April 24, 2013

ACLU of Colorado Commends Pueblo City Schools for Acting to Protect Children at El Pueblo Residential Treatment Center

Statement of ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein on the Pueblo City Schools (D60) board’s recent 4-1 vote to add conditions to their contract with El Pueblo Boys and Girls Ranch that ensure that students are not placed in solitary confinement in the facility’s reflection cottages.

“The ACLU of Colorado commends the Pueblo City Schools (D60) board and Board Member Stephanie Garcia for sending a loud and clear message to the El Pueblo Boys and Girls Ranch that children entrusted to its care by the school district can no longer be subjected to solitary confinement.

“As families and children continue to come forward and share experiences of isolation for days and weeks in the so-called “reflection cottages,” we are pleased that the Colorado Department of Human Services has responded to the ACLU’s letters by opening an investigation. We await the results of that investigation.”

See also:

Stories of Solitary Confinement from Children at El Pueblo
ACLU of Colorado Demands DHS end Solitary Confinement of Children
More information on this case, including ACL U of Colorado’s two letters to DHS