Juvenile Justice in the News – Challenges, Issues and Solutions

September 18, 2024 

Four former staff have been identified in federal civil rights lawsuits, so far two have been criminally charged.
New allegations of staff at the Oregon Youth Authority sexually abusing teens and young adults in custody emerged in a series of federal civil rights lawsuits filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. The latest allegations bring the number of young people who say they were sexually abused while in the care of Oregon’s juvenile detention system from three to six.
Youth convicted of serious crimes before they’re 18 years old serve sentences at Oregon Youth Authority facilities. The agency can incarcerate children as young as 12 and can hold them until they turn 24 years old. Some are later transferred to the state’s prison system. According to the lawsuits, the abuse occurred between 2019 and 2023 at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn and Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility in Albany.
https://www.opb.org/article/2024/09/18/oregon-juvenile-detention-system-sexual-abuse-federal-civil-rights-lawsuit-youth-authority

September 17, 2024

Ohio’s youth prisons continue to struggle with staffing. One in five jobs are vacant and large numbers of employees left last year, inspections found.
Nearly a year after publication of an investigation into Ohio’s youth prisons, new inspection reports show escalating violence and chronic staff shortages continue to hinder the state’s ability to protect its employees and teens in the system.
The Correctional Institution Inspection Committee, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and its professional staff, released reports this month on Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon and Circleville JCF south of Columbus. In both reports, the committee said the Ohio Department of Youth Services failed to provide some of the requested data. Key takeaways:

• Hours kids spend locked in their rooms increased in 2024 over 2023.
• The rate of violent acts each week increased slightly at Circleville and jumped 31% at Indian River in 2024 over 2023.
• Staff are physically restraining youths at both prisons more often this year than last.
• Employee vacancy rates are high, 21.5% at Circleville and 22.2% at Indian River, including open positions and people on leave.
• Employee churn is high, 58.6% of workers left Circleville and 44.1% left Indian River in 2023.
• Gangs continue to exert influence with more than half of kids joining a gang.

Employees described low workplace morale, driven by mandatory overtime shifts every week and assaults by teens who throw bodily fluids − urine, feces and semen − on them. 
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2024/09/17/inspectors-find-ohios-youth-prisons-struggle-with-vacancies-violence/75250797007

An investigation by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department found that officers at a detention center in Dallas kept kids isolated for days and falsified logs of observation checks and school attendance

By Associated Press

September 11, 2024

Officers at a juvenile detention center in Dallas kept kids isolated for days and falsified logs of observation checks and school attendance, an investigation from the Texas Juvenile Justice Department found.
State investigators say that staffers at the Dr. Jerome McNeil Jr. Detention Center used the Special Needs Unit to circumvent state law and essentially keep juveniles in their sleeping quarters for extended periods of time.
“They spent the vast majority of their days inside their cells, sometimes up to 24 hours a day, without regular access to education, large muscle exercise, outdoor recreation, or showers,” state investigators wrote in a report released Monday. The full investigation was not made public, though TJJD provided the investigation’s executive summary. The agency’s Office of the Inspector General said that they will continue to monitor the situation.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2024-09-11/dallas-juvenile-detention-center-isolated-kids-and-falsified-documents-state-investigation-says

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

August 17, 2024

WASHINGTON DC – “Youth Justice By the Numbers,” a new report released Thursday by The Sentencing Project, finds a 75 percent decline in youth held in juvenile facilities – 108,800 to 27,600 between 2000 and 2022.
The Sentencing Project is charging public opinion wrongly assumes that crime is increasing and youth offending is consistently violent, whereas most youth offenses are low-level and nonviolent.
https://davisvanguard.org/2024/08/the-sentencing-projects-new-report-refutes-public-assumption-youth-offending-increasing/

August 12, 2024

Governor JB Pritzker today signed into law Senate Bill 3463, an amendment to the Juvenile Court Act, which creates a clear process for implementation of already existing juvenile expungement laws.
“It is no secret that the procedures of our court system can be difficult to navigate. People deserve to know what resources and rights are available to them,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “By cutting red tape and creating a process where expungement is more accessible, we can create more opportunities for more people who perhaps made a mistake when they were young, as we all have. This is a step in the right direction and I am proud to sign this legislation.”
Pritzker Signs Legislation Increasing Opportunity For Juveniles Seeking Expungement | RiverBender.com

August 11, 2024

Texas Juvenile Justice Department officials said Friday they already were implementing changes that address 40 of the 48 recommendations in a scathing U.S. Justice Department report when it came out a week ago.
The report outlines widespread abuse and civil rights violations at the state’s five secure facilities for youth in the criminal justice system, including the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility in Mart. The report cites specific instances and patterns of violations including sexual abuse of youth inmates by staff members, excessive use of pepper spray, holding of inmates in isolation for extended periods, failure to provide educational accommodations for youth with disabilities and more.
Texas Juvenile Justice Department Executive Director Shandra Carter told the department’s governing board during a meeting Friday that her department is aiming to work in good faith with the DOJ to make improvements.
Texas youth lockup officials respond to recent DOJ report (wacotrib.com)

August 1, 2024

Federal investigators accuse TJJD of engaging in a “pattern of abuse” at its five secure facilities across the state: Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg, Gainesville State School in Gainesville, Giddings State School in Giddings, McClennan <sic> County State Juvenile Correctional Facility (Mart) in Mart, Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex in Brownwood
The DOJ says it inspected all of the sites multiple times, spoke to hundreds of children in custody as well as TTJD staff, and watched hundreds of hours of videos.
Investigators found the state uses excessive force on children, both physical and chemical, such as pepper spray. Youth spend prolonged periods in isolation, posing a serious threat to their mental health and well-being. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) does not adequately protect children from sexual abuse by staff or other children.
“In addition to these horrific conditions, we found that TJJD deprives children of mental health treatment and special education services, which undermines children’s rehabilitation and sets them up to fail, both within the facilities and in the long term,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/doj-investigation-finds-unconstitutional-conditions-at-texas-juvenile-justice-facilities-pattern-of-abuse
TJJD Response: https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TJJD-Response-to-DOJ-8-1-2024.pdf

July 30, 2024

Workforce/Staffing (The Center Square) – Spokane and other counties statewide are teaming up to sue the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families for failing to house juvenile offenders amid capacity shortages.
The Board of County Commissioners agreed on Monday to enter into a lawsuit against DCFY with the Washington State Association of Counties. Earlier this month, DCFY suspended new intakes for the state’s two juvenile rehabilitation facilities, forcing the counties to fill the role.
“That suspension was done in response to overcrowding at those facilities,” said Chris Anderson, Spokane County’s chief civil attorney. “It was done unilaterally without any notice to the counties.”
https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_daec227a-4ea7-11ef-a226-bba05dec22ce.html

July 22, 2024 

PITTSBURGH — Three lawsuits filed Monday in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas allege three western Pennsylvania non-profit juvenile detention facilities failed to protect children from “horrific and serial” sexual abuse.
The lawsuits represent 92 men and women who say they suffered sexual abuse while confined as children at Summit Academy, George Junior Republic and Abraxas Youth & Family Services. the facilities are in Butler, Grove City, Erie and Marienville. They often house children from Allegheny County and surrounding counties.
The claims of sexual abuse cited in the lawsuits range from the year 2000 to 2023.
https://www.wpxi.com/news/investigates/lawsuits-allege-child-sexual-abuse-nearly-100-victims-local-juvenile-detention-centers/3VWMUHEXQJCEBEP3I7S7CYLVNY