Your Impact on Youth Justice: September Highlights

After an organized community response to consistent reports of harmful conditions in Dallas County’s juvenile detention facility, the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director of the Dallas County Juvenile Department both resigned. In August, Mike Griffiths returned to Dallas to step in as Interim Director. Griffiths oversaw the Dallas juvenile justice system for 15 years and has pledged to “regain the confidence of board members, judges, and the community at large.”

Last week, the Office of the Inspector General released the executive summary of their year long investigation into the alleged abuses of youth at the Dallas County Juvenile Department. The investigation uncovered a program, the Special Needs Unit (SNU), that utilized the systemic practice of confining kids to their cells for up to five days. Youth are kept in confinement (SNU) for up to 24 hours a day without regular access to education, large muscle exercise, outdoor recreation, or showers. According to the report, these conditions of neglect were known by facility staff, educators, and administrators (past and present). SNU has existed in several forms for over a decade. TJJD also noted the pervasive falsification of documents implying an intentional attempt to conceal these conditions. See further coverage of the report below.