AVID - Amplifying Voices of Incarcerated Individuals with Disabilities
DRW v. DOC
On October 11, 2023, Disability Rights Washington (DRW) filed a complaint and settlement agreement in federal court to resolve allegations that the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) is violating the U.S. Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Rehabilitation Act in its treatment of incarcerated people with disabilities who are transgender. The court entered a consent decree ordering DOC to comply with the agreement on October 17.
DRW Reaches Agreement with DOC to Improve Care For Transgender People with Disabilities
October 11, 2023On October 11, 2023, Disability Rights Washington (DRW) filed a complaint and settlement agreement in federal court to resolve allegations that the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) is violating the U.S. Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Rehabilitation Act in its treatment of incarcerated people with disabilities who are transgender.Report: Many Faces of Solitary
January 10, 2023Read the latest AVID report on the current state of solitary confinement in Washington State and the call for reform.
The Many Faces of Solitary Confinement in Washington Prisons
In December 2022 the AVID program released a report outlining the current state of solitary in Washington prisons and calling for reform. The report was accompanied by a video featuring a person currently in solitary, explaining the harms of solitary and the need for change.
Summer 2021: AVID Update
September 10, 2021In the summer of 2021, DRW’s AVID program staff and legal interns conducted monitoring in five of the Washington State Department of Corrections’ main prison facilities. During our trips we focused on solitary confinement units and missioned housing such as the residential treatment unit, the assisted living unit, the senior unit, and the unit for people with cognitive disabilities.Attorney General tells law makers that no statute limits people with disabilities from living in their communities
July 28, 2021In its July 27, 2021 opinion, the Attorney General’s Office smacked down the notion that there might be some legally permissible way to draft zoning or other local laws that would create categorical limits or exclusions of people with disabilities from certain communities in our state. The opinion is a long awaited response to a request made by a state legislator and a letter sent by DRW and other organizations in 2019.
Doe v. Washington State Department of Corrections
On April 7, 2021, Disability Rights Washington (DRW); the ACLU of Washington; Munger, Tolles & Olson; and MacDonald, Hoague & Bayless sued the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) on behalf of a group of people who are currently and formerly incarcerated. Several parties, including media entities and an individual, had requested information through the Washington Public Records Act about people whom DOC has identified as transgender, non-binary, and intersex. This emergency lawsuit was necessary to protect the safety and privacy of people identified by DOC as transgender, non-binary, and intersex.