West VA prepares for flexible youth units

Juvenile Justice Digest, Apr 18, 2003

West Virginia has rejected a proposal for fenced juvenile facilities in favor of flexible units that can be modified to deal with a range of offenders from the most violent to those with minimal problems.

State officials said the campus environment is also expected to allow the state to receive higher amounts of federal support.

The Division of Juvenile Services is planning to incorporate the concept in centers in Berkeley, Cabell and Fayette counties.

Instead of fences and locks that limit the movement of youth, the proposed facilities would rely on staff to maintain security and allow youths to move about with a reasonable amount of freedom.

By avoiding a lock-up, state officials said fewer youths would mingle with serious offenders and would be less likely to become recidivists.

Violent juvenile offenders, however, would continue to be assigned to locked facilities that would be separate and far removed from the campus units.

State officials said children in detention share symptoms of family abuse and neglect. Often the youths need little more than a safe place to sleep and eat.

The new units will give juvenile courts the option of assigning an abused or neglected youth to a campus unit where he or she will benefit from a support staff that shows interest in their well-being during after-school and weekend hours.

The Division of Juvenile Services has also begun to coordinate activities with the Bureau for Children and Families, which runs the foster-care system for abused and neglected children, because both agencies serve many of the same children.