Juvenile detention bed crisis in Pa. prompts York County to create center at prison

The scarcity of bed space among juvenile detention centers has reached a crisis level in York County and across the state.

The crisis prompted officials to work on creatings space for juveniles in York County.

On July 12, The York County Prison Board approved a contract with Lobar Associates to perform architectural and engineering work on a plan to convert a housing unit in the York County Prison into a juvenile detention center.

Frustration among community

According to an April 2023 report by The Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judge’s Commission, only thirteen facilities are providing secure detention services in Pennsylvania.

The state has found itself with a severe shortage of detention beds and detention center staff members, which has raised concerns about the state’s ability to effectively rehabilitate young offenders.

“It’s to the point where juvenile centers in Pennsylvania are borrowing detention bed space from Ohio,” said Lavinia Ghergulescu, York County Juvenile Unit senior deputy prosecutor.

York County District Attorney Dave Sunday said as a result of the bed shortage, juveniles whose offenses called for detention in some cases are being released, with the possibility of committing additional crimes.

Ghergulescu said the county has explored other options for supervising youth that are released early from detention.

"One of the alternatives that a lot of times we have to use if there's no space is we end up putting a youth on GPS house arrest. This option usually works, until they cut off the GPS bracelet. Many will do that," Ghergulescu said.

According to Ghergulescu, this is one of the few options available for the youth when a detention center is not able to supervise the youth. In one case, she said, a youth associated with gun violence and a history of vehicle theft was placed on house arrest before stealing another vehicle the following month.

"This becomes very frustrating to the community," she said.

Sunday added, "Our number one priority right now is advocating for additional secured bed space to not only keep these kids from preventing additional crimes, but to protect them as well."

What is a juvenile detention facility?

Juvenile detention or youth detention centers are secure short-term facilities designed to rehabilitate people under the age of 18 after committing offenses or being convicted.

Detention centers serve as a space of temporary con­fine­ment either while an individual's case is being han­dled in court, or if they are ordered by a judge to be con­fined rather than super­vised in the community after committing a particular offense.

"We recognize that secured detention is not the appropriate thing for a lot of kids – we put a lot of thought and care into determining which juveniles we advocate to the courts that they should be detained," said Sunday.

Detention facility model

Upon admission, a typical length of stay for youth in a detention facility can vary and has increased from 2018, which was 11 to 17 days, to 14 to 27 days in 2022, according to The Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges' Commission.

Pennsylvania's licensed detention facilities also have the ability to decide which youths they accept, and often detention beds may be available, but admissions are denied.

A 2021 survey completed by Chief Juvenile Probation Officers indicated the most common reasons for these denials include:

• Facility will not accept out-of-county youth

• Behavioral concerns (complex cases)

• Staffing issues (facility not properly staffed)

• Owner county needs the bedspace

• Medical concerns

• COVID

Five of the 13 facilities in the state only accept youth from within their own counties, and 57 of the 67 counties vie for beds at just six Pennsylvania facilities.

"All over the commonwealth, we have the counties competing with each other for the few bed spaces that are available," Sunday said.

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As of April 2023, a report said staffing shortages have led to only 404 of the state's 517 secure detention beds as operational.

"This is a need not in just our community but in communities across the commonwealth given a lack of detention beds available," said President Commissioner Julie Wheeler.

The facility at the York County Prison would include eight to potentially 12 beds.

"There are 12 rooms potentially available – only eight are currently in accordance with state regulations because they have windows, and offer direct outside light," said York County engineer John Klinedinst.

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This will be the first time York County could provide juvenile detention services since 2010.

"This is an excellent reuse of an already existing county facility," Klinedinst said.

The project will cost a total of $999,231 and is projected to be in operation by spring 2024.

“Having a detention center here in York, to serve this county and others – it helps keeps a kid close to their family," said Clair Doll, executive director of York County Human Services. "The more we can do that, the better off we are, and they are."

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Pa. juvenile detention bed crisis prompts York County to create center