div class=wp-heading mb-8 h3 id= class=wp-heading-h3 with-standardTHIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN TRANSLATED INTO AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE/h3 /div pa href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D0g-nVqiBcPlay the video/a/p img width=1110 height=740 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/american-sign-language-interpreter-signing-b.jpg class=attachment-16x9_1400 size-16x9_1400 alt=A closeup of an American Sign Language interpreter#039;s hands as they sign. decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/american-sign-language-interpreter-signing-b.jpg 1110w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/american-sign-language-interpreter-signing-b-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/american-sign-language-interpreter-signing-b-400x267.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/american-sign-language-interpreter-signing-b-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/american-sign-language-interpreter-signing-b-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/american-sign-language-interpreter-signing-b-1000x667.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px / pA five-year effort to get equal access for deaf and hard-of-hearing people on parole and probation in Georgia has ended in victory. The American Civil Liberties Union and our legal partners reached a a href=https://www.aclu.org/documents/settlement-agreement-cobb-v-georgia-department-of-community-supervisiongroundbreaking settlement/a that requires the Georgia agency responsible for supervising people on probation and parole – the Georgia Department of Community Supervision or “GDCS” – to dismantle the discriminatory hurdles that make it harder for deaf and hard-of-hearing people to avoid prison and live safely in their communities. We hope that other states look to this agreement when determining what is required for their supervision agencies to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act./p pFor years, our clients lived in constant fear of reincarceration. Supervision officers often held important meetings with people who used American Sign Language (ASL), but failed to provide ASL interpreters or other needed accommodations. They “explained” the rules of supervision to people who could not hear or understand these rules, but who nonetheless risked prison or jail if they didn’t follow them./p div class=mp-md wp-link div class=wp-link__img-wrapper a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/for-people-with-disabilities-on-parole-and-probation-accessible-communication-is-essential target=_blank tabindex=-1 img width=1200 height=628 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/e067fc19bbc6b7aed77be8129845b4e7.jpg class=attachment-4x3_full size-4x3_full alt= decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/e067fc19bbc6b7aed77be8129845b4e7.jpg 1200w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/e067fc19bbc6b7aed77be8129845b4e7-768x402.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/e067fc19bbc6b7aed77be8129845b4e7-400x209.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/e067fc19bbc6b7aed77be8129845b4e7-600x314.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/e067fc19bbc6b7aed77be8129845b4e7-800x419.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/e067fc19bbc6b7aed77be8129845b4e7-1000x523.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px / /a /div div class=wp-link__title a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/for-people-with-disabilities-on-parole-and-probation-accessible-communication-is-essential target=_blank For People with Disabilities on Parole and Probation, Accessible Communication is Essential /a /div div class=wp-link__description a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/for-people-with-disabilities-on-parole-and-probation-accessible-communication-is-essential target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7-mobile is-size-6-tabletOur clients were repeatedly denied sign language interpretation necessary to understand the conditions of their release. They paid the price with.../p /a /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/for-people-with-disabilities-on-parole-and-probation-accessible-communication-is-essential target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /a /div /div pTwo of our clients had this exact fear realized when ineffective communication resulted in them a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/for-people-with-disabilities-on-parole-and-probation-accessible-communication-is-essentialbeing incarcerated while/a the case was ongoing. Supervision officers also failed to take disability into account in other ways, too. They knocked on the doors of individuals they knew were deaf, and then accused them of failing to cooperate when they didn’t answer a knock at the door that they couldn’t hear./p pOur clients’ heroic and sustained efforts have helped to guarantee equal rights for all deaf and hard-of-hearing people on supervision in Georgia. Starting now, each current and future deaf and hard-of-hearing person on supervision in Georgia will undergo a communication assessment that will allow the state to create a communication plan that considers the range of situations a deaf or hard-of-hearing person may experience while on supervision, and the types of accommodations they may need./p div class=mp-md wp-link div class=wp-link__img-wrapper a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/language-access-is-a-civil-right-for-both-children-and-adults target=_blank tabindex=-1 img width=1200 height=628 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9636b5e3f45539ce55fb7cedd041ff4b.jpg class=attachment-4x3_full size-4x3_full alt= decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9636b5e3f45539ce55fb7cedd041ff4b.jpg 1200w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9636b5e3f45539ce55fb7cedd041ff4b-768x402.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9636b5e3f45539ce55fb7cedd041ff4b-400x209.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9636b5e3f45539ce55fb7cedd041ff4b-600x314.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9636b5e3f45539ce55fb7cedd041ff4b-800x419.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/9636b5e3f45539ce55fb7cedd041ff4b-1000x523.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px / /a /div div class=wp-link__title a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/language-access-is-a-civil-right-for-both-children-and-adults target=_blank Language Access is a Civil Right, For Both Children and Adults /a /div div class=wp-link__description a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/language-access-is-a-civil-right-for-both-children-and-adults target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7-mobile is-size-6-tabletWhy the ACLU supports the right of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children to access language./p /a /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/language-access-is-a-civil-right-for-both-children-and-adults target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /a /div /div pImportantly, GDCS has agreed to provide Deaf interpreters for people who need them. Deaf interpreters are sign language interpreters who are also deaf. A Deaf interpreter will work with a hearing ASL interpreter to provide effective communication, especially for deaf adults who have experienced a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/disability-rights/language-access-is-a-civil-right-for-both-children-and-adultslanguage deprivation/a — a neurodevelopmental disorder with negative and long-lasting effects on the deaf adult’s language, cognitive, and socioemotional development. Long periods of incarceration with no ability to communicate with other people who know ASL can compound the effects of language deprivation. Hearing-sign language interpreters alone are typically unable to bridge the communication gap between deaf adults with language deprivation and their supervision officers. This communication gap can often lead to serious and preventable misunderstandings between the deaf person and the supervision officer that a Deaf interpreter could solve./p pFor example, in one instance a probation officer relied on a single, hearing interpreter — present on a computer — to explain a form with confusing conditions to a client. The client struggled to understand the interpreter and asked to take a photo of the form so he could ask the ACLU’s legal team to provide a Deaf interpreter to translate the form in a way he understood. Had the ACLU not stepped in to secure a Deaf interpreter, our client would not have fully understood what the form said, nor would he have been able to ask several clarifying questions, and would have risked reincarceration. This settlement ensures that any use of video interpretation, known as VRI, is clear, not relegated to a small cell phone screen, and that supervisees actually understand the directions being given./p div class=mp-md wp-link div class=wp-link__img-wrapper a href=https://www.aclu.org/cobb-v-georgia-department-of-community-supervision/settlement-agreement target=_blank tabindex=-1 /a /div div class=wp-link__title a href=https://www.aclu.org/cobb-v-georgia-department-of-community-supervision/settlement-agreement target=_blank NOTICE TO THE CLASS: COBB V. GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SUPERVISION › Settlement Agreement /a /div div class=wp-link__description a href=https://www.aclu.org/cobb-v-georgia-department-of-community-supervision/settlement-agreement target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7-mobile is-size-6-tabletThis is the ASL translation and plain language version of Cobb v Georgia Department of Community Supervision Settlement Agreement./p /a /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet a href=https://www.aclu.org/cobb-v-georgia-department-of-community-supervision/settlement-agreement target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /a /div /div pGDCS will also now provide better accommodations for deaf or hard-of-hearing clients who cannot read and write English. Historically, the agency provided critical information about supervision only in writing. With this a href=https://www.aclu.org/cobb-v-georgia-department-of-community-supervision/settlement-agreementsettlement/a, a lack of fluency in reading or writing English will no longer be a barrier to successfully completing supervision. If the deaf or hard-of-hearing person cannot understand written documents due to their disability, GDCS has agreed to use appropriate accommodations and provide the written information in another accessible format. This will help prevent future incidents of confusion when people receive documents with important instructions that they do not understand. We have also produced a href=https://www.aclu.org/cobb-v-georgia-department-of-community-supervision/georgia-department-of-community-supervision-ada-policyASL and plain language translations of the new ADA Policy/a so that signers and those with limited literacy can access the ADA policy at any time./p pMany people on supervision in Georgia are required to complete programs or classes as a condition of their supervision, but, in the past, the sponsors of many of these programs have refused to provide ASL interpreters and other necessary accommodations to our clients. GDCS will now require that the providers of any classes or programs required for people on supervision, comply with federal disability laws by providing necessary accommodations, such as interpreters, for effective communication./p pWhile we’ve won this fight in Georgia, the work is not yet done. Every parole and probation department in the country has the obligation under federal disability laws to provide not only effective communication to deaf and hard-of-hearing people, but also any a href=https://www.aclu.org/publications/reducing-barriers-a-guide-to-obtaining-reasonable-accommodations-for-people-with-disabilities-on-supervisionreasonable accommodations/a that people with disabilities need to have an equal opportunity to successfully complete supervision. In reality, probation and parole departments regularly fail to determine whether their people with disabilities need accommodations, let alone provide those accommodations./p pRight now, we’re a href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/class-action-lawsuit-challenges-discriminatory-post-conviction-supervision-system-in-washington-d-cchallenging this failure/a in Washington, D.C., where people with mental health disabilities are nearly twice as likely to face reincarceration or other punishment for “technical violations,” or minor rule violations like missing an appointment with a supervision officer. And in Georgia, we now begin a four-year period of monitoring the state’s compliance with the agreement. As part of that monitoring, GDCS will provide us with documentation to show that they are complying with the agreement and providing effective communication. If they violate it, we’ll see them back in court./p

pOn October 24, 2022 at 2 a.m., 27-year-old Joshua Wesley called a crisis help line from his home in Washington County, Oregon, just west of Portland. He was having suicidal thoughts and knew that he needed professional help. But instead of receiving a mental health provider as specifically requested, he encountered a group of armed police officers at his door. This response not only deprived Wesley of the immediate psychiatric care that he needed, but it also led to him being arrested and seriously injured by the responding officer. He ultimately spent two weeks in the hospital, and six months in jail./p pWesley told us that he felt that he needed qualified professionals to console him, talk him down, and give him solutions. But the officers that showed up made the situation worse by simply trying tried to put him in handcuffs and cart him off./p pJoining forces with the ACLU, Disability Rights Oregon, the ACLU of Oregon, and the law firm Shepherd Mullin, Wesley is a plaintiff in a recently filed lawsuit against Washington County and the local 911 dispatch center. The lawsuit asserts that the county’s emergency response system discriminates against people with mental health disabilities and exposes them to risk of serious harm, including injury, arrest, and incarceration. Wesley said that he joined the case because he believes strongly in helping out others facing similar struggles./p div class=wp-heading mb-8 h2 id= class=wp-heading-h2 with-standardA Life-or-Death Situation/h2 /div pWashington County has a history of inappropriately responding to mental health crises. In 2022, police officers were dispatched to 100 percent of the calls coded as “behavioral health incidents” in Washington County. The county does have mobile crisis teams comprised exclusively of mental health clinicians, the sole non-police response available there. But, while the mobile crisis teams are intended to be available 24/7, in practice, they’re underfunded, not connected with the emergency dispatch system, and often unavailable — especially at night, when many mental health crises occur./p pPolice response to mental health crises can be dangerous and even deadly. Police officers are not qualified mental health professionals and should not be expected to assess and treat people in crisis. Beyond that, police presence may actually make mental health symptoms worse, triggering anxiety and paranoia. Most alarming of all, it is a href=https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/reports_publications/overlooked-in-the-undercounted-the-role-of-mental-illness-in-fatal-law-enforcement-encounters/estimated/a that people with untreated mental illness are 16 times more likely than others to be killed by the police during an encounter./p a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/911-reimagining-a-system-that-defaults-to-dispatching-police class=wp-link mb-8 target=_blank div class=p-4-mobile p-6-tablet div class=mb-4 div class=wp-link__img-wrapper is-relative img width=1200 height=628 src=https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/7d213448e117ddd5d2241ad28928c059.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt= decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/7d213448e117ddd5d2241ad28928c059.jpg 1200w, https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/7d213448e117ddd5d2241ad28928c059-768x402.jpg 768w, https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/7d213448e117ddd5d2241ad28928c059-400x209.jpg 400w, https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/7d213448e117ddd5d2241ad28928c059-600x314.jpg 600w, https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/7d213448e117ddd5d2241ad28928c059-800x419.jpg 800w, https://wp.api.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/7d213448e117ddd5d2241ad28928c059-1000x523.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px / /div /div div class= div class=wp-link__title h3 class=is-size-6-mobile pr-4 911: Reimagining a System that Defaults to Dispatching Police /h3 /div div class=wp-link__description pr-3 mt-1 p class=is-size-7-mobile is-size-6-tabletEmergency response systems must be revamped to equip 911 call-takers to dispatch non-police first responders./p /div /div /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /div /a pThat’s what nearly happened in Wesley’s case. Instead of being provided with the care he was seeking — on-site psychiatric assessment and treatment — he was placed under a “police officer hold,” a form of involuntary detention, and transported to a hospital via ambulance. Wesley was not treated or stabilized during transport and his symptoms worsened. At the hospital, Wesley was still suicidal and he attempted to take an officer’s firearm to use on himself. During the incident, the officer stabbed Wesley several times, resulting in serious injuries to his chest, stomach, and head./p pThe damage to Wesley’s body serves as a constant reminder of the incident. The scars left from the incident demonstrate that there could have been other ways to deal with the situation, Wesley told us./p pWesley then spent two weeks in the hospital recovering. During this time, his repeated requests for mental health assistance and therapy were denied. He remained handcuffed to his bed and kept under near-constant police surveillance. Wesley felt that the doctors stopped looking at him as a patient who needed help and treatment to heal, but rather, as a criminal./p pAfter being released from the hospital, Wesley faced criminal charges arising from the altercation with the officer. He spent six months in jail, missing the birth of his first and only son. He also missed the holidays and time with his family at a time of great strife./p pUltimately, it took months for Wesley to receive the psychiatric help that he first sought in October./p div class=wp-heading mb-8 h2 id= class=wp-heading-h2 with-standardA More Humane Emergency Response/h2 /div pWhen someone in Washington County experiences a physical health crisis, like a heart attack or a severe allergic reaction, they can call 911 and expect a response from a qualified medical professional, like an EMT or paramedic. The same cannot be said, however, for someone experiencing a mental health crisis./p pThe lawsuit explains how this discrepancy violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act. Mental health crises demand a mental health response — not a police response — because they are, at their core, health emergencies./p pExperts agree that mental health emergencies should be addressed by mental health professionals, not the police. As part of theira href=https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/national-guidelines-for-behavioral-health-crisis-care-02242020.pdf recommended best practices,/a the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) proposes a three-tiered system that includes a crisis call center, mobile crisis teams, and stabilization centers for walk-ins and drop-offs. SAMHSA also noted that responding with police is “unacceptable and unsafe,” a view that the a href=https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/July-2022/Mobile-Crisis-Teams-Providing-an-Alternative-to-Law-Enforcement-for-Mental-Health-CrisesNational Alliance on Mental Illness/a shares./p pAs a result of Washington County’s inappropriate response to mental health crises, it discriminates against people with mental health disabilities on a daily basis. . This lawsuit seeks to improve its mental healthcare system. Possible solutions include fully funding mobile crisis response teams that can bring care and support to the people who need it, when they need it./p pWashington County isn#8217;t the only jurisdiction with a system in need of reform. Justice Department investigations have found similar discrimination in Louisville and Minneapolis, stating that relying on police as mental health first responders causes “real harm in the form of trauma, injury, and death to people experiencing behavioral health issues.”/p pWesley hopes that this case brings widespread attention to an issue that impacts many lives on a daily basis. People with mental health disabilities are harmed both because of a failed response to mental health crises , and because many people with mental health disabilities don’t want to call for help out of fear of an armed police response. Wesley sees a need nationwide for an important reckoning for how jurisdictions respond to mental health crises. Counties and other locales should be looking at their systems and asking, “Is our system for mental health crisis response fair? Is it safe? Is it right?”/p pHow jurisdictions answer these questions could have a major impact on the care and support people with mental health disabilities receive while in crisis. We must not allow discriminatory practices that cause real harm and death to go unchecked./p div class=rss-cta__titleWe need you with us to keep fighting/diva href=https://action.aclu.org/give/now class=rss-cta__buttonDonate today/a/div