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Federal Standards, Reports, and Guidelines:

Documents available for download

GAO Report to Congressional Requesters: Mental Health: Improper Restraint or Seclusion Use Places People at Risk (1999)

Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General: Restraints and Seclusion: State Policies for Psychiatric Hospitals (2000)

Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General: Reporting Abuses of Persons with Disabilities (2001)
A report by the DHHS describing systems used by some states to identify, investigate and resolve incidents of abuse or neglect of persons with disabilities.

Restraint and Seclusion: HCFA*: Rules for Hospitals (1999)

Massachusetts Licensing and Operational Standards for Mental Health Facilities (2006)
This Department of Mental Health Policy includes the State's standards for the prevention of seclusion and restraint.

Links to other documents and resources

Department of Health and Human Services, HCFA: Use of Restraint and Seclusion in Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities Providing Psychiatric Services to Individuals Under Age 21 (2001)

The Children’s Health Act of 2000

Federal Standards for the Use of Seclusion and Restraint
A summary of the standards from the Children’s Health Act of 2000 from the Judge Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Restraint and Seclusion: Overview of Federal Laws and Policies (2003)
Summary of background information and federal law from the National Association for Protection and Advocacy Systems

Seclusion and Restraint Questions and Answers
Information on seclusion and restraint from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations

*The Health Care Financing Administration is now known as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).