STIPULATION AND [PROPOSED] ORDER RE: REVISIONS TO REMEDIAL PLAN

CHARLES R. BREYER, District Judge.

The parties propose to enter into the following stipulation to revise the Remedial Plan as amended on March 1, 2002:

RELEVANT BACKGROUND

Under the Settlement Agreement entered into by the parties in this case, the parties adopted a Remedial Plan which governs, in general, the identification of inmates with developmental disabilities, and the services Defendants are to provide to inmates in the Developmental Disability Program (DDP).

Presently, under the Remedial Plan, if an inmate in the DDP is found guilty of a rules violation, the Chief Disciplinary Officer must review the completed Rules Violation Report in accordance with California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Section 3312. Then the Chief Disciplinary Officer must consult with the DDP clinician regarding the findings and disposition of the hearing before taking action. Remedial Plan, Amended March 1, 2002 at 50. The clinician must provide input as to the effectiveness of the disposition in correcting the inmate's behavior. Id. Both the Chief Disciplinary Officer and the clinician must sign the completed Rules Violation Report. Id. By signing this form, the DDP clinician does not endorse the rules violation disposition, but only acknowledges the consultation. Id. The need for the Chief Disciplinary Officer to consult with clinicians concerning the rules violation disposition for inmates in the DDP must be incorporated into applicable lesson plans, post orders, and operational procedures at designated institutions. Id.

I. ELIMINATION OF POST—RULES VIOLATION CONSULTATION BETWEEN THE CHIEF DISCIPLINARY OFFICER AND DDP CLINICIAN AND ADOPTION OF COLEMAN RULES-VIOLATION EVALUATION PROCESS.

Presently, the Chief Disciplinary Officer and DDP clinician consult after the findings and disposition of a rules-violation hearing have been issued, but before disciplinary action is taken. The parties have determined that the better course of action is to follow the newly instituted rules-violation process developed in Coleman v. Brown (2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC), attached to this stipulation.

Under the revised process, inmates in the DDP who are alleged to have committed a rules violation shall receive a mental health assessment, noted on a CDCR Form 115-MH-A, Rules Violation Report: MH Assessment Request. This mental health assessment incorporates clinical input into the disciplinary process when cognitive or adaptive functioning deficits may have contributed to behavior resulting in a rules violation. Mental health assessments shall be considered by the hearing officer or other official during the disciplinary proceedings when determining whether and how to discipline an inmate. The new process also provides mechanisms to mitigate discipline, allows for alternative forms of documenting inmate behavior, and excludes certain behaviors from Rules Violation Reports.

The parties agree to amend the Remedial Plan to eliminate the post rules-violation consultation between the Chief Disciplinary Officer and DDP clinician, and to use the attached rules-violation review process, effective on the date of the Order approving the parties' stipulation.

The parties have also agreed to revise the Rules Violation Report policies, procedures, and staff training to reflect the above revision to the Remedial Plan. CDCR will implement the following:

STIPULATION