The Justice Department announced on Wednesday that it has opened a statewide investigation into the conditions at eight youth detention centers and one youth development center run by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice.
The investigation will examine whether Kentucky protects children confined in these facilities from harm caused by excessive force by staff, prolonged and punitive isolation and inadequate protection from violence and sexual abuse. The investigation will also examine whether Kentucky provides adequate mental health services and required special education and related services to children with disabilities.
“Confinement in the juvenile justice system should help children avoid future contact with law enforcement and mature into law-abiding, productive members of society. Too often, juvenile justice facilities break our children, exposing them to dangerous and traumatic conditions,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are launching this investigation to ensure that children in Kentucky youth detention facilities are safe from harm, receive adequate mental health care and get appropriate special education services. All children held in the custody of the state deserve safe and humane conditions that can bring about true rehabilitation and reform.”
This investigation focuses on detention centers, which primarily hold children awaiting a court hearing. Nationally, detention centers admit nearly 200,000 children every year, holding approximately 16,000 youth on any given night. The average length of stay for a child in detention is 27 days. Research shows that even far shorter stays can have profound and potentially lifelong negative consequences for children.
The investigation will be conducted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Both statutes give the department the authority to investigate systemic violations of the rights of young people in juvenile justice facilities.
The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section is conducting this investigation jointly with the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Western and Eastern Districts of Kentucky.
Individuals with relevant information are encouraged to contact the department via phone at 888-392-8241 or by email at Kentucky.Kids@usdoj.gov.
(Photo: Adair Co. Youth Development Center)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
