Arkansas Division of Correction, ADA Non-Compliance, Arkansas 2024

Arkansas Division of Correction (ADOC) has been charged with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, specifically Title II, which requires public entities to provide accessible facilities and programs for individuals with disabilities.

According to a recent agreement reached with the Justice Department, ADOC must provide necessary medical care and mobility services to disabled inmates at the Ouachita River Unit prison facility in Malvern, Arkansas. The facility has a capacity for 1,782 inmates, including a Special Needs Unit for elderly, chronically ill, and acutely ill inmates.

Under the agreement, ADOC will remove barriers to access for inmates with mobility disabilities in various areas of the prison, including cells, toilet rooms, showers, medical facilities, and dining halls. Additionally, the facility will ensure that shower water is cool enough to prevent scalding paralyzed inmates who cannot feel their skin burning.

Other requirements include providing medically necessary equipment and durable medical equipment, such as trapeze bars, transfer boards, or patient lifts, for transferring inmates from a wheelchair to another surface. Furthermore, ADOC will provide adequate care and treatment, including wound care and catheter care.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon emphasized the importance of ADA compliance, stating, ‘Public entities, including correctional facilities, must comply with the ADA by providing facilities and programs that are accessible to people with disabilities.’

The agreement was reviewed and approved by the ADOC’s Board of Corrections without objection on September 3. The Justice Department is committed to enforcing the ADA to ensure equal access for all Americans.

To learn more about the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt. For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TTY 1-833-610-1264) or visit www.ada.gov.