Workforce/Staffing

By Don Jorgensen – KELO-TV News – January 13, 2025              

SIOUX FALLS, S.D.  — The Minnehaha County Juvenile Detention Center, or JDC, has served its purpose for decades, but the county is in the process of building a brand new and much bigger Juvenile Justice Center.
After over two years of planning, the county broke ground last April on a new $50 million Juvenile Justice Center, which sits right next to the current facility that was built in 1969.
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“We did a study on which would be the best route to take, try and renovate the existing facility or build new, while we were doing that we found it was going to cost just as much to renovate it as it was to build so we chose to build at that time,” JDC director Jamie Gravett said. . . . The current facility has long hallways of rooms. The new Juvenile Justice Center will have classrooms, a gym, and pods where they can house eight juveniles, which they say will make it safer for the youths.

https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/new-50-million-juvenile-justice-center-starting-to-take-shape

Many of the requests would cover pay raises and new hires for agencies dealing with high turnover and uncompetitive pay.

By Karen Brooks Harper – Dallas Morning News – Sr. Politics Writer – January 11, 2025

State agencies and institutes of higher education are asking Texas lawmakers for $24.6 billion in new money over the next two years, according to the Texas Senate’s chief budget writer.
The requests are part of the budget process that begins in earnest after the Legislature convenes Tuesday and typically winds up around May — when lawmakers pass a budget expected to exceed $300 billion for the two-year cycle.
Notable requests for new money include:

• The Texas Department of Public Safety asked for an additional $1.58 billion to create more than 2,000 positions — including 1,200 new workers for driver’s license offices, 435 Highway Patrol officers and 65 criminal investigators.
• The state’s juvenile justice system hopes to hire 338 employees — including correctional officers, mental health professionals and case managers to reach safe staff-to-inmate ratios. Safety and legal issues have plagued the agency that oversees five state-owned juvenile correctional facilities and three halfway houses. The agency, which has a $1 billion budget, is asking for $95 million for staff recruitment and retention, including more than $46 million for raises for correctional officers and probation staff.
• The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services wants more than 600 new employees to offset one of the highest staff turnover rates among all state agencies. Included in its request for $543 million in new money is $30 million for 141 adult protective services caseworkers.
• The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which oversees the nation’s largest state-run prison system, is asking for $2 billion for pay raises and other projects. The agency wants to offer a 15% raise, noting a pay boost approved last session led to a rise in the number of correctional officers.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2025/01/10/texas-agencies-ask-legislature-for-billions-of-dollars-in-new-money-in-2026-27-budget

By Laura A. Bischoff – Columbus Dispatch – January 6, 2025

Construction is expected to start this spring on new, smaller youth prisons, which will allow the state to eventually close the larger Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility.
The Ohio Department of Youth Services plans to build two, 36-bed centers and renovate an office complex in Bedford and another two, 36-bed centers will be constructed in Grafton on property formerly owned by the state adult prison system. The project is expected to cost the state $260 million.
A juvenile justice task force, appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine in November 2023, recommended that Ohio shift away from incarcerating teens in its three large prisons and build smaller, closer-to-home centers. . .
Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility is the first to be replaced because of its open dorm design, which can create dangerous conditions.
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/news/state/2025/01/06/dewine-administration-moves-to-close-large-ohio-youth-prisons/77481843007

Between October 2023 and February 2024, juvenile CO vacancies increased from 15% to 39%; of the 118 officers hired in 2023, 79% had left by August of 2024

By Ted Clifford The State – December 19, 2024

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A report from a state oversight agency has laid bare the ongoing challenges at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice as the agency has struggled to turn itself around following a series of scathing audits. The report, conducted by the Legislative Audit Council, an independent body of the state General Assembly, was released earlier in December. It was a follow-up to a 2021 audit that found significant failures that threatened the safety and well-being of children and staff.
Of the 101 recommendations made in 2021, just over half have been implemented, according to the audit . . . It is a significant setback for the agency that has attempted to turn itself around under new leadership while struggling against old problems of underfunding, overcrowding, lack of staff and a Raise the Age law, which has increased demands placed on the agency by raising the age of juvenile offenders from 17 to 18.
Audit of S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice shows agency at ‘breaking point’

By: Skylar Laird – December 6, 2024 

COLUMBIA — The state’s juvenile justice agency still lacks staff to keep officers and youth safe, three years after receiving a list of recommendations to help address problems, state auditors found.
About half the recommendations resulting from the last audit still haven’t been made, according to the follow-up report released Thursday. Department of Juvenile Justice Director Eden Hendrick told the SC Daily Gazette on Friday the agency is contesting that assessment in a written response. She argues that closer to 65% of the recommendations have been implemented, and an additional quarter or so are underway, she said.
Many of the recommendations from the 2021 report that this year’s audit revisited involved bureaucratic improvements, such as revising policies, turning in reports on time, updating job descriptions and developing plans. The findings are not as severe as those three years ago, which found high rates of violence and a lack of accountability for juveniles who attacked other youth and officers; employees with multiple disciplinary infractions or a lack of training; and little medical care for youth.
The follow-up report recognized improvements the agency has made over the past few years, such as installing more cameras, increasing salaries, appropriately disciplining employees who broke the rules, and efforts to change security policies in order to reduce violence.
Staffing shortages remain problem for DJJ, SC report finds • SC Daily Gazette

November 12, 2024

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — In less than two months, at least five juveniles escaped from North Carolina juvenile detention facilities. Those escapes are symptoms of what Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman calls a broken juvenile justice system.
“We all want our young people to be able to get on a path that allows them to have successful, productive lives, but I think we also have to be realistic about the fact that we have seen a significant increase in violence from some juveniles,” Freeman said.
She traces many of the problems back to 2019, when Raise the Age went into effect in North Carolina, a law where 16 and 17-year-olds accused of crimes are no longer automatically put into the adult criminal justice system. Since then, there’s been a ripple effect of consequences.
“We have about twice the number of kids in juvenile detention centers that we had just four years ago,” William Lassiter, the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Public Safety’s Juvenile Justice division, said. “When the Raise the Age went into effect, the corresponding needed resources to meet the demand really were not provided,” Freeman adds.

October 24, 2024

A report by the New York City Department of Investigation found that the populations of two metropolitan juvenile detention facilities were “fundamentally altered” by the state’s Raise the Age statute, as well as changes to bail laws, leading to more acts of violence and an inability to deter misconduct.
The report also revealed that staff at New York City’s two juvenile detention centers — Horizon Juvenile Center in the Bronx and Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn — are not properly trained to respond to incidents that include violence.
The report states it “also explores key issues that include a troubling pattern of resident misconduct, criminal activity and lack of staff control over the facilities since the implementation of (Raise the Age) and bail reform, as well as deficiencies in the behavior management systems.”
Report says NYC juvenile facilities have grown more dangerous (timesunion.com)

CNHI News Opinion – October 21, 2024 

Not much has changed in the 10 months since our USA TODAY Ohio network journalists exposed troubling problems in the state’s three youth prisons and local juvenile detention centers.
“Chaos in Ohio’s Youth Lockups” found incarcerated children faced violence and neglect, while guards were overwhelmed, understaffed and feared for their own safety. After their release, about 40% of kids later found themselves behind bars again. The findings, published by The Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and Canton Repository, immediately sparked Gov. Mike DeWine to form a committee to examine the issue. . . 
The good news is some longer-term strategic progress is being made, including plans to close the larger prisons in favor of smaller ones recommended by experts. But recent inspection reports show the situation may be getting worse . . . The committee found gangs continue to exert influence, likely causing violent acts to increase at both facilities during 2024, including a shocking 31% at Indian River. That has led to kids spending more time in their rooms and more use of physical restraints. DYS employee vacancy rates remain above 20% with employee churn at 59% in Circleville and 44% at Indian River. Not surprisingly, the inspectors detailed low morale driven by mandatory overtime shifts every week and assaults by teens who throw bodily fluids — urine, feces and semen — on them.
In Other Views: Ohio still failing juvenile prisoners | Opinion | cnhinews.com  

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

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