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“This
has been
an
entire
County
effort.
Ensuring
the
safety
of both
staff
and
youth at
the
Wayne
County
Juvenile
Detention
Facility
has
always
been the
goal.
But that
also
means
thinking
broadly
about
their
well-being—about
making
sure the
youth
get the
help
they
desperately
need,”
stated
Wayne
County
Executive
Warren
C.
Evans.
(Photo
by Tell
Us USA
News
Network) |
|
Wayne
County
Increases
Staffing,
Reduces
Overcrowding
at
Juvenile
Detention
Facility;
Ends
Public
Health
Emergency
DETROIT,
MI - On
Monday
June 5,
2023
Wayne
County
Officials
ended
the
Public
Health
Emergency
at the
Juvenile
Detention
Facility
(JDF)
after
accomplishing
the
critical
goals of
that
effort.
Since
the
Public
Health
Emergency
was
declared
on March
21st,
the
County
has
worked
with its
partners
at the
Third
Circuit
Court
and the
State of
Michigan
to
achieve:
•
Reduced
population.
When the
emergency
was
declared,
the
census
included
134
youths.
Today’s
census
is 113.
The
census
had been
as low
as 105
prior to
the
seasonal
increase
in
intakes
that
comes
with the
onset of
warm
weather.
•
Increased
staffing.
Wayne
County
has
raised
wages
35%
across
the
board,
allowing
the
County
to hire
an
additional
54 staff
members
since
declaring
the
Public
Health
Emergency,
with an
additional
60
positions
now
open.
•
Expanding
leadership.
Wayne
County
has
hired
two new
Deputy
Directors
with a
long
track
record
in
corrections,
law
enforcement,
and
public
service,
and is
in the
process
of
hiring a
third.
There is
currently
a
nationwide
search
for the
roles of
JDF
Director
and
Chief
Administrator.
•
Reduced
crowding.
Along
with
reducing
the
population
of youth
in the
facility,
the
County
has more
than
doubled
the
space
within
which
youths
are
residing.
Whereas
there
had been
upwards
of 50
youths
per
housing
pod,
there
are
currently
no more
than 20
youths
per pod.
•
Reinstituting
a
classification
system.
In
accordance
with
best
practices
for
juvenile
detention,
youths
are now
separated
by age
and
charge.
•
In-facility
treatment.
Wayne
County
has
created
a new
space
dedicated
for
mental
health
treatment
for
youths,
operated
in
partnership
with
Team
Wellness,
which
will
begin on
June
15th.
•
Expanded
placements.
Team
Wellness
has
created
a
community
day
treatment
program
for
eligible
youths
to
expand
possible
placements
to
reduce
long-term
stays
for
adjudicated
youths.
The
Public
Health
Emergency
was
declared
by Wayne
County
Executive
Warren
Evans
during
his
annual
State of
the
County
address.
Under
the
emergency,
the
County
dedicated
$10
million
toward
addressing
all
needs in
the
facility,
and
created
an
incident
command
led by
Health,
Human,
and
Veterans
Services
Director,
Dr.
Abdul
El-Sayed.
“This
has been
an
entire
County
effort.
Ensuring
the
safety
of both
staff
and
youth at
the
Wayne
County
Juvenile
Detention
Facility
has
always
been the
goal.
But that
also
means
thinking
broadly
about
their
well-being—about
making
sure the
youth
get the
help
they
desperately
need,”
Evans
stated.
“We’re
now
working
collaboratively
with
partners
on the
local
and
state
levels
so that
we can
move
toward
reform
and
transformation.”
“Looking
back at
what
we’ve
achieved
in the
span of
this
emergency,
it’s
clear
that
this is
an
inflection
point
for our
facility,”
said
Assad
Turfe,
Deputy
County
Executive.
“There’s
much
more to
be done,
but
we’re
building
on solid
foundations
now.”
There’s
no quick
fix but
the work
to
create
change
and
transformation
is
underway.
“We’ve
used
this
emergency
to
answer
two key
questions:
how do
we best
protect
and
provide
for the
youths
under
our
care,
and how
do we
make
sure
their
time at
JDF
helps
them in
their
long-term
rehabilitation,”
said Dr.
Abdul
El-Sayed,
Director
Wayne
County
Department
of
Health,
Human
and
Veterans
Services.
“While
there’s
a lot
more to
improve
and
build
upon, we
feel
that the
work
we’ve
done
during
the
emergency
has
provided
a solid
foundation
for that
work.”
“The
emergency
has
provided
a
platform
for
County,
State
and
Court
leadership
to
engage
in
regular
and
meaningful
collaborative
sessions
to
address
systemic
issues
greater
than the
JDF.
Through
our
collaboration
and
partnership,
the
immediate
safety
needs
have
been
addressed
that
have
allowed
us to
create a
safe and
humane
environment
within a
secure
setting,”
said
Melissa
Fernandez,
Division
Director
for
Juvenile
and
Youth
Services.
“The
emergency
at the
Juvenile
Detention
Facility
not only
required
the
county
to take
quick,
decisive
action
but also
to take
a good,
hard
look how
young
people
were
being
treated
there
and
address
the
shortcomings,”
Wayne
County
Commission
Chair
Alisha
Bell
(D-Detroit)
said.
“By
working
together,
we did
just
that.
This is
by no
means
the end
of our
efforts
and the
county’s
new
juvenile
detention
facility,
which
will
open
this
year,
gives us
much
reason
to
continue
moving
forward.
By
placing
greater
emphasis
on
mental
health
issues
and
creating
space
this
month to
provide
treatment,
we are
moving
in the
right
direction.”
Evans
says
none of
this
would
have
been
possible
without
the
support
of our
partners
at the
State
and the
Court.
“We are
pleased
with the
strides
made by
Wayne
County
to reach
this
milestone,
and the
progress
that has
been
made so
far to
address
concerns
at the
Wayne
County
Juvenile
Detention
Facility,”
said
Elizabeth
Hertel,
director
of the
Michigan
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services
(MDHHS).
“MDHHS
has
worked
diligently
to
expand
bed
capacity,
connect
the
county
with
partners
like
Team
Wellness,
provide
guidance
and
overcome
hurdles
to
support
the
safety
of youth
in
detention.
We are
thankful
to our
partners
across
child
welfare
who have
worked
together
with us
to
address
the
systemic
and
persistent
issues
within
the
juvenile
justice
system
statewide.”
“Wayne
County
has made
progress
toward
addressing
the
concerns
that
triggered
the
county’s
Public
Health
Emergency,
with the
support
of MDHHS
as well
as our
partners,
who
helped
secure
safe
placements
for
youth at
Wayne
County
Juvenile
Detention
Facility,”
said
Suzanna
Shkreli,
MDHHS
director
of
Juvenile
Justice
Reform.
“There
is more
work to
be done
as we
reform
juvenile
justice
across
the
state,
and we
will
continue
to work
with all
partners
to
support
the
safety
of youth
in
detention.”
###
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