April 5, 2024
Self-harm, drugs and violent incidents have skyrocketed in some of New York’s locked juvenile facilities, a state auditor has found, conditions driven by pandemic-fueled staffing shortages and higher populations following a sweeping reform that shifted older teens out of the adult justice system.
“These facilities are meant to provide safe housing and services to help rehabilitate young people and discourage them from future criminal behavior,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli stated in a Thursday press release. “Unfortunately, staff appears to be overwhelmed and short-handed, which may account for missed or delayed opportunities to provide care for the physical or mental health issues facing the young people in these facilities.”
New York’s Office of Children and Family Services runs nine “residential centers,” which include low- and high-security juvenile lockups for youth ages 12 to 21 found to have committed more serious crimes.