A one-million dollar settlement has now been reached between the State and the families of 20 developmentally disabled patients who were strip searched without the proper permission necessary.
The search happened back in 2015 at the “Pueblo Regional Center.” The settlement also included that the “Colorado Department of Human Services” has to train the staff on reporting rules, hold regular meetings with families of patients, and increase worker pay.
The DHS has also been allowed to lift a moratorium on housing additional patients at the Pueblo center.
The lawsuit was filed after an incident in March of 2015 after DHS investigators conducted mandatory strip searches of about 60 developmentally disabled patients at the Pueblo center.
DHS officials said they were concerned there had been incidents of patient abuse, but they admitted that no one made any effort to contact the families or legal guardians of the residents to get permission to search their bodies.
