Corrections_Today_January_February_2024_Vol.86_No.1

■ LEGAL ISSUES

Geographic Boundaries of United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts

system to include (1) a systematic program for screen ing and evaluating; (2) treatment that entails more than segregation and close supervision; (3) a sufficient number of trained behavioral health professionals to assess and treat offenders with serious mental health needs; (4) ac curate, complete and confidential records of the mental health treatment process; (5) appropriate supervision and periodic evaluations for anyone prescribed psychotropic medications; and (6) identification, treatment and super vision of offenders with suicidal tendencies. As with the Bowring test, these standards quickly spread to other jurisdictions and are mirrored in the American Correc tional Association’s (ACA) Performance-Based Standards and Expected Practices for Adult Correctional Institutions (2021). The ACA standards set the bar for professional standards and include many of the Ruiz elements. In par ticular, the expected practice standard for a Mental Health Program (5-ACI-6A-28) includes;

“We therefore hold that Bowring (or any other prison offender) is entitled to psychological or psychiatric treatment if a physician or other health care provider, ex ercising ordinary skill and care at the time of observation, concludes with reasonable medical certainty 1. that the prisoner’s symptoms evidence a serious disease or injury; 2. that such disease or injury is curable or may be substantially alleviated; and 3. that the potential for harm to the prisoner by reason of delay or the denial of care would be substantial” ( Id. ) . Ruiz v. Estelle (1980) was a class action suit which established standards for many topics such as over crowding, brutality, staffing and health care. Applied to behavioral health care, it set the minimal constitutional requirements for a correctional behavioral health service

40 — January/February 2024 Corrections Today