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VIRGINIA INSTITUTION FOR THE MENTALLY ILL AGREES TO

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Virginia psychiatric institution will upgrade its conditions of confinement and improve serious deficiencies in medical care and supervision, under an agreement reached today with the Justice Department.

The agreement, filed together with a complaint in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, resolves allegations that Central State Hospital, a facility for the mentally ill located outside of Petersburg, Virginia, failed to provide adequate medical care, supervision, treatment and staffing to residents in its facility. The agreement requires Central State to institute a comprehensive remedial plan designed to assure that the facility meets constitutional standards. The Justice Department began investigating Central State in March 1997.

"We must never allow unconstitutional conditions to go unaddressed in our nation's mental health institutions," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "Through the cooperative efforts of federal and state officials, we have been able to reach an agreement that will ensure better conditions for patients at Central State Hospital."

Under the agreement and remedial plan, Central State will:

• provide adequate psychiatric and psychological treatment and medical care for patients by assessing the needs of patients and developing and implementing treatment plans;

• ensure that there is adequate staff to meet the patients' needs and that all living areas are safe and patients are protected from harm;

• implement seclusion and restraint policies that are consistent with professional standards;

• develop an adequate mechanism to investigate allegations of abuse and other improper incidents and take corrective action;

• develop a quality management plan that will allow officials to monitor, document, and evaluate implementation of the remedial measures; and,

• assess the appropriate placement needs of all patients, establishing clear discharge criteria, developing appropriate discharge plans, and working with Virginia's Community Service Boards to place patients no longer needing hospitalization in appropriate community settings.

The agreement, which was approved by the Court today, will allow the Justice Department to monitor Central State to ensure compliance.

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