Detention Services manages the care of all juveniles in the secure detention continuum, including the
Detention Center, Shelter Care, and Home Detention. During the year 2007, the Detention Center had
an average daily population of 163 juveniles, Shelter Care an average daily population of 71 juveniles,
and Home Detention monitored an average daily caseload of 115 juveniles.
ACCREDITATION
On January 22, 2007, the American Correctional Association Commission on Accreditation for Corrections awarded full accreditation to the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center for a three-year period. This audit included a review of over 400 national standards, addressing general administration, staff training, physical plant, safety and security, juvenile rights, food service, health care, admissions, and resident programming.
In addition to the standards, the auditors determined that the Detention Center provides safe, secure, and humane care for the residents, despite severe overcrowding. The Commission complimented Detention management and staff on their professional level of operation and their success in achieving accreditation status.
POPULATION
The average number of residents held daily at the Detention Center increased from 145 in year 2006 to 163 in the year 2007. In order to help control overcrowding, Detention Admission Screening Officers are scoring all juveniles arrested by law enforcement for admission to secure detention using the Detention Admission Screening Instrument (DASI). Admission is restricted to the most serious offenders. In February 2007, in cooperation with the Inner Ring Suburban Consortium of mayors and police chiefs, the Court added to the DASI, three new categories of mandatory detainment upon arrest: Assault on School Personnel, Assault on Law Enforcement, and Aggravated Riot.
To help alleviate the overcrowding at the Juvenile Detention Center, the Court and Department of Justice Affairs have jointly established a 20-bed shelter care program at the county Youth Development Center.
The Court has increased surveillance response to 24-hours-per-day, seven-days-a-week, so violations can be addressed as they occur. Additional Home Detention Officer positions have been added to constantly monitor clientele through the internet-based G4S Web Patrol. New technology also allows the electronic monitoring of juveniles who do not have telephone landlines.
LIVING UNITS
In response to the increasing resident population, the Detention Center has increased the number of community volunteers who provide programming in the areas of life skills, substance abuse awareness, health and hygiene counseling, anger management, and conflict resolution.
The following volunteers and organizations are some of the many who visit residents on a regular basis:
- Pam Hubbard, Founder and Executive Director of Golden Ciphers, facilitates discussions on life skills and drug prevention.
- Kellie Binczyk, a Pediatric Nurse, leads a grief support group for female residents.
- Andrea Jacobson, a Registered and Licensed Occupational Therapist , leads an art program for female residents.
- Anita Kules, Social Worker with the Public Defender’s Office, conducts mental health group sessions.
- The Stella Maris Community Center addresses drug and alcohol abuse issues with residents.
- The Jewish Community Federation provides an after-school tutoring program to help residents improve their math skills.
- The Cleveland Treatment Project Safe (Stay Aids Free through Education program) provides HIV education and awareness.
- The Murtis H. Taylor Multi-service Center provides pre-GED and remedial education for residents returning to the community.
- The Cleveland Playhouse sponsored a 5 day writing workshop for the female residents.
Residents continue to rate their quality of life at the Detention Center as very good, based on their responses to a Social Climate Quality of Life survey conducted twice each year.
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
The Juvenile Detention Center houses its own school within the Cleveland Municipal School District, known as the “Downtown Educational Center”. The School District provides a principal and teachers and the residents receive school credits for academic work completed. In addition, the Juvenile Court provides a Summer School program.
MEDICAL SERVICES
The Detention Center contracts with the MetroHealth Nursing Department to provide on-site nursing services for residents, 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. Staffing includes one Managing Registered Nurse and eight Licensed Practical Nurses. A Physician or Nurse Practitioner is also on-site for four hours every weekday. In 2007, special procedures were put into place so that all staff are alerted to individual resident allergy issues. The medical program enrolled in Ohio’s IMPACT program, giving MetroHealth access to statewide vaccination records for the past ten years.
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
The Cuyahoga County Community Board of Mental Health contracts with Catholic Charities to provide Mental Health Services for residents. Independent Licensed Social Workers are on-site weekdays and are on-call at all other hours. A Psychiatrist is on-site 16 hours each week. They provide evaluation, counseling, crisis intervention, and psychotropic medication monitoring.
STAFF TRAINING
All Juvenile Detention employees receive annually 18.0 hours of Competency Training that includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automatic external defibrillation, standard first aid, blood-borne pathogens and communicable diseases, emergency response (suicide prevention and intervention), and Crisis Prevention Institute verbal de-escalation and unarmed self-defense. Those staff who directly supervise residents receive an additional 22 hours of training for a total of 40 hours annually.
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