An Unfinished Journey:

The Jensen Lawsuit & settlement: Restraint is Not a Substitute for Treatment

Photo: Black and white photo of an individual in a bed with a straitjacket. The individual has dark hair and is facing away from the camera.

Photo courtesy of William Bronston, MD.

Photo: Governor Luther Youngdahl is in a suit, topcoat, and hat holding a long stick and is poking a bonfire of straitjackets, and other restraint devices that are on fire. Women wearing nurses' uniforms under their jackets look on in the background. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society.

The use of restraint and seclusion in institutional settings dates back centuries.

In 1949, Minnesota Governor Luther Youngdahl celebrated the end of the use of physical restraints in Minnesota institutions by burning straitjackets, cuffs, straps, and canvas mittens at a ceremony on the campus of Anoka State Hospital.

Youngdahl declared, "We have liberated the patients from barbarous devices and the approach which those devices symbolized … By this action, we say to the patient that we understand them—that they need have no fears—that those around them are friends."

Youngdahl's optimism was premature …

In 2008, the Minnesota Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities issued a report about a residential program for people with developmental disabilities called the Minnesota Extended Treatment Options (METO). The report found that residents were routinely restrained face-down and placed in metal handcuffs and leg hobbles, even when the residents did not show aggressive behavior. Residents were often secluded for long periods and deprived of visits from family.

James and Lorie Jensen (on behalf of their son), along with the families of three other residents, filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota in 2009, alleging that the use of mechanical restraints and seclusion violated the residents' rights. Before trial, the parties agreed to settle the case. In December 2011, U.S. District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank approved the Jensen Settlement Agreement, which covered more than 300 residents. The agreement prohibited the use of mechanical, manual, prone, and chemical restraints, as well as seclusion and the use of other painful techniques.

Photo of Judge Donovan W. Frank.

As part of the Jensen Settlement Agreement, the State also agreed to develop and implement an Olmstead Plan, which had not yet been adopted in Minnesota (12 years after the Olmstead decision). After rejecting several versions, Judge Frank approved the Plan in September 2015 (4 years after the Jensen Settlement Agreement). On October 24, 2020, the Court's jurisdiction over the case and Plan ended, but the work and implementation of the Plan continues.

Link to https://disabilityjustice.org/jensen-case/