Massachusetts Disability Law Center Reports Abuse and Neglect AGAIN!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 3, 2026 Massachusetts Disability Law Center Monitor Report Bridgewater State Hospital- "The Abuse and Neglect continues"
Contact: Tatum A. Pritchard, tprichard@dlc-ma.org
Disability Law Center Reiterates Call for Bridgewater State Hospital to Transfer to Department of Mental Health Control
September 2, 2026
Boston, MA – The Disability Law Center (DLC) has publicly released a new report covering findings from its monitoring and investigative activities at Bridgewater State Hospital (BSH) during the first half of 2026. As Massachusetts’ Protection and Advocacy agency for people with disabilities, DLC has been engaged in these activities and advocating for the health, safety, and rights of BSH patients since 2014.
BSH is a state prison under the authority of the Department of Correction (DOC) and is not licensed or accredited as a hospital. BSH exists as an outlier in the nation. Massachusetts is the only state that still permits its correctional agency, rather than its mental health agency, to operate an ostensible forensic psychiatric hospital.
Consistent with previous reports, DLC found that illegal practices, abuse, barriers to treatment, deficient staff training and oversight, and countertherapeutic conditions are fixtures at BSH under DOC oversight. Systemic noncompliance with Massachusetts law concerning restraint, seclusion, and involuntary medication persists. Change efforts by DOC and its Contracted Provider to address serious issues that DLC has repeatedly identified, when undertaken, is incremental and comes far too slowly. Most importantly, these efforts cannot address the incongruity of DOC’s control of a facility that serves people with some of the highest mental health needs in the state.
DLC again calls upon the Commonwealth to heed the evidence presented by over a decade of public and private reports and immediately place BSH operations under the authority of DMH to facilitate BSH patient access to trauma-informed, person-centered mental health treatment. Without a transfer to DMH, BSH patients will remain unprotected by DMH regulations, policies, and standards that require compliance with the law and guard against abuse. Further, given the volume of BSH patients each year, failure to improve care will continue to have a significant negative impact on persons with disabilities, our mental health and court systems, and our communities.
“Transferring oversight of Bridgewater State Hospital to the Department of Mental Health is long overdue. The Commonwealth has a responsibility to take action to end the troubling legacy of illegal practices and abuse against people with disabilities under its care,” said Barbara L’Italien, Executive Director of DLC.
As the designated Protection and Advocacy agency, DLC is authorized under federal law to investigate incidents of abuse, neglect, and death of individuals with disabilities throughout the Commonwealth. Line Item #8900-0001 of the FY 2025 Budget provides DLC funding and enhanced legislative authority to monitor the efficacy of service delivery reforms, physical plant, and continuity of care at BSH.
Read Report Here:
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