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Closure of juvenile facility threat to public safety

Sept. 25, 2009 (Columbus) - Members of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association who work in the Department of Youth Services are warning today that the announced closure of another juvenile correctional facility on top of myriad other changes within the agency are a threat to public safety.
 
“This just isn’t feasible at this time, or in a year from now,” said OCSEA DYS Assembly President Annie Person. “We still have our hands full trying to manage the crisis created by the other changes implemented this year.”
 
The union has repeatedly warned that a number of large system changes should not have taken place or were poorly executed, including the closure of the Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility, a reclassification of youth and widespread movement of youth throughout the juvenile correctional system. The violent death of an officer in the line of duty at the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility also occurred during the upheaval created by the Marion closure.
 
In fact, the announcement of the Mohican closure comes just days after the release of a “Special Inquiry Report” that concurs with the union’s belief that the fast pace and poor execution of recent changes have led to a dangerous increase in violence and destabilization throughout the DYS system. The study also criticized DYS for improper planning and basing reform decisions on budgetary concerns.
 
“Our union has worked successfully on large-scale reforms in other agencies,” OCSEA President Eddie L. Parks. “But those reforms take years—not months—and are never driven by the bottom line alone.”
 
“We need time to get our bearings and develop programming that works and fits the population that we’re housing,” said Person. “We’re still stuck on our old way of doing things, and we’re looking at the wrong things, like closing facilities.”
 
“Many of these kids will be forced into the community and they’re not ready for that. It will ultimately jeopardize public safety,” said Person.
 
The union is also concerned that the cost of housing youth will merely shift to already overburdened local governments that are also in financial straits.

OCSEA represents nearly 35,000 state employees who work in a wide range of security, safety, construction, regulatory, clerical, professional and direct care positions. The union is an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

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