The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) relates to conditions of confinement in state or locally operated institutions (the statute does not cover private facilities) -- identifying the rights of institutionalized persons and the responsibilities of facilities and institutions.

The CRIPA generally applies to five types of institutions:

• Jails and Prisons
• Juvenile Correctional Facilities
• State or locally-run Mental Health Facilities
• State or locally-run Developmental Disability and Mental Retardation Facilities
• State or locally-run Nursing Homes

Significant problems covered by the CRIPA include:

• Abuse and neglect in nursing homes and juvenile facilities
• Sexual victimization of women prisoners
• Inadequate education in facilities serving children and adolescents
• Unmet mental health needs of inmates and pre-trial detainees
• Rights of institutionalized persons with disabilities to receive adequate habilitation and active treatment