About Bridges Beyond Bars
DISCLAIMER: This site is a DRAFT for a Colorado-based legal consulting practice and is NOT affiliated with any other organization using a similar name, including nonprofits operating in other states.
About Bridges Beyond Bars
Our Mission
Meghan Baker is an attorney, practicing in Colorado since 2011. Meghan has both a J.D. and an M.S.W. which enables her to approach complex issues with the complex understanding required. During her career, Meghan has worked as a criminal defense attorney, juvenile defense attorney, guardian ad litem, and as an attorney for Colorado's Protection and Advocacy organization. Meghan has worked with a variety of settings including jails, prisons, psychiatric hospitals, youth detention facilities, nursing facilities and many more. Meghan has experience with cross-disability advocacy on behalf of individuals living in the overlap or disability and the criminal legal system(s). Meghan also has particular expertise in areas related to the needs of people with mental health disabilities.
Get to Know Bridges Beyond Bars
Consulting Focus Areas
Consulting Focus Areas
Consulting Focus Areas
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Jails, prisons, psychiatric hospitals
• Mental health, suicide prevention, mitigation
• Housing, classification, discipline, restrictive alternatives (RAs)
• Due process, discharge planning, restraint, seclusion, violence prevention
• Civil rights and constitutional law
• Competency, diversion, reentry
Our Services
Consulting Focus Areas
Consulting Focus Areas
• Policy & System Reviews: Rights, respect, risk, safety; legislation and policy audits
• Litigation Consulting: Expert witness testimony, mitigation reports, special master or neutral roles
• Enforcement & Monitoring: Settlement/CAP implementation, pattern analysis
• Investigations: Internal and external (with/without court orders)
• Trainin
• Policy & System Reviews: Rights, respect, risk, safety; legislation and policy audits
• Litigation Consulting: Expert witness testimony, mitigation reports, special master or neutral roles
• Enforcement & Monitoring: Settlement/CAP implementation, pattern analysis
• Investigations: Internal and external (with/without court orders)
• Training: Systems, providers, and stakeholders on disability rights and best practices
Our Values
Consulting Focus Areas
Potential Clients
• Rights, Respect, Risk, & Safety
• Justice that is humane, balanced, and rooted in dignity
• Bridge Beyond Bars: Working at the intersection of behavioral health (BH) and justice
• Emphasis on collaborative, actionable solutions to promote accountability and reform
Potential Clients
Consulting Focus Areas
Potential Clients
• Civil rights plaintiffs & firms
• Protection & Advocacy organizations (P&As)
• State, county, and city agencies
• Legislators & policy committees
• Task forces, review boards, oversight bodies
• Plaintiff’s attorneys and private counsel
• Insurance companies (e.g., liability, E&O)
• Private and for-profit facilities
Legal Services
Policy & System Reviews: Rights, respect, risk, safety; legislation and policy audits
We can review draft or proposed legislation or policies to assess the impact on populations and subpopulations of people with disabilities, compliance with the law, implementation of best practices, and more. We can also analyze existing law and policies and propose changes more in line with desired goals of improving the lives and experiences of people with disabilities.
Litigation Consulting: Expert witness testimony, mitigation reports, special master or neutral roles
Having engaged in various stages of multiple lawsuits, we can provide recommendations a rely on subject matter expertise to serve as an expert witness, court-ordered monitor, neutral or special master, etc.to support litigation that advances the rights and lives of people with disabilities.
Enforcement & Monitoring: Settlement/CAP implementation, pattern analysis
With extensive background in monitoring and investigations, we can work to oversee settlement agreement, corrective action plans, consent decrees and other plans to remedy legal violations or to improve practices and conditions that impact people with disabilities.
Investigations: Internal and external (with/without court orders)
We can review all relevant materials and records, including photos and videos, interview witnesses and involved individuals, and form conclusions and recommendations relating to adherence to law and policy, fatality review processes, and more; this analysis and conclusions can be distilled in a report, formal or informal, to be utilized internally or externally.
Training: Systems, providers, and stakeholders on disability rights and best practices
In addition to recommending and drafting proposed policy and laws, we can provide training to any group affected by such rules and laws to implement new policies, to remedy practices in need of reform, or to generally provide knowledge about the rights and experiences of people with disabilities in a given setting or population. This could include facility or agency staff and administrators, residents or clients, state legislators and other elected or appointed officials, and more.
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