A.J. Ruben

"I'm AJ Ruben, I am the supervising attorney at Vermont's P&A, the Protection and Advocacy System, we're called Disability Rights Vermont. Many of our clients are in long-term segregation in prison have serious mental illness that makes them a danger to themselves or others. Many of them are eligible for psychiatric level care.

 

In psychiatric hospitals, funded by Medicaid, there are various strict rules about the amount of time someone can be put in segregation which is defined as, alone in a room that you can't get out of. You're only allowed to be segregated for as long as you are an imminent risk of harm to others, serious harm. Once you're no longer risk, you have to be let out. And when you're let out, you're provided with a therapeutic environment where there are trained professionals who are able to interact with you with knowledge of how your disability affects your behavior and with best practice evidence-based practices on how to respond."

 

Narrator: The AVID Prison Project, Amplifying Voices of Inmates with Disabilities, is a collaboration between The Arizona Center for Disability Law, Disability Law Colorado, the Advocacy Center of Louisiana, Disability Rights New York, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities of South Carolina, Disability Rights Texas, Disability Rights Washington and the National Disability Rights Network. This video is produced by Rooted in Rights.

 

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The AVID Prison Project is a collaboration between The Arizona Center for Disability Law, Disability Law Colorado, The Advocacy Center of Louisiana, Disability Rights New York, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities of South Carolina, Disability Rights Texas, Disability Rights Washington and The National Disability Rights Network.