Senate Bill 1674 (2024) — Restrictive confinement of inmates
SB 1674
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 By Senator Powell 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 1 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the restrictive confinement of 2 inmates; providing a
short title; creating s. 944.022, 3 F.S.; providing legislative findings and intent; 4 defining terms; specifying requirements for and 5 limitations and restrictions on the use of restrictive 6 housing; providing documentation requirements for 7 staff members directly involved in using restrictive 8 housing for an individual; specifying conditions 9 required in restrictive housing; requiring that an 10 explanation of the restrictive confinement policy be 11 provided by facility staff to each individual placed 12 in custody; providing an effective date. 13 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15 16
Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Cautia Spencer End 17 Solitary Confinement Act.” 18
Section
Section 944.022, Florida Statutes, is created to 19 read: 20 944.022 Restrictive confinement of inmates; limitations; 21 required documentation; required minimum conditions during 22 restrictive confinement.— 23
(1) FINDINGS; INTENT.—The American Psychiatric Association 24 advises against the isolation of juveniles and persons with 25 mental illness. In an investigation of conditions at a detention 26 center, the United States Department of Justice found that 27 incarcerated juveniles subjected to restrictive housing, 28 including for short periods of time, experienced symptoms of 29
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 2 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. paranoia, anxiety, and depression. According to Juvenile Suicide 30 in Confinement: A National Survey by the Office of Juvenile 31 Justice and Delinquency Prevention, individuals in restrictive 32 housing attempt and die by suicide at a much higher rate than 33 individuals in the general prison population.
The survey found 34 that among the incarcerated youth who die by suicide, half were 35 in isolation when they committed suicide, and 62 percent had 36 been in restrictive housing at some point. According to the 2006 37 report by the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s 38 Prisons, restrictive housing was related to higher-than-average 39 recidivism rates, especially when individuals were released into 40 the community directly from restrictive housing. The United 41 Nations declared that restrictive housing is considered a form 42 of torture.
Under The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for 43 the Treatment of Prisoners, restrictive housing must be banned 44 for all vulnerable groups, including children. It is the intent 45 of the Legislature to limit the use of any restrictive housing 46 for all incarcerated individuals to a maximum of 8 hours. 47
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 48 (a) “Individual” refers to both incarcerated adults and 49 juveniles in the custody of the department or of the Department 50 of Juvenile Justice. 51 (b) “Juvenile” means any individual 21 years of age or 52 younger. 53 (c) “Mental health practitioner” means a licensed 54 psychiatrist, psychologist, mental health counselor, or clinical 55 social worker. 56 (d) “Restrictive confinement” or “restrictive housing” 57 means the involuntary placement of an individual in a cell, 58
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 3 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. room, or other area except during regular sleeping hours.
The 59 term includes, but is not limited to, any behavioral 60 intervention, seclusion, or room confinement in response to a 61 rule violation, a staffing shortage, or any other circumstance 62 that is not an emergency response to behavior that poses a 63 serious and immediate threat of physical harm to the individual. 64 Forms of restrictive housing include, but are not limited to, 65 maximum management, close management I, II, and III, 66 administrative confinement, and disciplinary confinement. 67 (e) “Therapeutic and restorative justice program” means any 68 program that focuses on the rehabilitation of the individual and 69 addresses the underlying causes of his or her negative behavior. 70
(3) REQUIREMENTS; LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS ON USE.— 71 (
a) An individual may not be placed in any form of 72 restrictive housing for any reason other than as a temporary 73 response to behavior that poses a serious and immediate threat 74 of physical harm to the individual or to others. 75 (
b) Restrictive housing may not be used without prior 76 approval, and such confinement lasting more than 1 hour requires 77 the approval of the facility director, deputy director, or the 78 supervisor with the highest level of authority who is present at 79 the facility at the time, and may be initiated only after 80 consultation with and with the approval of and oversight by a 81 mental health practitioner. Approval must be reaffirmed every 82 hour that an individual is in restrictive housing. 83 (
c) Restrictive housing may only be imposed under the 84 following circumstances: 85 1. If using progressive protocols, beginning with verbal 86 calming and other de-escalation techniques attempted by facility 87
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 4 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. staff, has proven unsuccessful at resolving the imminent threat 88 of physical harm to the individual or to others; 89 2. If there is a need to eliminate the serious and 90 immediate risk of physical harm to the individual or to others; 91 or 92 3. If no less restrictive intervention has been, or is 93 likely to be, effective in averting the imminent threat of 94 physical harm to the individual or to others. 95 (
d) An individual must be allowed telephone calls with 96 legal counsel before being placed and while being housed in 97 restrictive housing. 98 (
e) An individual may only be held in restrictive housing 99 for a period that does not compromise or harm his or her 100 physical health or mental health, as determined by a mental 101 health practitioner. Under no circumstances may a period of 102 restrictive housing exceed 8 hours, and the use of consecutive 103 periods of restrictive housing is prohibited. Upon reaching 8 104 hours in restrictive housing, the individual must be returned to 105 the general population.
If a mental health practitioner 106 determines that the individual, after the 8 hours in restrictive 107 housing, continues to pose a serious and immediate threat of 108 physical harm to himself or herself or to others, the individual 109 must be referred to a mental health practitioner who must assess 110 and assist the individual with an individualized therapeutic and 111 restorative justice program. The program may include, but is not 112 limited to: 113 1. An individual counseling plan; 114 2. Medication management; 115 3. Mentoring; or 116
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 5 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 4. Scheduled time for outdoor activities. 117 (
f) If, after meeting with the mental health practitioner, 118 the individual continues to pose a serious and immediate threat 119 of physical harm to himself or herself or others and meets the 120 criteria for involuntary examination or placement pursuant to 121 the Florida Mental Health Act under
chapter 394, the individual 122 may be referred to a mental health facility. The individual must 123 be allowed to participate in meaningful programming 124 opportunities and privileges consistent with those available to 125 the general population. 126 (
g) Restrictive housing may never be used for coercion, 127 retaliation, humiliation, as a threat of punishment, or as a 128 form of discipline; in lieu of adequate staffing; or for staff 129 convenience. 130 (
h) If the individual is a juvenile, each occurrence of the 131 use of restrictive confinement must be reported to the parents 132 or guardians as soon as possible, but in no case later than 24 133 hours after such restrictive confinement. 134 (
i) An individual in restrictive housing must be evaluated 135 in person by a mental health practitioner within 1 hour after 136 placement in restrictive housing to ensure that the restrictive 137 confinement is not detrimental to the mental or physical health 138 of the individual.
After the initial in-person evaluation, a 139 mental health practitioner must engage in continued crisis 140 intervention and de-escalation techniques and make visual and 141 verbal contact with the individual in restrictive housing at 142 intervals of no more than every 2 hours and must document the 143 time and nature of the observation and interventions. The intent 144 and purpose of this intervention is to help de-escalate the 145
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 6 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. individual’s behavior so that he or she may rejoin the general 146 population as soon as possible. 147 (
j) In preparation for the individual’s release from 148 restrictive confinement, a mental health practitioner shall 149 evaluate the individual and assist with creating a plan that 150 uses techniques for self-de-escalation and crisis management to 151 successfully reintegrate the individual to the general 152 population. 153 (
k) If an individual is placed in administrative 154 confinement, he or she must be placed in a more permanent inmate 155 management program within a maximum of 3 hours after having been 156 placed in administrative confinement. 157 (
l) The number of hours the individual is placed in 158 administrative confinement counts toward the 8-hour maximum that 159 an individual is allowed to be housed in any form of restrictive 160 housing. 161
(4) DOCUMENTATION.—Staff members directly involved in using 162 restrictive housing for an individual shall document each 163 occurrence of the use of restrictive housing as soon as 164 possible, but in no case later than 24 hours after such use. 165 Deidentified data on the frequency and length of time that an 166 individual spends in disciplinary confinement must be available 167 upon request as a public record. The documentation of each use 168 of disciplinary confinement must include an incident report 169 written by the staff members which includes all of the 170 following: 171 (
a) The name, age, height, gender, and race of the 172 individual. 173 (
b) The date and the beginning and ending time for such 174
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 7 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. use. 175 (
c) A description of the events of the inciting incident, 176 including the activity the individual was engaged in before the 177 escalation and the precipitating event. 178 (
d) A description of de-escalation and less intrusive 179 methods of intervention used and the reasons for their use. 180 (
e) Each supervisory, clinical, or administrative 181 notification and approval, as applicable. 182 (
f) A list of all staff involved, including their full 183 names, titles, and relationship to the individual and whether a 184 restraint was used. If a restraint was used, the date of the 185 most recent formal de-escalation and restraint training of each 186 individual must be included. 187 (
g) Whether there were any witnesses to the inciting 188 incident and subsequent restraint or seclusion. 189 (
h) The name of the person making the report. 190 (
i) A detailed description of any injury to the individual. 191 (
j) A detailed description of any injury to staff members. 192 (
k) Any action taken by the program as a result of any 193 injury. 194 (
l) Any incidents of self-harm, suicide attempts, or 195 suicide committed by the individual while the individual was 196 confined and where the individual was placed after leaving 197 disciplinary confinement. 198
(5) CONDITIONS IN RESTRICTIVE HOUSING.— 199 (
a) At a minimum, a room used for restrictive housing must: 200 1. Be free of objects and fixtures with which an individual 201 could self-inflict bodily harm; 202 2. Provide the mental health or developmental disabilities 203
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 8 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. professional an adequate and continuous view of the individual 204 from an adjacent area; and 205 3. Provide adequate lighting and ventilation. 206 (
b) Individuals in restrictive housing must have daily 207 access to all of the following: 208 1. If the individual is a juvenile, the same meals and 209 drinking water, clothing, medical and mental health treatment, 210 educational services, correspondence privileges, contact with 211 parents and legal guardians, and legal assistance as is provided 212 to juveniles in the general population. 213 2. Sunlight. 214 3. Proper ventilation. 215 4. Toilet facilities. 216 5. Working showers. 217 6. Hygiene supplies. 218 7. Reading materials. 219 8. Vocational programs. 220 (
c) All agency staff must be trained on the appropriate use 221 of restrictive housing during their initial training and 222 subsequently at regular intervals. Staff must demonstrate 223 proficiency with decisions regarding when and how to use 224 restrictive housing before completing their initial training and 225 ongoing throughout their employment. 226 (
d) The restriction of property is prohibited. As used in 227 this paragraph, the term “property” includes, but is not limited 228 to, uniforms and t-shirts, bed linens, reading and writing 229 materials, hygiene products, and a mattress. 230 (
e) Every individual placed in custody must receive an 231 explanation on the restrictive confinement policy by staff 232
Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1674 24-00894-24 20241674__ Page 9 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. promptly upon arrival at a facility. If the individual is a 233 juvenile, information on this policy must also be communicated 234 to the juvenile’s parents or legal guardians through the most 235 direct means possible, with in-person communication as the 236 preferred means. 237