Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court officials recently shared new details for a 32-bed lockdown treatment facility to house youths found guilty of gun-related felonies.
When placing children outside their homes, juvenile judges have several options, including youth prisons, private residential treatment facilities and short-term youth care centers. County-run Community Corrections Facilities (CCF) are a step down from the state’s three understaffed and violent youth prisons.
“CCFs are preferable because they keep kids closer to home, allow for more family involvement and generally lead youth toward better outcomes upon release,” Gov. Mike DeWine said in September, endorsing the state’s Juvenile Justice Working Group’s recommendations to overhaul Ohio’s youth detention system.
DeWine said “amazingly” there are no Community Corrections Facilities in Cuyahoga, Hamilton or Franklin counties, which send the most youth to these detention facilities. The three counties are now bidding against each other with only enough state money set aside to build one until the next capital budget in 2026.
From 2019 through 2023, Cuyahoga County juvenile judges put more than 100 children — nearly a third of all out-of-home placements — in seven Community Corrections Facilities, according to The Marshall Project – Cleveland’s review of court records. The seven are at least one hour away in Sandusky or Canton, at least two hours away in Marion, Toledo or St. Clairsville, three hours away in Xenia or a four-hour drive to Hamilton in Butler County.
In his first appearance before the County Council’s Juvenile Court Advisory Subcommittee, Administrative Judge Thomas O’Malley of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court said County Executive Chris Ronayne has settled on 10 possible locations for the new multimillion-dollar facility. Several sites are near the courthouse and youth detention center off Opportunity Corridor.
A spokesperson for Ronayne said the county will not disclose details of its sealed bid.
This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their Cleveland newsletter and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.
This article appears in Dec 4-17, 2024.