DRA launches searchable PRTF document database
Collected documents related to Arkansas’s psychiatric residential treatment facilities for youth (PRTFs) are now available for view on the Disability Rights Arkansas website. PRTFs are designed to provide therapeutic services and programs for children and youth who struggle with psychiatric, behavioral, and emotional disorders and challenges. The services provided are less medically intensive than those […]
Life’s no holiday in our state’s psychiatric residential treatment facilities
What are YOU thankful for this holiday season? A warm, comfortable bed? Safety and security? Connection to those you love? Right here in our state, there are children for whom these things are sadly out of reach. For the 800 children currently receiving services in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) across the state, life is […]
Lawyers, formerly incarcerated people and their families speak out
Earlier this year, Disability Rights Arkansas joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the ACLU of Arkansas, and the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs to file a lawsuit against Governor Asa Hutchinson and Arkansas Department of Corrections officials on behalf of Arkansas state prisoners over the inadequate measures to prevent the transmission of […]
DRA, other civil rights lawyers file complaint against state officials over COVID-19 outbreaks in Arkansas state prisons
LITTLE ROCK – Today, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the law firm Squire Patton Boggs, Disability Rights Arkansas, and American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas filed an emergency complaint against Governor Asa Hutchinson and Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) officials on behalf of Arkansas state prisoners over the inadequate measures to […]
Danger to Self or Others is NOT the Standard: The Misuse of 72-Hour Holds by Psychiatric Facilities
Ask any mental health professional the standard for a 72-hour hold and the answer is overwhelmingly, “danger to self or others.” I have tested this many times by asking a wide variety of mental health professionals during various presentations across the State. The truth is that this an overgeneralization of what is required under Arkansas […]