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By Kathryn Wiley|Published Date: July 15, 2010
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Four dangerous and troubled youth prisons in New York State will be placed under federal oversight, strict limits will be imposed on the use of physical force by guards, and dozens of psychiatrists, counselors and investigators will be hired under a sweeping agreement between state and federal officials, according to an article in the New York Times.
The changes will include the most significant expansion of mental health services in years for youths in custody, most of whom suffer from drug or alcohol problems, developmental disabilities, or mental health problems.
Guards, known as youth counselors, will be barred from physically restraining youths except when a person's physical safety is threatened or a youth is trying to escape. Another change will allow guards to use the most controversial method—in which a youth is forced to the ground and held face-down—only for at most three minutes, with evaluation by a doctor to follow within four hours.
The agreement was reached almost a year after the Justice Department threatened to seek a takeover of the state juvenile justice system unless officials took significant steps to rectify problems at the four prisons, where physical abuse was rampant and mental health counseling was scant or nonexistent.
To read the article, click here.
For more information, visit Justice Fellowship’ Juvenile Justice resource page. |
