JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FINDS UNCONSTITUTIONAL CONDITIONS
AT THREE ARIZONA JUVENILE JUSTICE FACILITIES

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced the results of its investigation into the conditions of confinement at three juvenile justice facilities in Arizona: Adobe Mountain School (Adobe) in Phoenix; Black Canyon School (Black Canyon) in Phoenix; and Catalina Mountain School (Catalina) in Tucson. The Department found substantial and deeply troubling civil rights violations at all three facilities.

Through the course of its investigation, the Justice Department discovered credible evidence that sexual abuse of youth by both staff and other juveniles occurs frequently at the Adobe Mountain School, and that the institution’s management has done little to effectively address this serious problem. The investigation also concluded that non-sexual physical abuse, including unjustified physical force, was similarly prevalent. Even basic services, such as medical and mental health care, failed to satisfy constitutionally minimum standards.

“The conditions in these facilities are extremely troubling,” said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “However, the state of Arizona has cooperated fully with our investigation and we are confident that together we will continue to work cooperatively to remedy these deficiencies.”

Of particular concern was the recurrence of suicides by juveniles confined at the facilities. In a single year, between April 2002 and March 2003, three youths at Adobe took their own lives. The investigation revealed inadequate suicide prevention measures and inadequately trained staff throughout the facilities.

Adobe Mountain School houses approximately 430 boys ranging in age from 13 to 17; Black Canyon houses approximately 100 girls ranging in age from 14 to 17; and Catalina houses approximately 140 boys ranging in age from 13 to 17. The three facilities house juvenile offenders confined mostly for non-violent offenses, including property damage, disorderly conduct, theft, shoplifting, as well as drug and alcohol abuse.

The Department’s findings and recommendations are documented in a letter from Assistant Attorney General Acosta to Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard. The text of the letter is available on the Justice Department’s website at <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/findsettle.htm#CRIPAletters>.

The Civil Rights Division conducted its investigation pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980 (CRIPA). These statutes allow the federal government to identify and root out systemic abuses such as those identified in this case, rather than focus on individual civil rights violations.

The Civil Rights Division has successfully resolved similar investigations of other juvenile justice facilities in Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and Saipan, and recently filed suit over similar charges against the state of Mississippi. Investigations concerning juvenile justice facilities are pending in California, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada and South Dakota.

The Department of Justice’s enforcement effort reaches beyond juvenile facilities. Since 2001, the Department of Justice has opened 35 similar investigations into the terms and conditions of confinement at nursing homes, mental health facilities and residences for persons with developmental disabilities. These figures represent a nearly seventy-five percent increase over the 20 such investigations initiated in the 1998-2000 time period. Most recently, the Civil Rights Division sued the State of Mississippi over conditions at two juvenile facilities in the state () and also entered into a settlement with the state of Louisiana arising out of conditions at the state’s facilities for persons with developmental disabilities (<http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2004/January/04_crt_011.htm>).

More information about the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division can be found at <http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/index.html>.

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