Staffers falsified paperwork meant to check up on children detained in county’s Juvenile Department, state inspectors find
By Chase Rogers and Maggie Prosser – Staff Writers
September 9, 2024
Children in Dallas County’s juvenile detention center were unlawfully secluded for days, circumventing due process and leaving them without access to an education, exercise, outdoor recreation or showers, according to a yearlong investigation into allegations of inhumane treatment and neglect. Detention staff falsified “observation sheets,” or status checks on each child in county detention, according to an executive summary of the investigation obtained by The Dallas Morning News. County leaders said the fake documents likely pointed to a cover-up by Juvenile Department staff to hide mistreatment.
The News obtained an executive summary of the report by the Office of the Inspector General at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department early Monday that showed the county didn’t use best practices for juvenile justice. Michael Griffiths, interim director of the county Juvenile Department, described the findings as “inexcusable.”
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-safety/2024/09/09/children-in-dallas-county-custody-subject-to-unjust-dayslong-seclusion-state-probe-finds