PHOENIX, Ariz. — In a sweeping order, U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver is requiring the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, and Reentry (“ADCRR”) to make “substantial” changes to staffing and conditions so that medical care and mental healthcare at Arizona prisons comes up to constitutional standards. 

The Court noted that due to “the substantial dysfunction in Defendants’ operations,” the order is “unusual” and includes “significant detail regarding medical care, mental health care, and conditions imposed on the subclass to remedy the egregious constitutional violations.”

Among other things, the Court requires ADCRR to:

• Address chronic staffing problems by filling all currently vacant health care positions and hiring additional health care staff, including doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists and psych associates within three months of the Order;
• Develop and implement a new sick call process, in which all people who request medical attention will see a Doctor, Nurse Practitioner or Physician’s Assistant, without being required to first see a nurse for triage;
• Identify people who are are not fluent in English, and ensure that they have adequate interpretation services for all individual and group health care encounters;
• Greatly expand their program to screen and treat people with Hepatitis C; and
• Develop and implement a comprehensive program to treat people for Opioid Use Disorder.

The order also requires improvements to mental health care, including better coordination of care, regular face-to-face meetings with mental health workers, and improved mental health training for custody officers. It also places restrictions on prison officials placing people in isolation conditions for extended periods of time, and requires numerous changes to improve the living conditions in segregated housing units.

The Court appointed four experts to serve as neutral monitors to assist the Court in monitoring ADCRR’s compliance with the order. In addition, lawyers from the Prison Law Office, the ACLU National Prison Project and the Arizona Center for Disability Law will also be monitoring and assessing compliance.

You can read the order here.