WPBN: A major change in Ohio’s approach to juvenile prisons is anticipated when construction on a number of smaller, more regional adolescent detention facilities starts this spring. The larger Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility will eventually be able to close thanks to these additional facilities.
The Ohio Department of Youth Services is leading this endeavor as part of a larger plan to update the juvenile justice system in the state.
The concept calls for refurbishing an office complex in the same vicinity as well as constructing two 36-bed centers in Bedford. On land that was formerly owned by the state’s adult prison system, two more 36-bed facilities will also be built in Grafton.
The initiative is expected to cost $260 million in total, which is a substantial investment in juvenile justice system reform.
Governor Mike DeWine created a juvenile justice task force in November 2023, and its recommendations led to this new course. The task panel suggested that Ohio build smaller facilities near the homes of the young people instead than confining them in its three major prisons.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, and many other released investigative reports that prompted the creation of the task group. The inquiry revealed serious issues with Ohio’s juvenile detention facilities and prisons, revealing a system that has had difficulty successfully rehabilitating problematic adolescents.
According to the report, the system is beset by violent altercations and assaults that cause major injuries to both staff members and teenagers. Rival gangs make the chaos even worse, and long-term staffing shortages frequently result in kids being detained in their cells for long stretches of time, creating more problems.
These circumstances have produced a hazardous workplace where staff members worry about their own safety and efforts to rehabilitate the young people are seriously impeded.
At the moment, Ohio runs three juvenile prisons at Massillon, Circleville, and Highland Hills, which house about 470 young people who have been found guilty of felonies and range in age from 12 to 21.
The Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility will be only six miles from the new Bedford facility, while the Grafton location will be 35 miles away.
Because of its open dorm architecture, which has been found to create unsafe and potentially dangerous situations for both staff and juveniles, the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility will be replaced first.
The physical layout of the new facilities will be planned to encourage constructive behavior while preserving a safe atmosphere. This strategy seeks to strike a balance between safety and rehabilitation, according to the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
The other two sizable juvenile detention centers will be replaced after the Highland Hills facility, according to state officials. This staged approach is a component of a longer-term plan to reform Ohio’s juvenile justice system.
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The move to more localized, smaller facilities is a component of a broader pattern observed in other states. In June 2023, for instance, California closed its juvenile detention facilities in favor of more compact, community-based alternatives.
In Ohio, the number of youngsters adjudicated for felonies has significantly decreased, which emphasizes the need for change.
By 2022, there were only about 3,200 youngsters facing such accusations, down from roughly 9,000 in 2004. This decrease offers a chance to review and enhance the state’s juvenile justice strategy while also reflecting larger cultural shifts.
The new facilities will not only give the adolescents and staff a safer environment, but they will also better assist the rehabilitation aim, according to the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
The state hopes to create relationships that can be vital to the kids’ successful reintegration back into society by situating these institutions nearer to their villages.
