FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
MONDAY, MARCH 4, 1996                              (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 

   JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES VIRGINIA TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS AT
              FACILITIES FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- After negotiating for more than a year,
the Justice Department today sued the Commonwealth of Virginia
over substandard care and living conditions at two state-run
facilities for 800 mentally disabled residents, and sought an
order requiring the state to meet constitutional standards in its
management of the facilities.
       Acting on a number of complaints, Justice Department
investigators and independent experts found that residents of the
Northern Virginia Training Center in Fairfax and the Eastern
State Hospital in Williamsburg lacked adequate medical care,
supervision and treatment, which led to dangerous and sometimes
life-threatening situations.  The two suits were filed today in
U.S. District Court in Alexandria under the 1980 Civil Rights of
Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA).  They do not seek to close
either facility.
     The Justice Department has kept the Commonwealth of Virginia 
apprised of its findings, but sued today after more than a year
of negotiations produced no agreement to improve conditions at
the facilities.
     "We have given Virginia every chance to comply with the law,
but these residents can't wait any longer for conditions to
improve," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval
L. Patrick.  "The time for talk has ended."
     Today's suits ask the Commonwealth to correct the violations
by:

         Providing adequate psychiatric and psychological       treatment
                                                                 and
                                                                 medical
                                                                 care
                                                                 for
                                                                 residents
                                                                 at
                                                                 both
                                                                 facilities;

         ensuring that all living conditions are safe, so that       residents are prevented from harming themselves or
                                                                      being subjected to harm from others;

         ensuring that there is an adequate number of           trained
                                                                 staff
                                                                 to
                                                                 meet
                                                                 the
                                                                 residents'
                                                                 needs; 

         providing treatment and training when necessary; and,
     
         ensuring that every resident is evaluated to determine           whether placement in the facility is appropriate.

     During the course of its investigations, the Department
discovered that a 17-year-old boy at the Fairfax center had died
from asphyxiation when a plastic glove lodged in his throat.  At
Eastern State Hospital, which also houses the Hancock Geriatric
Center, a patient who died of a cardiac arrest had been given
eight prescription drugs.  A cardiologist blamed the attack on
the multiple medications.  Evidence indicates that conditions at
the facilities continue to pose a danger to residents.
     The Justice Department began investigating the Northern
Virginia Training Center, which houses individuals with
developmental disabilities, in May 1990. Independent experts have
visited the facility more than nine times.  The Department opened
its investigation into Eastern State Hospital, which houses
individuals with psychiatric disorders, in September of 1992. 
Both investigations were initiated after the Department received
a number of complaints about conditions at the facilities.  The
Commonwealth was informed of the Department's most recent
findings regarding both facilities on February 8, 1995.     
     "We had hoped the Commonwealth would choose to enter into a
constructive settlement to safeguard the constitutional rights of
residents, rather than engaging in protracted and expensive
litigation,"  added Patrick. 
     Congress passed CRIPA in 1980 to protect the rights of
people housed in state and local government institutions,
including psychiatric hospitals, facilities for the mentally
retarded, jails, prisons, juvenile detention facilities and
nursing homes.  The Department has the authority to bring action
against state and local governments with institutions exhibiting
a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional and
statutory rights of residents.  
     "It is important that we protect the rights and dignity of
these residents who very often lack a voice in our society,"
added Patrick.
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96-084