Dunn et al v. Thomas et al

Filing 3442

ORDER directing that ADOC's consultants are to submit to ADOC a written clarification of whether they intended the term "Qualified Mental Health Professional," as used in their staffing ratios, to exclude registered nurses or any of the other categories of professionals named by the plaintiffs or ADOC in their proposed definitions of the term, and ADOC is to file that written clarification with the court, all by12/8/2021, at 5:00 p.m., as further set out in order. Signed by Honorable Judge Myron H. Thompson on 12/1/2021. (djy, )

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, NORTHERN DIVISION
EDWARD BRAGGS, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
JEFFERSON S. DUNN, in his
official capacity as
Commissioner of
the Alabama Department of
Corrections, et al.,
Defendants.

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CIVIL ACTION NO.
2:14cv601-MHT
(WO)

ORDER
In
ordered

its

Phase

ADOC

mental-health

(at

2A

Understaffing

ADOC’s

staffing

own

ratios

Order,

the

court

suggestion)

to

develop

specifying

the

minimum

number of various types of mental-health staff necessary
to provide adequate care to any given number of inmates.
Specifically, it ordered that:
“(e) By September 1, 2018, the State’s
mental-health
consultants--Catherine
Knox,
Jeffrey L. Metzner, and Mary Perrien--shall ...
develop mental-health staffing ratios.
“(f) By March 1, 2019, Catherine Knox,
Jeffrey L. Metzner, and Mary Perrien shall
submit finalized mental-health staffing ratios

to the defendants. The defendants are to file
the ratios with the court by March 4, 2019.
“(g) By August 15, 2019, ADOC shall modify
its contract with the mental-health vendor in
order to provide the positions required by the
mental-health staffing ratios, as modified by
any agreements between the parties or orders of
this court.”
Phase 2A Understaffing Order (Doc. 1657) at 4-5.
The

ratios

that

ADOC’s

consultants

proceeded

to

develop specify a certain number of “Qualified Mental
Health

Professionals”

(QMHPs),

among

staff, that must be provided per inmate.
Staffing Ratios (Doc. 2385-1) at 3.

other

types

of

See Recommended
The consultants

explained that they intended the term QMHP to refer to
professionals who are “appropriately licensed to practice
(assess for the presence of mental illness, evaluate for
the risk of suicide, provide therapy) independently with
no supervision required,” but not to “associate licensed
counselor[s], licensed bachelor[s] of social work, and
licensed marriage and family therapist[s].”

Id. at 2.

The court is now in the process of fashioning an
omnibus

remedial

order

addressing

the

constitutional

violations identified in its 2017 liability opinion.
2

See

Braggs v. Dunn, 257 F. Supp. 3d 1171 (M.D. Ala. 2017)
(Thompson,

J.).

In

their

submissions

regarding

the

omnibus remedial order, the parties dispute the meaning
of the term QMHP, which they use to refer to a limited
class of mental-health staff who may perform certain
duties,

such

restrictive

as

conducting

housing,

mental-health

assigning

certain

rounds

in

mental-health

codes, and assessing inmates who have been given an
emergent

referral

plaintiffs

would

for

mental-health

define

the

term

services.
to

The

include

any

psychiatrist, psychologist, certified registered nurse
practitioner,

or

other

independently

licensed

mental

health professional except for a registered nurse.

See

Pls.’ Updated Proposed Omnibus Remedial Order (Doc. 3342)
at § 1.23 (emphasis added).
define

the

psychologists,

term

to

CRNPs,

ADOC, by contrast, would

include
RNs,

all

“psychiatrists,

counselors,

psychological

associates, and other persons who by virtue of their
credentials, education, experience, and/or licensure are
permitted by Alabama law to evaluate and care for the

3

mental-health needs of patients.”

Defs.’ Proposed Phase

2A Remedial Order (Doc. 3215) at § 1.26 (emphasis added).
Given

this

disagreement,

the

court

requests

clarification from ADOC’s consultants as to whether they
intended the term “Qualified Mental Health Professional,”
as used in their staffing ratios, to exclude registered
nurses or any of the other categories of professionals
named

by

the

plaintiffs

definitions of the term.

or

ADOC

in

their

proposed

As it has done before, see

Phase 2A Understaffing Order (Doc. 1657) at 5, the court
will

order

ADOC’s

consultants

to

submit

their

clarification to ADOC, and ADOC to file the clarification
with the court.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that ADOC’s consultants
are to submit to ADOC a written clarification of whether
they

intended

Professional,”

the
as

term

used

“Qualified

in

their

Mental

staffing

Health

ratios,

to

exclude registered nurses or any of the other categories
of professionals named by the plaintiffs or ADOC in their
proposed definitions of the term, and ADOC is to file

4

that

written

clarification

with

the

court,

all

by

December 8, 2021, at 5:00 p.m.
DONE, this the 1st day of December, 2021.
/s/ Myron H. Thompson
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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