Chair Farías questions zero reported restraint incidents on pregnant people
Farías asks how many restraint incidents involving pregnant or postpartum people were recorded. Chelsea Chard says there have been zero reported incidents in the past three years, and explains DOC policy limits restraints to absolute last resort.
And how many of these incidents were involving the use of restraints on pregnant or postpartum people in DOC custody were recorded?
Good morning, Chelsea Chard, Senior Advisor.
We have zero reported incidents within the past three years.
Is there a reason why we have zero reported when we know of at least?
One case where we have zero recorded period of no restraints being utilized, despite some of the records that folks are giving to us as,
I wouldn't be able to speak to those individual cases.
It is our policy that in the case that DOC knows that an individual is pregnant or eight weeks postpartum, restraints are to be used only as an absolute last resort.
And in the case that restraints are used, a report is generated, a positive report is generated to our state oversight body, and we don't have any of those reports for the past three years.
Okay.
Can you give me an idea of how that process works?
Like who's in the room when there's potential use of restraint and who has to elevate that or generate that report?
Sure.
So generally it would be the staff who are with that person, whether it's during transportation or kind of wherever they might be within a facility or a clinic setting.
Again, the goal is to never have to use restraints.
There is a lot of de-escalation and work that happens with that person, whether it's from DOC staff or other staff who might be present in the room.
In the case that there is imminent risk of harm to the person or to others, that would be really the only case, and that is, again, exceptional and rare.
And in those cases, only front restraints are used.
And the person who is applying the restraints is the one who is submitting that report within one business day.
Okay.
Thank you so much.
I'm going to now pass it over to Chair Brooks Powers for her questions.
Thank you so much, Chair, and thank you for the testimony.
Again, it's always helpful if we can get the testimony in advance.
So my hope is that I'm not redundant in some of the questions that I'm asking.