Workforce/Staffing

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

July 8, 2024

Authorities in Southern California have axed more than a dozen top officials after complaints of violence and injuries from rank-and-file officers in the county’s juvenile facilities.
Los Angeles County Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa said that 14 top managers would be impacted and 13 chief deputy positions would be eliminated – “an entire layer of management” in the department, which has 6,600 employees.
The impacted individuals were offered positions in other county offices, authorities said.
Sources tell Fox News Digital the shakeup is connected to chaos within the county’s juvenile facilities. Officers have been complaining of increasing violence against themselves and between inmates at the jails for at least the past two years.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/la-county-axes-leadership-juvenile-detention-system-rampant-violence-officer-morale-collapse

July 6, 2024

OLYMPIA, Wash.- On July 5, Green Hill School in Chehalis and Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie have suspended entries to curb rising populations in juvenile rehabilitation facilities.
According to the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families’ decision to stop taking youth comes as officials attempt to stabilize the rising populations and keep both youth and staff members safe and sustainable. 
Ross Hunter, the DCFY Secretary responsible for the decision, alerted juvenile, adult, and tribal courts statewide of the decision to suspend intakes at its facilities.
Hunter explains, “When too many young people are concentrated in small spaces it can escalate behaviors and limit the ability for therapeutic rehabilitation,” explained Hunter. “This was not sustainable. Our facilities must be safe, therapeutic, and functional.”
Rising populations have posed challenges to the facilities as more young people are being sentenced for more extended periods.
https://www.nonstoplocal.com/tri-cities-yakima/news/juvenile-facilities-halt-entries-as-rising-populations-create-challenges-for-youth-and-staff/article_374014e3-22df-5d10-b33a-f15e6f95ba2a.html

May 24, 2024  

A new report is sounding the alarm on Pennsylvania’s juvenile-detention capacity challenges, citing understaffing and long wait times for the young people awaiting placement.
The report says five of the 13 youth detention facilities are used by just five counties, and that 57 counties must vie for beds at only six facilities statewide.
Dr. Abigail Wilson, director of child welfare, juvenile justice and education services at the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services, said some counties are forced to send kids hundreds of miles away to find detention space. She noted that more funding could help clear the waitlists and reduce disruption to families and communities.
“Funding impacts the workforce issues,” she said, “and it’s difficult to staff some of these facilities, because the pay doesn’t quite match the need, and the higher level of risk that you take, when you work at a secure detention center.”
Wilson added that it’s also difficult to move a young person into a probation or “step-down” program, since these struggle with understaffing and underfunding. The report notes that detention is meant to provide “temporary, secure and safe custody,” and is used only when less restrictive alternatives have been considered.
Wilson added that it’s also difficult to move a young person into a probation or “step-down” program, since these struggle with understaffing and underfunding. The report notes that detention is meant to provide “temporary, secure and safe custody,” and is used only when less restrictive alternatives have been considered.
https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-05-24/juvenile-justice/report-pa-in-crisis-with-shortage-of-juvenile-detention-beds/a90488-1

May 14, 2024

An increasing number of young people are ending up in North Carolina juvenile detention centers. The most recent data – from 2022 – shows 2,591 people were placed in a juvenile detention center, up from 2,423 the year before.
“What we have seen over the last two years is an increase in juvenile crime of about 20 percent, but violent crime was even more increased. We’ve seen an increase of about 24 percent for violent crime,” said William Lassiter, deputy secretary of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety and head of the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
The uptick in crime has meant juvenile jails are bursting at the seams. As the number of juvenile offenders climbs, the state is looking at alternatives to crowded detention centers to make sure young people already convicted of crimes can turn their lives around.
In the summer of 2023, there were, on average, more than 80 youths sleeping on juvenile day room floors. Currently, when juveniles in North Carolina are sentenced for a crime, they are sent to a youth development center. . . . A new center in Rockingham County with 60 new beds accommodates those serving time for the most serious crimes, but it is not run like a traditional jail or prison.
“The average kid who comes here is five years behind in education,” Lassiter said. “We have a full school that’s here. We have a full mental health staff.” Every inmate participates in education, and everyone has a job.
https://www.wral.com/story/education-skills-and-rehab-focus-easing-burden-on-nc-juvenile-justice-system/21431308/