Help Stop Torturous Shock Methods at JRC

#StopTheShock: A Campaign Exposing the Dangers of Aversive Shock Conditioning at the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) in Canton, Massachusetts and Supporting Legislative Action!

Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC):

The JRC, the only facility in the United States, Canada, and Europe that continues to use Electric Skin Shock Devices on Autistic and Disabled Individuals as a form of Behavior Modification

Electric Shock Device:

The Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED) is a device that delivers a powerful and painful shock to Autistic & Disabled individuals who behave in ways that are deemed inappropriate by staff at the center.

While the JRC contends that they only use the shock device for dangerous behaviors their own literature states they can predict a dangerous behavior and will shock for things as simple as raising a hand, standing up, making noises or stimming, a self soothing behavior used by people on the spectrum such as flapping their hands.

The GED has been known to burn skin and is traumatic for individuals exposed to the device. Shock therapy lacks an effective method for withdrawal, and it is highly likely that residents are unable to connect their behavior to the shocks, leading to unwanted side effects. The GED is designed to be six times stronger than a police taser and is worn 24/7 including sleeping and showering. The use of aversive conditioning through electric shocks is not only ineffective but also a violation of basic human rights.

Cost & Funding:

JRC is a non-profit organization paying no federal or state taxes. In 2024 it costs $333,122 per year to keep ONE resident at the JRC, paid for in tax dollars. According to JRC’s most recent public IRS forms, in 2022 JRC received over $95 million dollars of public tax dollars. This might be a good investment if these individuals were getting quality support and help, but sadly, the JRC is paid well to employ barbaric methods.

In September of 2020 DCFS began sending kids taken from abusive homes to this abusive facility. For fiscal year 2023 DCFS spent $2,766,910 at the Judge Rotenberg Center. Based on a FOIA request, DCFS currently has 14 children at the JRC.

In 2023 JRC spent $500,000 in lobbying & paid their lawyer $3.5 MILLION to keep this practice legal.

Currently the JRC operates under the protection of a thirty-six year old consent decree. That decree was entered, and has remained in place, after State agencies resorted to pretextual and bad faith regulatory practices to disrupt JRC's operations in the 1980s and 1990s. The State agencies that remain bound by the decree have since moved for its termination without success.

In 2013 the The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture denounced the use of electric shock as it is used at the Judge Rotenberg Center, categorizing its use there as a form of torture rather than a legitimate treatment. The Association For Behavior Analyst International (ABAI) stated “we strongly oppose the use of contingent electric skin shock (CESS) under any condition”. Regardless of these statements, over the past few years, many attempts have been hit with roadblocks by our state courts and politicians.

FUNDS NEEDED FOR:

Community engagement to educate the general public on this disability rights issue. Expenses are related to event planning and include:

Transportation

Printed Materials,

Sign Making Materials,

Professional Signs,

Food and Drinks,

Art Exhibits,

STS Shirts

Stickers, etc...

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! WE CAN'T DO THIS ALONE!

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