Coleman, et al v. Schwarzenegger, et al
Filing
5498
ORDER signed by District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 10/6/2016 ORDERING 5496 Plaintiffs are GRANTED 14 days from the date of this order in which to file and serve a response to defendants' 9/28/2016 update; and a Status Conference is set for 11/10/2016 at 02:30 PM in Courtroom 3 (KJM) before District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller. (Reader, L)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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RALPH COLEMAN, et al.,
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Plaintiff,
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v.
No. 2:90-cv-0520 KJM DB P
ORDER
EDMUND G. BROWN, JR., et al.,
Defendants.
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The court has reviewed the monthly reports concerning patient census and waitlists for
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inpatient mental health care filed since the court’s October 13, 2015 order approving the
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templates for those reports. ECF No. 5367. That review shows between September 2015 and
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April 2016, the waitlist for inpatient care declined to a low in April 2016 of 65 inmates. The
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reports also show that during that entire period defendants had a significant surplus of inpatient
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beds available, which raises questions about why there were any inmates waiting for inpatient
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care at all. Moreover, the decline in the waitlist has now been reversed, and the number of
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available beds also has declined significantly. By August 2016, the waitlist for inpatient care had
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increased to 200 inmates and the number of available inpatient beds had declined to 85. A
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supplemental status report filed by defendants on September 28, 2016, ECF No. 5496, shows that
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the picture has not improved: as of the close of business on September 26, 2016, the number of
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inmates on the waitlist totaled 187, while the number of available beds had dwindled to 71.
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As the court discussed in its August 5, 2015 order,
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[t]he history of the remedial phase of this litigation reflects
significant time and effort spent by the court and the parties to
identify and remediate substantial and longstanding problems with
access to inpatient mental health care. Those efforts culminated in
2011 and 2012 with the court’s approval of defendants’ plans to
eliminate waitlists for inpatient care and implement a sustainable
process so that the waitlists would not recur. See ECF No. 3962
(Defs.’ Plan Re: Intermediate Care Facility and Acute Inpatient
Waitlists); ECF No. 4020 (Special Master’s Report and
Recommendations on Defs.’ Plan); ECF No. 4045 (adopting in part
Special Master’s recommendations, ordering immediate
implementation of parts 2, 3 and 4 of defendants’ plan, and setting
evidentiary hearing); ECF No. 4103 (Defs.’ Supplemental Plan to
Reduce or Eliminate the Inpatient Waitlists); ECF No. 4131 (Order
continuing evidentiary hearing); ECF No. 4132 (Defs.’ Report on
Assessment Process and Plan Re: Sustainable Self Monitoring);
ECF No. 4214 (Order noting what then appeared to be “remarkable
accomplishments to date in addressing the problems with access to
inpatient mental health care” and directing a continued meet and
confer process).
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ECF No. 5333 at 1-2. A year later, the waitlist is not eliminated and instead reflects a resurgence,
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beds have remained empty while inmates waited for placement, and the number of inmates
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waiting for beds now exceeds by over 100 the number of available beds.
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Good cause appearing, this matter will be set for status conference on Thursday,
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November 10, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. in Courtroom # 3. Both the California Department of
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Corrections and Rehabilitation defendants and the Department of State Hospitals shall have
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present at the status conference one or more individuals with personal knowledge who will be
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prepared to address the court as to what steps are being taken to increase the number of available
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inpatient beds and what additional steps are being taken to eliminate the waitlist for inpatient
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beds.
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In accordance with the above IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
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1. Plaintiffs are granted fourteen days from the date of this order in which to file and
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serve a response to defendants’ September 28, 2016 update, ECF No. 5496; and
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2. This matter is set for status conference on Thursday, November 10, 2016 at 2:30 p.m.
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in Courtroom # 3.
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DATED: October 6, 2016.
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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