New High Impact Project Case Seeks To End Mistreatment Of Boys In A Juvenile Detention Center In Iowa

National in scope, the Barbara McDowell High Impact Litigation Project coordinated the initiation and support of high impact social justice litigation cases. Launched in 2010, the Project coordinated 17 cases in various issue areas under the auspices of the Foundation. The following story outlines one such case.

The Foundation, the Ropes and Gray law firm, Children’s Rights, and Disability Rights Iowa filed suit in November 2017 on behalf of boys confined to Iowa’s Boys State Training School who have significant mental illnesses.

The lawsuit asserts that these boys, aged 12 to 19, do not receive the mental health treatment needed to fulfill the facility’s mission of providing a program which focuses on appropriate developmental skills, treatment, placements and rehabilitation.

Instead of providing this necessary mental health treatment, the facility to control boys incarcerated there relies upon potentially harmful psychotropic medications administered without appropriate oversight or consent, solitary confinement, and full-body mechanical restraints. The case is ongoing.