C.P.X. v. Garcia
| Citation | 450 F.Supp.3d 854 |
| Decision Date | 30 March 2020 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 4:17-cv-00417-SMR-HCA |
| Parties | C.P.X. THROUGH his next friend S.P.X.; and K.N.X. through his next friend Rachel Antonuccio, for themselves and those similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Kelly Kennedy GARCIA in her official capacity as Director of the Iowa Department of Human Services; Cory Turner in his official capacity as Interim Mental Health and Disabilities Services Director of Facilities; and Mark Day in his official capacity as Superintendent of the Boys State Training School, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa |
Nathan David Kirstein, Jane Monteith Hudson, Disability Rights, Des Moines, IA, Charles D. Zagnoli, Nicholas M. Berg, Pro Hac Vice, Timothy R. Farrell, Pro Hac Vice, Ropes & Gray LLP (IL) Chicago, IL, Harry Frischer, Pro Hac Vice, Marissa Christina Nardi, Meetra Hope Mehdizadeh, Pro Hac Vice, Stephanie Marie Persson, Pro Hac Vice, Childrens Rights, New York, NY, Katelyn E. Saner, Pro Hac Vice, Ropes & Gray LLP (MA) Boston, MA, for Plaintiffs.
Gretchen Witte Kraemer, Anagha Dixit, Matthew Kenneth Gillespie, Attorney General of Iowa, Des Moines, IA, for Defendants.
This case concerns the provision of mental health care to young men adjudicated delinquent and ordered to an out-of-home placement at the Boys State Training School in Eldora, Iowa ("the School"). It raises questions about what care the School must provide, per the values enshrined in the United States Constitution, and what tools it may use to achieve its goals of treatment and rehabilitation. The School's responsibility is a great one; in many ways the School is a final opportunity for delinquent youth to learn the skills necessary to avoid a lifetime of criminal recidivism and, instead, make a meaningful contribution to society. In a time of restricted budgets and where the student population is exceptionally volatile, the School's path to meeting its responsibility is fraught with difficulty. This case clarifies the School's duties as it endeavors to meet the needs of those in its care.
This case was commenced in November 2017 by then-current students at the School against Iowa officials responsible in various ways for the School's administration. After over a year and a half of contentious—and at times acrimonious—litigation, this matter came before the Court for a nine-day bench trial in June 2019. During that trial, more than 28,000 pages of exhibits were introduced, along with surveillance videos from the School. This Order presents the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law, orders injunctive relief, and creates a framework through which Defendants can ensure the School's students are afforded every opportunity the State can give them to turn their lives around.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Under Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Consistent with the dictates of Rule 52, the Court's findings of fact are set out in this Section I. The Court's conclusions of law are set out in its legal analysis of Plaintiffs' claims in Section III of this Order.
The School opened in 1873 and is located in Eldora, Iowa. JX008.022.1 The Iowa State Department of Human Services ("DHS") operates the School, id. , and the School is under the authority of Iowa's Director of Human Services, JX010.001. The School is an unsecured facility, meaning it is not surrounded by fencing or other external walls, there are no guard towers, and the staff is unarmed. Tr. 1296:5–16. The facility itself consists of an administrative building, educational building, nine cottages (five of which are utilized as residential units), and other buildings used for School maintenance and various programs at the School. Tr. 1295:24–1298:19.
The School provides housing for up to 130 boys adjudicated delinquent between the ages of 12 and 19.6 years old. JX008.002. In May 2018, the average daily population of the School over the preceding year was 103 students. Id. The average age of the students at the School was 16.53 years of age at the time of admission. Id. The average length of stay for students at the School was ten months and ten days. Id.
Students are placed at the School by order of an Iowa juvenile court. Tr. 756:14–16. To be eligible for placement at the School, potential students must fall into one of two categories. First, a student may be placed at the School if he is at least 12 years of age and a court finds: (1) the student's placement at the School is in his best interest or is necessary to protect the public; and (2) the student has committed one of several specific felonies under Iowa law. JX014.001. Alternatively, a court may order a student placed at the School if it finds any one of the following conditions are met: (1) the student is at least 15 years of age and placement at the School is in his best interest or necessary to protect the public; (2) the student committed a crime against a person which would be an aggravated misdemeanor or a felony if an adult committed the same act; (3) the student was previously found to have committed a delinquent act; or (4) the student had previously been placed in a treatment facility outside his home or in a supervised community treatment program through prior delinquency adjudication. JX014.001–.002. Over sixty-seven percent of students at the School are adjudicated felons, and they average seven out-of-home placements before being placed at the School. JX008.002. The School cannot decline a placement, even if School administrators believe a student will be too difficult to serve. Tr. 756:20–22. The School also may not discharge a student for bad behavior or because he presents with serious medical needs. Tr. 1173:23–1174:9. A court order is required to move to another setting any student who has been placed at the School. Tr. 1174:11–13.
Generally, the School's program tasks students with maintaining good behavior over a sustained period. Students must progress through a three-level system based on weekly evaluations of their behavior. See generally PX135.006–.007. Each of these three levels contains ten steps. Id. Every student begins at the School at level one, step one; and he usually completes the program when he reaches level three, step ten. PX135.007.
To progress through the level system, a student must earn "yes" weeks. PX135.006. Each student's behavior is graded twice every day in his cottage (i.e., the residential unit to which he is assigned), and he also receives a weekly behavioral grade for every school class, group, vocational class, and program in which he participates. Id. Behavioral grades range from one to five, with grades of one and two being "downgrades"; three being neutral; and grades of four and five being "upgrades." Id. Every Wednesday, students undergo an evaluation whereby they present their grades, goal progression, and other information to their "Treatment Team," which consists of their cottage staff, counselor, cottage director, school and vocational teachers, and group leaders. PX.135.007. Each Treatment Team member votes on whether a student has "made" his week—that is, whether the student's behavior warrants his progression to the next step in the three-level system. Id. A majority of the Treatment Team must vote "yes" for a student to make his week. Id. Generally, a student who receives three or more downgrades is at risk of failing to make his week. PX135.006. Admission to the School's Behavioral Stabilization Unit ("BSU"), described in more detail below, also hinders a student's chances of making his week. PX135.006–.008.
When a majority of a student's Treatment Team votes that a student has made his week, the student earns a "yes" week and progresses to the next step in the three-level system. PX135.006. So, a student who was on level one, step one will progress to level one, step two; a student who was on level one, step ten will progress to level two, step one. Students can also progress additional steps by earning certain achievements at the School, such as a cottage "Man of the Week" award, PX136.006–.007, which is awarded to the student in each cottage who exhibits the best behavior, role modeling, and mentorship, Tr. 1337:2–5. Students who fail to make their week—also described as "losing" a week or earning a "no" week—remain on the same step or possibly move down one or more steps. PX135.007. The three-level system is also tied to privileges. As...
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