The way Kentucky handles some young offenders in its juvenile jails is changing, effective immediately.
The state’s Department of Juvenile Justice is now required to do more frequent medical and mental health checks on the children in restrictive housing, formerly known as isolation, in an effort to prioritize the safety and mental health of detained juveniles.
Governor Andy Beshear signed two emergency regulations Thursday, September 25, focused on enhanced mental health outcomes through proper use of restrictive housing policies, putting the new policy in place.
The regulations also require Department of Juvenile Justice leadership reviews and approves time limits, providing clearer guidelines to ensure the measure is being used safely and effectively.
The U.S. Department of Justice has previously recommended that Kentucky make changes to its procedures at juvenile jails. Among those changes, the Department of Juvenile Justice is expanding training for correctional staff, emphasizing de-escalation, relationship building and understanding personal triggers. The department also now has a full staff of mental health professionals, and said retention has improved since raising salaries for correctional officers to $50,000 a year.
The state’s juvenile justice system was under a statewide civil investigation by the Department of Justice into the conditions at eight youth detention centers and a youth development center in Kentucky in mid-May 2024, in response to allegations of institutional abuse and mistreatment of children. Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball also conducted an audit of the department in 2024, which revealed problems with use of force and isolation in the state’s juvenile jails.
Changes were made to the state’s juvenile justice system after a riot broke out in 2022 at a detention center, causing injuries to some young people and staff. Order was restored after state police and other law enforcement officers entered the facility. In another incident, some juveniles kicked and punched staff during an attack at another center.
Beshear responded to the riot with a series of policy changes to try to quell the violence. He announced that male juveniles would be assigned to facilities based on the severity of their offenses, and defensive equipment, pepper spray and Tasers, were provided for the first time so detention center workers could defend themselves and others if attacked.
In 2024, the state’s Republican-dominated legislature passed legislation and pumped additional money into the system to try to overcome the chronic problems. The legislation added stricter rules for youths charged with or convicted of violent crimes. Lawmakers appropriated money to boost salaries for juvenile justice employees, hire more Department of Juvenile Justice correctional officers, upgrade security at detention centers and increase diversion and treatment services for detained youths. The appropriations reflected much of the funding requests from Beshear’s administration to retain and recruit workers in the understaffed facilities.
This comes as the Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Louisville undergoes a $40 million renovation. The jail closed in 2019, and is not expected to reopen under state control until 2027. The Department of Justice is expected to have issued new rules on how Kentucky handles juvenile offenders by then.
Source: WDRB
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