The long-bubbling federal review of the Conway Human Development Center seems to have come to a full boil today.
The Justice Department today filed a motion in federal court to enjoin the admission of developmentally disabled children to the center to prevent their placement in "dangerous conditions" and to allow continued investigation of accusations of "imminent and serious threats to the safety of the facility's more than 500 residents."
Here's a copy of the motion for an injunction.
Justice filed a complaint against the state in January 2009. It said it had concluded that residents face "increasing and grave risk of harm each day that deficiencies are ignored." It cites, among others, the state's failure to move residents into community-based programs. Also:
The United States has concluded that children at the facility are particularly vulnerable given allegations that CHDC residents are subjected to dangerous medication mismanagement and harmful, unnecessary restraints. In recent years, at least three CHDC residents have died, suffered possible permanent organ damage or been at risk of hemorrhaging to death because of psychotropic medication mismanagement. CHDC also continues to utilize 41 different forms of mechanical restraints on both children and adults, including straitjackets, restraint chairs and papoose boards - practices that have been largely barred from other facilities for years.
I've sought comments from the state on today's development.
UPDATE: Said Matt DeCample in the governor's office:
As you know, Arkansas has been working with DOJ officials for many years to address their concerns at CHDC. Nothing in that working relationship had changed to our knowledge, and we had no warning or indication that they were going to pursue this course of action.
This is an old story. Here, for example, is a five-year-old Justice Department investigation report sent to Gov. Mike Huckabee with similar allegations. The state has always exhibited a certain blindness about operations at Conway, as evidenced when this suit was filed more than a year ago and a state spokesman described Conway services as "wonderful." More than 500 people live there, most with profound or severe retardation. Some are in fragile health. In 2005, according to the Disability Rights Center, about three dozen were school-aged children. This link carries multiple links to the progress of this ongoing probe.
It is an unrelated divison of the state Human Services Department, but this news happens to come on a day I've received continuing tips about shortcomings in the state's child protective services, an agency whose work was highlighted in this week's cover story by David Koon. There is more to come from a former official about personnel qualifications and responsiveness at the agency. How many children fall through the cracks in Arkansas? And how long will legislators tolerate the lack of accountability from the agency, which won't discuss specifics of their cases and won't reveal what, if any consequences, were meted out to workers involved? The governor continues to disappoint in this field. Children pay the price. The Justice Department has the power to pull the covers off.
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It's open.
The debate challenges have begun. In the 1st Congressional District, Democratic candidate Chad Causey calls for one. Tim Wooldridge and Steve Bryles promptly second the motion and Bryles adds to the stew by labeling Causey, a former top hand for U.S. Rep. Marion (Thank God He's Retiring) Berry, a Washington insider.
Welcome home, Chad.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - 15:43:42
XIU XIU9 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $10.While they're a three-piece from San Jose, there's no use in pretending that the critically-fawned over
Xiu Xiu is anything other than the brainchild of Jamie Stewart, the brilliant avant-pop experimentalist who orchestrates the band's challenging sound: confrontational and oft-disturbing but inexplicably revisitable. And they're prolific, to boot. In eight years, they've released nine albums of David Lynchian arrangements draped upon intense, jostling and auteurian vocals. Ever confrontational, their album titles include “Knife Play,” “Fag Patrol” (Stewart is a bit of a gay icon) and their newest, “Dear God, I Hate Myself.” It's been a while since Little Rock has seen an outfit this severe and uncommercial playing outside of house shows, so if you're not attending as a fan, attend for the spectacle.
Girl in a Coma and
Noveller provide support.
—
John Tarpley
Monday, March 08, 2010 - 16:58:39
We have a history, fried pies and I. And it was a particular sort of fried pie that drew the attention of this blog back in December 2007. Lots hashappened since that entry. We have a different president, social media like Facebook and Twitter have taken over our digital conversations, and there was this little addition to my own household.
But nothing's changed about Ms. Lena's fried pies. They're still hot, flaky, crisp and tasty -- and you can still only get them on Saturdays. I revisit the DeValls Bluff pie shop over on Tie Dye Travels.
