January 29, 2010

ATLANTA (AP) -- Federal officials have filed a motion for immediate relief to protect people in seven Georgia psychiatric hospitals from harm to their lives, health and safety.

The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division filed the motion late Thursday to seek the appointment of a monitor who will set binding targets and timetables to reduce the number of residents in the hospitals. The motion also seeks an expansion of appropriate community-based services.

Georgia and the Justice Department last year entered into an agreement over care at the state-run hospitals. Georgia agreed to improve suicide risk assessment and find ways to prevent patient assaults on other patients within a year.

The Justice Department says it has been monitoring conditions in the hospitals and finds that they remain unsafe.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)