Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act

The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) of 1980 is a United States federal law[1] intended to protect the rights of people in state or local correctional facilities, nursing homes, mental health facilities, group homes and institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

CRIPA is enforced by the Special Litigation Section in the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, which investigates and prosecutes complaints in terms of this legislation.

[2] The Special Litigation Section is allowed to investigate state or locally operated institutions in order to ascertain if there is a pattern or a practice of violations of a residents' federal rights.

This law was enacted to give statutory authority to the Department of Justice to protect the civil rights cases of institutionalized people.

In general, allegations against publicly operated facilities result in an investigation when the Division has received sufficient evidence of potential systemic violations of Federal rights, such as physical abuse, neglect, or lack of adequate medical or mental health care or education.

[6] When Congress enacted CRIPA, they recognized that although it was not an ideal solution, litigation represented "the single most effective method for redressing systematic deprivations of institutionalized persons' Constitutional and Federal statutory rights.

The DOJ, within the 49-day period, must make a good faith effort to work with the facility and ensure that it has had reasonable time to take corrective action.

[6] As opposed to state adult institutions, juvenile correctional facilities are subject to more robust federal protections that regulate the treatment of youth, and thus are easier to bring investigations against when the DOJ is notified.

In addition to actions under CRIPA, the attorney general has the power to enforce parts of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which allows the attorney general to file lawsuits against administrators of juvenile justice systems who violate the rights of incarcerated juveniles.

The enforcement mechanism of the CRIPA Act makes effective change difficult and extensively litigious, a key flaw in applicability.

The suit was brought in 1991 to make reforms in "the areas of fire safety, security, sanitation, and the provision of medical, mental, and dental health care.

This case highlights the breadth of correction the CRIPA Act covers, as well as the universal applicability to any institutional facilities resting within the U.S. territorial hemisphere.