Judge Rotenberg Center
What is the Judge Rotenberg Center?
The Judge Rotenberg Center is a residential institution in Canton, Massachusetts, that also operates over twenty group home facilities. The JRC is known for its use of shock-aversives on Autistic people and people with other disabilities or behavioral problems. A shock-aversive is intended to deter an individual from a harmful or undesirable behavior (anything from slamming one's head into walls to rocking back and forth) by administering a painful skin shock through electrodes taped to the victim's skin. Their particular device is called the GED, and was invented specifically for the JRC. The JRC also uses other forms of behavioral aversives, including denial of food, restraint, and seclusion. The JRC is the only institution in the United States that uses electric shock aversives.
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into the potential violations of the law by the Judge Rotenberg Center in response to the Mental Disability Rights International's Torture Not Treatment report. (Read it here!)
In 2011, founder Matthew Israel was forced to resign from his position after he was charged with misleading a grand jury in the 2007 investigation into the JRC following an incident in which a former student called a group home posing as a staff member and instructed that two other residents be subjected to electric shock aversive shocks. The JRC had destroyed the video tapes containing evidence of the incident.
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into the potential violations of the law by the Judge Rotenberg Center in response to the Mental Disability Rights International's Torture Not Treatment report. (Read it here!)
In 2011, founder Matthew Israel was forced to resign from his position after he was charged with misleading a grand jury in the 2007 investigation into the JRC following an incident in which a former student called a group home posing as a staff member and instructed that two other residents be subjected to electric shock aversive shocks. The JRC had destroyed the video tapes containing evidence of the incident.
Legislative Initiatives
Legislative attempts to close the JRC or ban aversives have failed for over two decades. In the 2011-2012 Massachusetts General Session, there have been three Senate bills and one House bill introduced that address aversives:
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- Bill S.49: An Act relative to level IV treatment interventions.
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- Bill S.50: An Act creating a special commission on behavior modification.
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- Bill S.51: An Act relative to the humane treatment of disabled persons.
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- Bill H.77: An Act relative to the humane treatment of disabled persons.
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State Department of Developmental Services Regulations
In early 2011, the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services responded to an executive order from Governor Deval Patrick to amend existing regulations regarding use of aversives, such as electric shock aversives. The proposed regulations were heard in two hearings in July and August 2011 despite immense JRC opposition, but were enacted into law in the Fall 2011. The regulations completely prohibit the use of aversives on any student admitted to the JRC after 1 September 2011, but do permit their use under an annually-reviewed court-approved behavioral intervention plan for students who were authorized to receive the shocks before 1 September 2011.
