10/10/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/10/2025 06:11
October 10, 2025 / #AdvocacyMatters
Protecting and advocating for our society's most isolated and vulnerable individuals is one of the most vital parts of our work. The ability to actively monitor and investigate the places where so many are kept away from society's view is necessary for us to fulfill our role. From the very dawn of the disability rights movement, this access and transparency has been a pivotal tool.
Earlier this week, Disability Rights Ohio filed a lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health over access to records to conduct investigations of abuse and neglect. DRO is currently investigating reports of sexual assault, high rates of suicide attempts, and prohibited use of medications at two state-licensed youth residential treatment facilities. DRO is also working to investigate a death in a state-operated regional psychiatric hospital where a patient suffocated from a plastic bag being placed over their head.
"State operated and state licensed facilities are restrictive, isolated settings where some of the most vulnerable individuals with complex behavioral health conditions find themselves locked in without their consent," said Kerstin Sjoberg, DRO President & CEO. "Our ability to comprehensively monitor and investigate these facilities is critical."
We cannot - and will not - ignore what happens in the shadows, and our duty to investigate what happens in these facilities will not go unfulfilled. Equity cannot be found without transparency.
#AdvocacyMatters