Using these materials: Below is a list of questions that are often asked by our clients in the Coleman case, along with answers to those questions. We apologize for this impersonal response to your letter. This FAQ will be updated periodically, so you should pay attention to the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

Question Page

What is the Coleman case?. 1
What can I do to help?. 2
Who are the Plaintiffs’ lawyers and what is their role?. 2
What are the Plata and Armstrong cases and how are they different from Coleman?. 2
What is happening with prison release programs?. 3
What are the different levels of mental health care provided by CDCR?. 3
What happens to my treatment if I’m put into a Restricted Housing Unit (RHU)?. 5
What should I do if I am feeling suicidal?. 6
Is my clinician allowed to disclose what I tell him or her in therapy sessions to custody staff?. 6
What should I do if I want a higher level of mental health care?. 7
What should I do if staff want to lower my level of care and I want to remain at the current level?. 7
What should I do if I am having problems with my mental health medications?. 7
Why were my medications changed recently? Can I do anything to get this reversed? 8
Can I get treatment for my Substance Use Disorder in CDCR?. 8
What should I do if my mental health was a factor in my receiving a RVR?. 8
What should I do if I have not received a reply to my HC-602 appeal?. 10
I am paroling soon. What services will be available to me once I parole?. 10
Why am I being kept indoors when it is hot outside?. 11
What can I do about staff misconduct against me?. 12
Can you help me with my individual lawsuit?. 13
Can you help me to get a transfer or to stop a transfer?. 13
What if I am an EOP class member being housed in a Reception Center?. 14
Can you assist me with my medical care concerns?. 14
What should I do if I need single cell status or have other problems concerning single cell status?. 15
What if I am a Coleman class member who will be transferred or has transferred to a county jail for a court proceeding?. 15

1. What is the Coleman case?

Coleman is a class-action lawsuit about mental health care in California prisons. The Coleman litigation began in 1990 and continues to this day because CDCR has never fully complied with the many orders issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. The Coleman class includes all people incarcerated in California prisons who receive mental health care. There are no money damages in Coleman. It is only about improving the care in the prisons.

In 1995, the U.S. District Court found that CDCR was providing an unconstitutional level of mental health care to its incarcerated population. Later that year, the Court appointed a Special Master to oversee development and implementation of a remedial plan of action that was designed to improve the provision of mental health care in CDCR to a level that complied with the U.S. Constitution. The Special Master and his team of mental health experts helped develop this plan, which serves as a blueprint for a system of mental health care delivery that is constitutional. The plan has been revised several times; the latest version is the 2021 revision of the Mental Health Services Delivery System Program Guide. That document provides the framework for many of the requirements regarding CDCR’s provision of mental health care.

Since 1995, there has been a lot of different litigation connected to many different aspects of CDCR’s provision of mental health care, including understaffing of mental health care positions, segregation policies, uses of force, treatment standards, access to inpatient treatment, suicide prevention practices, and the use of telehealth, among other issues. The Special Master and his team of experts regularly take tours of the CDCR institutions that provide mental health care and then write reports to the District Court judge regarding their findings about the quality of mental health care being provided. These reports help the judge determine what aspects of the mental health care system are still in need of improvement. The plaintiffs’ lawyers have also brought motions to enforce certain aspects of the judge’s orders, or to raise new issues related to CDCR’s provision of mental health care. The case will continue until the judge determines that the mental health care that CDCR is providing is compliant with the requirements of the U.S. Constitution.

For more information, your prison’s law library should have the following items for you to read:

Mental Health Services Delivery System Program Guide and appendices (last revised in 2021).
Coleman v. Wilson, 912 F. Supp. 1282 (E.D. Cal. 1995).
Coleman v. Schwarzenegger, 922 F. Supp. 2d 882 (E.D. & N.D, Cal. 2009).
Brown v. Plata, 563 U.S. 493 (2011).
Coleman Brown, 938 F. Supp. 2d 955 (E.D. Cal. 2013).
Coleman v. Brown, 28 F. Supp. 3d 1068 (E.D. Cal. 2014).

2. What can I do to help?

If you know about problems in the prison mental health care system, we would like to know about them. You can write to us at the following address, being sure to write “LEGAL MAIL” on the outside of the envelope.:

Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP
P.O. Box 390
San Francisco, CA 94104-0390

Please note that we cannot provide a personal response to every communication we receive, but we read every letter and keep a record of the information you provide.

3. Who are the Plaintiffs’ lawyers and what is their role?

The Plaintiffs’ lawyers are Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP and the Prison Law Office. Their role is to advocate for the class of people incarcerated in California prisons who receive mental health care. As of June 2024, this was about 34,000 people. The Plaintiffs’ lawyers cannot represent people incarcerated in California prisons on individual lawsuits, and their role is limited to issues connected to the provision of mental health care in the California prison system. While they may be able to advocate for class members in limited circumstances related to the provision of mental health care, their ability to do so is rare, and they are generally limited to advocating for the class as a whole.

4. What are the Plata and Armstrong cases and how are they different from Coleman?

Plata is a class action lawsuit dealing with the provision of medical treatment to people incarcerated in California prisons. Armstrong is a class action lawsuit dealing with the treatment of people incarcerated in California prisons with certain, specific disabilities. Coleman, on the other hand, is strictly about mental health care. If you contact us regarding a problem related to medical care or a disability that is not a mental health issue, we will likely forward your inquiry to the lawyers handling those cases.

5. What is happening with prison release programs?

In 2011, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that California must bring its prison population down because overcrowding was so severe that the system could not deliver humane medical and mental health care. In May 2015, the State achieved the Court-ordered population target of 137.5% of design capacity. As of June 2024, the overall population of the CDCR prisons was about 119% of design capacity. The crowding reduction order covers all of CDCR’s prisons as a group, not individually. Individual prisons, yards, and buildings may be (and often are) more crowded. The Court has stated that overcrowding of people with mental illness in prisons is the primary cause of CDCR’s ongoing inability to provide constitutionally adequate mental health care. RBGG and the Prison Law Office have continually pushed CDCR to consider measures that will that will reduce overcrowding in the prison system.

Over the last two decades, several laws have been passed that are designed in part to decrease the prison population. If you would like more information about credit-earning rules, early parole opportunities (such as medical parole, youth offender parole, elderly parole), the Alternative Custody Program (allows certain class members incarcerated for non-violent, non-serious, non-sex offense crimes to serve up to the last 24 months of their prison terms in a residential home, a drug treatment program, or an alternative care facility), Proposition 36 (which permits resentencing for qualifying third-strike incarcerated persons whose third strike was not serious or violent), or Proposition 47 (which allows people incarcerated in CDCR who were convicted and sentenced for felonies under the old version of the laws to ask the superior court that sentenced them to reduce their crimes to misdemeanors and resentence them), please let us know and we can send you some information.

6. What are the different levels of mental health care provided by CDCR?

If you have a mental illness, CDCR must provide you with treatment. The level of treatment depends on your symptoms and needs. People often change levels of care. The levels are:

Correctional Clinical Case Management System (CCCMS). This is outpatient care available in any mainline unit. Your primary clinician should see you at least once every 90 days, and you should have a treatment team (IDTT) meeting once a year. You should receive more frequent contact if you need it.
Enhanced Outpatient Program (EOP). This is outpatient care for people who need more treatment or whose symptoms are so severe that they cannot do well in mainline. CDCR runs the EOP program in separate housing units at certain prisons. Patients at the EOP level of care should receive at least 10 hours of structured therapeutic activity (such as mental health groups), weekly clinical contact with their primary clinician either individually or in group psychotherapy (one-on-one contact at least every other week), IDTT meetings at least every 90 days, and psychiatry appointments at least monthly. If your treatment team decides there is a clinical reason that you should get less than 10 hours of treatment, they can put you on a status called EOPMod but they must document why and hold IDTTs for you at least monthly.
Mental Health Crisis Beds (MHCB). For people in an immediate crisis, the CDCR runs inpatient MHCB programs with 24-hour nursing care. Patients who remain in crisis for 10 days or more must be evaluated for one of the inpatient programs. If you are released from an MHCB back to a lower level of care, you should be seen once a day by a clinician or nurse for the first 5 days after your release from the MHCB.
Acute Psychiatric Program (APP or Acute). Acute is an inpatient program for people who need longer-term care than an MHCB. There is no time limit, but patients typically stay in APP for 30 to 45 days. Male patients may go to the CDCR Psychiatric Inpatient Programs (PIPs) at California Medical Facility in Vacaville (CMF-PIP), California Health Care Facility in Stockton (CHCF-PIP), or San Quentin State Prison (SQ-PIP). Female patients may go to the CDCR PIP at California Institution for Women in Chino (CIW-PIP), or the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) Program at Patton State Hospital (PSH). At the PIP facilities, you are supposed to have an initial IDTT within 72 hours of arrival and every 7 days thereafter. You are supposed to have contact with your psychiatrist within 24 hours of arrival, at least every three days for the first 30 days, and then at least every seven days thereafter. You are supposed to have contact with your PC within 10 days of arrival and then at least twice a week. You are supposed to have 10 hours of unstructured out-of-cell time per week and 20 hours of structured therapeutic treatment per week, with 10 of the 20 hours having to be “core” treatment (therapeutic, non-leisure groups and individual clinical contacts), unless your treatment team decides that is not appropriate for you.
Intermediate Care Facility (ICF). The ICF program provides longer-term inpatient care. There is no time limit on length of stay. There are ICF programs for male patients at the CDCR Psychiatric Inpatient Programs (PIPs) at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP-PIP), California Medical Facility (CMF-PIP), California Health Care Facility (CHCF-PIP), San Quentin State Prison (SQ-PIP); or at the Department of State Hospital (DSH) programs at Atascadero State Hospital (ASH) or Coalinga State Hospital (CSH). Female patients may go to the CDCR PIP at California Institution for Women (CIW-PIP) or to the DSH program at Patton State Hospital (PSH). At the PIP facilities, you are supposed to have an initial IDTT within 72 hours of arrival and every 30 days thereafter. You are supposed to have contact with your psychiatrist within 24 hours of arrival, at least every three days for the first 30 days, and then at least every seven days thereafter. You are supposed to have contact with your PC within 10 days of arrival and then at least once a week. You are supposed to have 10 hours of unstructured out-of-cell time per week and 20 hours of structured therapeutic treatment per week, with 10 of the 20 hours having to be “core” treatment (therapeutic, non-leisure groups and individual clinical contacts), unless your treatment team decides that is not appropriate for you.

7. What happens to my treatment if I’m put into a Restricted Housing Unit (RHU)?

You should continue to get mental health care even when you are in an RHU. The care you are supposed to be receive includes the following:

CCCMS: You should have contact with both your assigned PC and your assigned psychiatrist within 10 calendar days of your arrival in the RHU and before the initial IDTT. You should have an initial IDTT before the initial Institution Classification Committee hearing and within 10 days of your arrival in the RHU. A licensed psychiatric technician should make rounds to monitor your symptoms seven days a week. You should have individual contact every week with your PC, or more frequently if clinically indicated, and you should have both contact with your psychiatrist and IDTT meetings at least every 90 days. You should also be offered at least 90 minutes of structured group therapeutic activity weekly and at least 20 hours of out-of-cell activities weekly. You should earn credits to reduce your RHU term by attending group treatment therapeutic programs.
EOP: You should have contact with both your assigned PC and your assigned psychiatrist within 10 calendar days of your arrival in the RHU and before the initial IDTT. You should have an initial IDTT before the initial Institution Classification Committee hearing and within 10 days of your arrival in the RHU. Following your initial IDTT, your treatment team should decide on an appropriate placement for you, including possible referral to inpatient care, an MHCB, or a referral to the ICC recommending alternative RHU placement. A licensed psychiatric technician should make rounds to monitor your symptoms seven days a week. You should have individual contact every week with your PC, or more frequently if clinically indicated, and you should have contact with your psychiatrist every 30 days. You should have another IDTT 60-120 days after your initial IDTT and every 90 days thereafter. You should also be offered at least ten hours of structured group therapeutic activity and at least ten hours of out-of-cell exercise weekly, including supervised recreational therapy. You should earn credits to reduce your RHU term by attending structured mental health treatment.

8. What should I do if I am feeling suicidal?

If you have thoughts of hurting yourself—tell a custody officer, a psych tech, a nurse, or any other available staff person. When any staff member learns of a person’s suicidal thoughts or behavior, they are required to immediately notify a member of the mental health staff, according to the Coleman Program Guide. The person will then be placed under direct observation until a clinician arrives for evaluation. If you are in distress, you should tell a staff member and if that is unsuccessful, you should file a sick call slip (7362) to urgently speak to a member of the mental health staff. They have been trained to respond appropriately in these situations.

When what you tell us makes us believe that you might hurt yourself or others, we will request that CDCR send a member of the mental health staff to speak to you. We always follow up with a form letter to you right away to let you know that we asked for help for you. It takes additional time to write an individual letter, and we want to make sure we tell you right away.

9. Is my clinician allowed to disclose what I tell him or her in therapy sessions to custody staff?

Under California law, a clinician is allowed to reveal confidential information provided by a patient in therapy only in very narrow circumstances. That is true for mental health clinicians in CDCR prisons as well.

The rules of professional ethics for mental health clinicians require that your clinician discuss the limits of confidentiality with you at the outset of your relationship and again during the course of the relationship if necessary. If your clinician has not yet done so, you should talk to your clinician about what type of communications will not be kept confidential. Generally, when a clinician evaluates you for a 115 or a Rules Violation Report (RVR), for a court (for instance, to determine whether you are incompetent to stand trial), as a potential Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO), as a potential Sexually Violent Predator (SVP), or for the Board of Prison Hearings, that information is not confidential. We strongly recommend that you ask your clinician about the confidential nature of your therapy.

10. What should I do if I want a higher level of mental health care?

If you feel that you are not coping well at your current level of mental health care, you need to talk to your primary clinician and your clinical team about your symptoms and why you need a higher level of care. If you are having difficulty seeing your clinicians, you can submit a sick call slip, requesting a meeting with a doctor. This request slip is also called a CDCR Form 7362 “Health Services Request Form.” If you continue to have challenges obtaining a higher level of care after speaking with your treatment team, you may consider filing a health care grievance (602-HC).

11. What should I do if staff want to lower my level of care and I want to remain at the current level?

If mental health staff have determined that your level of care should be lowered and you are concerned about your ability to cope at a lower level of care, it is important that you speak with your primary clinician and treatment team about your concerns. They may be willing to develop a discharge plan that will enable you to receive enhanced services at the lower level of care (such as CCCMS) during the transition period. You can also submit a health care grievance (602-HC) challenging the decision to lower your level of care.

12. What should I do if I am having problems with my mental health medications?

If you feel that you are not coping well on your current psychotropic medications, or are having side effects, you should submit a request slip to be seen by a psychiatrist for a medication review. You can also talk to the nurse or psychiatric technician who distributes your medications, report any side effects and problems with the medications, and ask that person to submit a request for a psychiatric evaluation of your medications. You should also talk to your primary clinician about any mental health symptoms (such as increased hallucinations, problems sleeping, etc.) that you are having on these medications. They may be able to help you schedule an appointment to be seen by a psychiatrist.

Under the Coleman Program Guide, a psychiatrist is supposed to review your psychiatric medications with you at least once every 30 (for EOP) or 90 (for CCCMS) days, and more frequently when necessary. The psychiatrist should ask you about how well the medication is working and about any side effects.

CDCR has a specific Health Care Grievance Form (the blue CDCR 602 HC form) and process for grievances and appeals about health care (including mental health care). However, you should not file a health care grievance unless you have first tried to get attention through the regular mental health care processes, like a CDCR 7362 Health Care Services Request Form. The deadline for submitting a 602 HC is within 30 (thirty) calendar days after you knew (or reasonably should have known) about the issue you are challenging.

13. Why were my medications changed recently? Can I do anything to get this reversed?

CDCR periodically reviews its drug formulary and it is possible that certain medications have been removed from the current formulary at your prison. You should have been asked to sign an “Informed Consent” before your medications were changed and your doctor should have discussed any medication changes with you. If this did not occur, or if you did not fully understand the communication, you should submit a slip requesting a medication review. Your psychiatrist will be able to discuss with you other medication options.

If you have a history of being treated successfully on a particular medication that was recently removed from your institution’s formulary, you can discuss with your psychiatrist whether it is possible to submit a “non-formulary request” for this medication. You can also file a Healthcare 602 (602-HC) grievance requesting this medication. On your 602-HC, explain that you have been taking the medication successfully and state how long you have been taking it. It will be important to show why you are not able to take a substitute medication. So describe any bad reactions you have had to other medications, or say why they did not work for you, and include their names.

14. Can I get treatment for my Substance Use Disorder in CDCR?

Yes. CDCR launched the Integrated Substance Use Disorder Treatment (ISUDT) program in January 2020 to provide Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment in its prisons. People who are part of the mental health caseload are eligible to participate in ISUDT while still remaining in the mental health program. As part of the ISUDT program, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) medications such as buprenorphine, naltrexone, methadone, and acamprosate are available for all patients with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Treatment also includes Cognitive Behavioral Interventions (CBI), formerly referred to as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This kind of therapy focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, attitudes (cognitive distortions) and behaviors, improving emotional regulation, and developing healthier coping skills. If you think you need substance abuse treatment, please speak with your primary clinician and/or file a sick call request.

15. What should I do if my mental health was a factor in my receiving a RVR?

If you have been issued a Rules Violation Report (RVR), your mental illness may have played a role in the behavior resulting in the RVR write-up.

If you are an EOP patient or housed in either a Mental Health Crisis Bed (MHCB) or inpatient facility, a mental health clinician must complete a mental health assessment within fifteen calendar days of the RVR. This report by a mental health clinician is called a mental health assessment (MHA) or a 115-X or 115-MH. The purpose of this evaluation is to determine whether your mental illness influenced the behavior which resulted in the RVR, whether you need to have a staff assistant during your 115 hearing, and whether any punishment you receive should be reduced due to the influence of mental illness on your actions. If you are an EOP patient and did not receive a 115-X or 115-MH after receiving an RVR, you can submit a 602-HC grievance on the matter. This mental health assessment is not a confidential interview, and it is not done by your treating clinician.

If you are at the CCCMS level of care, you should be referred for a mental health assessment if the RVR may result in a SHU term, or if your behavior is considered to be “bizarre, unusual or uncharacteristic” for you. You should know that a member of the custody staff (rather than a clinician) is authorized to make this “bizarre, unusual or uncharacteristic behavior” determination. A mental health assessment must be performed within five working days. If you are classified as CCCMS or are not on the mental health caseload and failed to be referred for a mental health assessment but feel that you should have been, you can file a 602-HC. In the text of your grievance, you should write that your behavior was influenced by your mental illness and met the criteria of being “bizarre, unusual or uncharacteristic.” For example, if you did not receive your medications and you experienced certain symptoms that affected your behavior, you should indicate that on your 602-HC grievance.

CDCR has a process that allows an assessing mental health clinician to recommend that an incarcerated person’s behavior be documented in an alternate manner, instead of through an RVR. This may be appropriate in cases where the behavior is determined to be strongly influenced by mental illness, developmental disability, or cognitive or adaptive functioning deficits. Certain categories of behavior are now excluded from RVR process, meaning that no person should receive an RVR for any of the following:

Behavior that occurred in connection with cell extractions for involuntary medication or involuntary medical treatment;
Behavior that occurred in connection with cell extractions for involuntary medication or involuntary medical treatment;
Behavior that occurred in connection with being placed in mental health restraints and/or seclusion; and
Behavior that is determined to be an act of attempted suicide or self-mutilation.

16. What should I do if I have not received a reply to my HC-602 appeal?

If you do not receive a response within the time limits, you can trying filing a new 602-1 form, stating the date you submitted your original grievance, any log number you received, and that you have not received a timely response.

You can also try writing to the grievance coordinator at your institution and request a copy of your grievance form and its status. It is your right to request a copy of your grievance, and you should not be afraid or worried about writing to them. Just write them a short letter requesting a copy of your grievance, including the date you submitted your original grievance, any log number you received, and that you have not received a timely response. That is all you have to say; it can be a very short letter.

17. I am paroling soon. What services will be available to me once I parole?

The Coleman Program Guide states that all people on the mental health caseload receive pre-release planning.

Depending on your commitment offense, when you leave prison you may be supervised by a county probation department, or by state parole. County probation supervision is called “Post Release Community Supervision” or PRCS. Before your release date, your correctional counselor should meet with you to tell you whether you will be on county (PRCS) supervision or state parole supervision, and also serve you with your conditions of parole.

If you are on county PRCS, any mental health services you receive will be through your county mental health department. You will have to ask your counselor and probation officer for details, as this will be different for each county.One of the requirements is that your primary clinician must contact county mental health for transitional planning 30 days prior to release date.

If you are on state parole and receiving mental health care services at the CCCMS or EOP level of care, you should receive an automatic pre-release referral to CDCR’s Behavioral Health Reintegration (BHR) program. Located in each parole unit complex, the BHR has social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists to help parolees a wide range of services including medication management and links to community support. You can also self-refer to the BHR while on parole but if you have a BHR appointment set up, make sure that you show up. Make sure before you leave the prison that you know exactly when and where your BHR appointment is, and how to get there. Ask your counselor if you do not know or understand.

About three months before your release you should be meet with a social worker with the Transitional Case Management Program (TCMP. The TCMP screens people leaving prison for public benefits, including Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medi-Cal health insurance, and any Veteran Administration (VA) benefits they may have before being released from prison. Your applications should be electronically filed on your behalf before you are released. You should be able to access your Medi-Cal benefits as soon as you are released by calling a telephone number you will be provided. You will have to make an appointment with your local Social Security Office to complete the application so you can begin receiving benefits.

If you have a prescription for psychiatric medications, you should get a 60-day supply of medications when you are released. There may be a pre-release class offered at your prison. You should let your primary clinician know when your release date is and find out if such a class is available to you.

. If you are interested in more information, please write to us and we can send you the Program Guide policy about this.

18. Why am I being kept indoors when it is hot outside?

On March 2, 2015, the court approved a settlement in a case called Hecker, a class action lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). You should see a notice about the settlement posted at the prison. As part of the settlement, CDCR changed several policies related to CDCR’s heat plan policies, which are now monitored by the Special Master appointed by the Court in the Coleman v. Brown case.

The plan states that all people prescribed any of the designated Heat Alert Medications are considered heat-risk incarcerated people. It identifies the symptoms of heat-related stress and mandates an emergency medical response when staff observe such symptoms. In addition, the plan requires that all heat-risk people be allowed to return to their housing unit once a heat alert is activated. CDCR has automated its process so that a list of heat-risk people is distributed daily among institutional staff, and class members may no longer receive paper or other types of physical passes. The Heat Plan also mandates that outside air temperatures be recorded every hour, seven days per week during the heat season: May 1 through October 31. The plan sets forth three stages of heat alerts: stage one occurs when outside temperatures rise to 90 degrees or more; stage two occurs when inside temperatures rise to 90 degrees or more; and stage three occurs when inside temperature rise to 95 degrees or more. At each stage of the heat alert, prison staff are required to take certain steps to help those on heat medications cope with the heat, such as providing cool water for drinking, misting, and showers.

If you would like a copy of the heat plan, you can write to us requesting a copy. If you feel that custody officials are not following the plan, we suggest that you submit a grievance about this issue. You can also let us know, and please send us a copy of your grievance and any response to it as well.

19. What can I do about staff misconduct against me?

If you feel safe doing so, given the risk of retaliation, you should file a 602 to report the staff misconduct and to trigger an investigation. The 602 form is the primary process for reporting staff misconduct. If you choose to report staff misconduct you should:

Be as specific as possible about the day/location/name of the staff member involved. Provide a range of time for when the incident occurred so as to ensure CDCR is able to identify the appropriate footage to preserve and review.
Explain how the staff misconduct was the result of your disability (it occurred after you asked for disability help, for example), how it impacted your disability or your ability to ask staff for help.

Reporting staff misconduct via a 602 should:

Ensure that CDCR saves any videos of the incident. Unless a 602 is filed, most videos are destroyed in 90 days. In your 602, you should request that CDCR retain any video footage of the incident you are reporting.
Trigger an investigation by CDCR into the incident. We know that in the past, investigations by CDCR have been of very poor quality. As a result of recent changes to the process, serious allegations of staff misconduct should now be investigated by the Office of Internal Affairs. And the investigators will be required to review video and audio footage of the incident, if it exists. We hope this will result in higher quality investigations.
Preserve your right to file your own lawsuit about what staff did to you. If you wish to file your own lawsuit you need to file and exhaust a 602 about the incident. If you do not exhaust your 602, your lawsuit might be dismissed.

Please be aware that if you file a 602 about staff misconduct, as part of the investigation process, the staff member will be notified of the complaint that you filed. If you do file a staff complaint and then face retaliation, you should file a 602 regarding the additional allegation of retaliation for reporting staff misconduct. You are also welcome to write to us and let us know.

20. Can you help me with my individual lawsuit?

We represent incarcerated people in the class actions Coleman and Armstrong. Through these cases, we represent people, such as yourself, who are members of the class. We do not represent Coleman or Armstrong class members on an individual basis, and as a result we cannot assist them with their individual lawsuits or give them advice about their individual cases.

21. Can you help me to get a transfer or to stop a transfer?

We do not have the ability to affect individual transfer decisions. However, there are transfer timeframes that exist within the Coleman case that you should be aware of:

Reception Center à Mainline CCCMS – Within 90 days of referral, or within 60 days of referral if the RC clinician indicates that an expedited referral is clinically indicated.
Reception Center à Mainline EOP – Within 60 days of referral, or within 30 days of referral if the RC clinician indicates that an expedited referral is clinically indicated.
Mainline GP or CCCMS à Mainline EOP – Within 60 days of referral, or within 30 days of referral if clinically indicated.
ASU à EOP ASU Hub or PSU – Within 30 days of EOP placement or referral to EOP level of care.
ASU à LTRH or STRH – Within 30 days of CCCMS placement
Any Setting à MHCB – Within 24 hours of referral.
Any Prison à Acute Care Inpatient Program – Within 10 days of referral.
Any Prison à Intermediate Care Inpatient Program – Within 30 days of referral.

If you have not been transferred within these timeframes, you should speak with your counselor and/or file a grievance (602).

If you would like to request a transfer, including due to safety concerns, you should discuss this with your assigned correctional counselor and your Interdisciplinary Treatment Team (IDTT). You should not file an appeal to request a transfer. However, you do have the right to appeal classification actions, including a transfer recommendation or endorsement, after the fact.

22. What if I am an EOP class member being housed in a Reception Center?

When the CDCR mental health system operates properly, incarcerated persons with serious mental illness who are at the EOP level of care should not stay in the Reception Center, but should be transferred to a mainline institution’s EOP within 60 days of referral, or within 30 days of referral if the Reception Center clinician indicates that an expedited referral is clinically indicated. Likewise, incarcerated persons who are at the CCCMS level of care should be transferred to a mainline institution’s CCCMS with 90 days of referral, or within 60 days or referral if the Reception Center clinician indicates than an expedited referral is clinically indicated. Because CDCR is too crowded, this does not always happen. CDCR has developed a partial EOP program at the Reception Centers: California Correctional Women’s Facility (CCWF), North Kern State Prison (NKSP) and Wasco State Prison (WSP).

If you are in a Reception Center EOP program, you should see a primary clinician once a week, you should be evaluated by a psychiatrist at least monthly, and you should receive at least five hours per week of out-of-cell treatment activities. If you are at a Reception Center and are designated CCCMS, you should be seen by your primary clinician within 30 days of placement and at least every 90 days thereafter, or more often if clinically indicated, and you should be evaluated by a psychiatrist at least every 90 days regarding any psychiatric medication you are taking.

23. Can you assist me with my medical care concerns?

No. The Coleman case covers mental health care, but does not cover medical care issues. However, our co-counsel in the Coleman case, the Prison Law Office, has a case called Plata v. Newsom that is about medical care in CDCR. If you are having an urgent or emergency medical issue, tell any staff member at any time. For routine matters, you should submit a “sick call” slip. If this process does not resolve your concern, you should file a Healthcare 602 (HC-602).

The Prison Law Office is monitors the administration of medical care, and you may write to them about problems with medical care, being sure to write “LEGAL MAIL” on the outside of the envelope. Their mailing address:

Prison Law Office
General Delivery
San Quentin, CA 94964

If you write to our office about medical concerns, we will forward a copy of your letter to the Prison Law Office.

24. What should I do if I need single cell status or have other problems concerning single cell status?

Custody staff determines single cell status as part of the classification process. When deciding whether to place someone on single cell status, custody staff must consider a number of factors, including, but not limited to: a history of in-cell violence, vulnerability due to medical, mental health, and disabilities (e.g., incontinence issues), and enemies and victimization history. You should talk to your clinician and custody staff about your desire for single cell status and the reasons that you might require it. We can also send you the CDCR policy that discusses the factors weighed by the classification committee when considering single cell status, so that you can keep this information in mind when making these requests.

We cannot get you a single cell assignment. The decision ultimately rests with custody staff, although the input of medical and mental health clinicians may be taken into account if it is relevant to the reasons for your request for single cell status. However, we continue to work with CDCR on expanding its single cell policies and procedures to make it easier for vulnerable class members to receive this status.

25. What if I am a Coleman class member who will be transferred or has transferred to a county jail for a court proceeding?

If you are a patient housed in either a Mental Health Crisis Bed (MHCB) or inpatient facility, and you are scheduled to be transferred to a county jail for a court proceeding, your mental health treatment team is required to conduct a fitness for transport evaluation within 24 hours of the court date. Your mental health clinician may determine that you are not fit for transfer, depending on your medical and psychiatric condition, your medication needs and dosing schedule, whether there is an imminent danger to yourself or others, if transferred, etc. If you are not cleared for transfer, CDCR staff must communicate that to the superior court and request that the appearance be rescheduled or the removal order quashed.

Regardless of your level of mental health care, your mental health treatment team must create a transfer packet for you that includes, in part, the following:

Release of Information, where available.
Most recent Penal Code (PC) 2602 or PC 2604 Administrative Law Judge Order (if applicable).
Current Interdisciplinary Plan of Care with diagnoses, medications, medication reconciliation, active physician orders, etc.
Suicide Risk and Self Harm Evaluation (SRASHE).

Each institution is responsible for ensuring that the transfer packet is provided to the transportation team, who in turn must provide the transfer packet to the county jail health care staff.

In addition, if the county jail is unable to provide you with a currently prescribed specialty psychiatric medication, then Pharmacy, Nursing, and Custody staff must coordinate with the jail to provide an appropriately labeled, seven-day supply (or to the end of treatment if shorter than seven days remain).

If you have been transferred to a county jail for a court proceeding and are experiencing mental health decompensation, you should try to speak with medical or custody staff at the jail regarding your problems. If you are unable to see a doctor, ask custody staff whether there is a sick call procedure to request an appointment with a psychiatrist or mental health clinician. If you are unable to see a mental health clinician despite these efforts, you can contact our office for assistance. We can first try to contact the jail mental health services on your behalf. Please provide us with details regarding your current mental health problems.