The Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Emotional and Behavioral Health’s Position Statement on Solitary Confinement

Abstract

This document, from the Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Emotional and Behavioral Health (DEBH), provides clear and compelling support for the abolishment of solitary confinement with incarcerated youth and young adults in juvenile and adult correctional facilities. This is the first position statement from DEBH on the topic, and the information includes (a) a definition of solitary confinement, (b) discussion of its use, (c) an explanation of the impacts of solitary confinement on youth, (d) identification of systemic issues that perpetuate the use of solitary confinement, (e) an examination of U.S. laws concerning the use of solitary confinement, (f) a declaration of principles, and (g) recommendations for policy and practice.

Restraint and Seclusion: A Review of Practices and Policy

“…(National Disability Rights Network, 2009, p. 22) The report's authors recommended banning seclusion and prone restraints in educational settings (i.e., a student being restrained face down on their stomach), in addition to only using restraint in situations where there was immediate harm to the student or staff. These solutions have been suggested by other scholars (Gagnon et al, 2021;Marx & Baker, 2017;Simonsen et al, 2014;Van Acker et al, 2021) but have yet to be included in federal law or are not consistently applied within many state and district policies and regulations.…”