Torture not Treatment - Disability Rights International

TORTURE NOT TREATMENT
Methodology and Sources
This report primarily draws on facts that are in the public record – the findings of numerous state
agencies and licensing boards, judicial decisions, and testimony before the Massachusetts
legislature during the consideration of legislation to regulate aversive treatment. More than any
other source, the report relies on the information that the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) provides
about its own programs on its website. The website includes first-hand testimonies of students
and parents. MDRI has supplemented these sources by conducting interviews with one former
student, three mothers of former students, one former staff, and numerous mental health
professionals and attorneys who have been involved in regulating JRC or representing clients at
JRC.
There has been extensive reporting in the press on practices at JRC. We provide references to
press sources to supplement public sources or the JRC website, but we do not rely on press
sources for our major findings.
MDRI makes a number of references to two in-depth public reports based on site visits by
professionals to JRC. Both reports provide helpful background information and analysis. The
first is the recertification report of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Mental
Retardation, published on April 27, 2009. This report was written by a multi-disciplinary
Certification Team with expertise in development and implementation of behavioral
modification plans. The team included two doctoral level psychologists and a board-certified
psychiatrist. The team reviewed extensive documentation at JRC, including the written
application for certification, individual records, outcome data and independent clinicians‘
reports. The team also interviewed and observed numerous students.
MDRI also refers to the analysis and findings of the New York State Education Department
(NYSED) published in June 9, 2006. This report was based on an announced visit to JRC April
25-26, 2006 and an unannounced visit May 16-18, 2006. The team included three behavioral
psychologists and four members of the NYSED staff.
MDRI has no way of determining whether all the practices observed by the Massachusetts
Certification Team or NYSED team are still taking place. As described in this report, however,
many of the findings of NYSED in 2006 were later documented by the Massachusetts team in
2009. As presented on JRC‘s website, however, the essential nature of JRC‘s core treatment
program remains the same. MDRI’s core findings and analysis would remain the same if we
relied solely on the current information about practices at JRC now available on their own
website and if we assumed that JRC were complying substantially with Massachusetts
regulations on aversives.
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