Have questions or concerns about your student? Contact us to discuss further:

E.M. Curran & Associates LLC

10 Tower Office Park
Suite 406
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: 781-933-1542
Fax: 781-933-1549
ellen@emcurranlegal.com