Florida DOC Agrees to Reform Prisoner Mental Health Care
Disability Rights Florida, the state’s Protection and Advocacy organization for people with disabilities, has reached a settlement agreement with the Florida Department of Corrections (FDOC) that includes widespread changes to mental health treatment for prisoners.
The agreement was filed in conjunction with the complaint in federal district court in January 2018, and approved the following month. The settlement was the culmination of a multiyear investigation by Disability Rights Florida into the care and treatment of FDOC prisoners with mental health issues. The parties engaged in a year-long series of mediation sessions and reached the agreement with the assistance of federal judge Harvey Schlesinger.
