C.P.X. v. Garcia (formerly known as C.P.X. v. Foxhoven)
Iowa
Children’s Rights (CR) and Disability Rights Iowa (DRI) filed C.P.X. v. Foxhoven against the director of the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS), Jerry Foxhoven; the administrator of the Division of Mental Health and Disability Services, Richard Shults; and the superintendent of the Boys State Training School, Mark Day. The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of all children confined to the Boys State Training School now or in the future and who have significant mental illnesses.
CASE DETAILS
- Venue
- U.S. District Judge Stephanie Marie Rose, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa
- Status
- Active
- Filed
- November 27, 2017
- Focus Areas
- Child Health, Psychotropics, Government Accountability, Youth Justice
CR and DRI assert 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 necessary mental health treatment, workers at Eldora, as it is known, rely heavily on potentially harmful psychotropic medications administered without appropriate oversight or consent—as well as solitary confinement and a full-body mechanical restraint—to control youth who typically have not been convicted of any crime. For example, children with mental illnesses have been placed in solitary confinement for raising their voices, arguing with other children, talking while taking a shower and failing to clean up.
CR and DRI assert violations of Plaintiffs’ right to substantive due process as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; their right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, as guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. They are seeking a court order to prevent policies and practices that violate their constitutional and federal statutory rights.
