Recently, the MacArthur Justice Center filed a federal amicus brief in the Western District of Missouri supporting a human rights lawsuit against the Missouri Department of Youth Services (DYS). The lawsuit argues that DYS should be considered a place of accommodation and, thus, subject to the Missouri Human Rights Act. If the court does not find as such, they would functionally equate Missouri DYS with Missouri’s adult prison system. Not only would that be morally corrupt, but Missouri DYS touts itself as distinct from the prison system, and has received national recognition for its rehabilitative, non-punitive design referred to nationwide as the “Missouri Model”. Without recognition under the MHRA, children held in DYS custody would lose a critical right to claim disability-based discrimination.
Sarah Jane Hunt, managing partner at Kennedy Hunt P.C., is an award-winning attorney who focuses her practice on civil rights, employment and special education disputes. She has extensive experience representing individuals, sober homes, and disability rights agencies in federal and state court. Sarah Jane is the lead attorney on the lawsuit.
Susie Lake, attorney at the MacArthur Justice Center’s Missouri office, is an expert in juvenile and education justice issues. She spent years litigating these issues at Legal Services of Eastern Missouri. Additionally, she continued this work while at the ACLU of Washington through amicus briefs and investigatory work.