Editorial: Change at Oregon State Penitentiary behavioral unit long overdue

We understand that most change is not instantaneous.

But when the Oregon Department of Corrections agreed last year to improve conditions for inmates with serious mental illness at the maximum security Oregon State Penitentiary by 2020, we didn't expect the change to be so glacial....

Disability Rights Oregon, which provides legal-based advocacy for Oregonians with disabilities, completed a study in 2015 that showed inmates with serious mental illness were being confined to tiny cells in the prison's Behavioral Health Unit (BHU) an average of 23 hours per day. Many of those cells are often covered in plastic sheeting to prevent the inmates from throwing bodily fluids at staff, completing cutting them off from any outside interaction.

The nonprofit could have filed lawsuits and taken the Oregon DOC to court to exact change. Instead, it labored for a year to come to an agreement that would give the DOC up to four years to make significant improvements to the BHU. In January 2016, DRO and DOC signed a Memorandum of Understanding and put into writing the DOC's willingness to get these inmates out of solitary confinement.

Yet a year later, "little has been accomplished," said DRO's Executive Director Bob Joondeph.

True, Joondeph said, an expert has been brought in and is working with staff. And the DRO and the DOC did work together successfully to get the Oregon Legislature to grant funds to expand the BHU.

But the DOC, while moving to put expansion plans out to bid and select a contractor, has not yet begun work to make physical changes to the building. It has not extended the BHU, which would create a more open area for therapeutic and recreational activities. As a result, inmates with mental illness still spend, on average, less than five hours  a week out of their cells.

"They've fallen short of getting these inmates out of solitary confinement," Joondeph said.

The DOC sees the situation a little differently. Hiring a state contractor, for instance, takes a little more time than usual, said Betty Bernt, a spokeswoman for the corrections department.

The DOC says it's also made inroads the past year by allowing daily exposure to natural light by removing window louvers; adding two treatment classrooms, increasing treatment staffing, bringing in new recreation equipment, and expanding the unit library.

Out-of-cell time has also increased weekly, she said, while acknowledging there is work to do to reach the agreed upon weekly 20 hours of out-of-cell time.

"While DOC and DRO have different perspectives and, in some instances, significant disagreements about the character of the environment and the culture within the BHU, we appreciate the contrasting and sometimes conflicting perspectives DRO provides, as well as DRO’s recommendations, as they both help DOC work towards our mutual goals of changing and improving the BHU. DOC is committed to carrying out all of the items captured in the January 2016 MOU with DRO," she said via a press release.

The BHU was designed as a tool to help the prison manage inmates with mental illness who become disruptive or violent. It was never intended to become a dark, indefinite holding space with cages. It was meant to be a treatment area, a place where these inmates could get the therapies they need and then be reconnected with the general prison population.

Instead, it remains a hopeless place.

The use of restraints has lessened some, Joondeph said, but it's still an "inhumane situation." DROcontends DOC continues its "overemphasis on security at the expense of the efficacy and delivery of clinical support."

"The DOC told us that they wanted improve this situation, and we took them at their word. We stand ready to help and support in any way," Joondeph said. "But we will keep attention on this. We will continue to monitor the DOC progress."

We hope the public will, too.