FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 1995 (202) 616-2765 TDD (202) 514-1888 JUSTICE DEPARTMENT MOVES TO MAINTAIN COURT ORDERED PROGRAMS FOR MENTALLY DISABLED RESIDENTS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA WASHINGTON, D.C -- The Justice Department today asked a federal court in the District of Columbia to hold the District in civil contempt for violating longstanding court decrees to provide appropriate care for its mentally disabled residents. In a motion, filed today in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the Justice Department asked the court to prevent the District from closing down existing residences and terminating training programs for mentally disabled persons. It alleged that District officials were not complying with existing court orders by failing to pay those private parties who operate the community services. Numerous providers, some of whom claim they have not been paid for up to four months, insist that without funds they will be forced to close their facilities. As a result, hundreds of mentally disabled citizens may be illegally confined in potentially more costly institutions in the District. Many of the mentally disabled citizens were former residents of Forest Haven, a mental retardation institution closed in 1991 by court order. The Justice Department also seeks an audit of individual resident accounts amid allegations of widespread irregularities in the management of these funds. It also requests the appointment of a Special Master to ensure that no facilities are closed, that all necessary programs are restored, and that any additional threats of closing are averted in the future. The case, Evans and United States v. Barry, has been assigned to Judge John Pratt. # # # 95-139