Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons

The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) relates to conditions of confinement in state or locally operated institutions (the statute does not cover private facilities) -- identifying the rights of institutionalized persons and the responsibilities of facilities and institutions.

The CRIPA generally applies to five types of institutions:

• Jails and Prisons
• Juvenile Correctional Facilities
• State or locally-run Mental Health Facilities
• State or locally-run Developmental Disability and Mental Retardation Facilities
• State or locally-run Nursing Homes

Significant problems covered by the CRIPA include:

• Abuse and neglect in nursing homes and juvenile facilities
• Sexual victimization of women prisoners
• Inadequate education in facilities serving children and adolescents
• Unmet mental health needs of inmates and pre-trial detainees
• Rights of institutionalized persons with disabilities to receive adequate habilitation and active treatment