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DJJ Challenged Over Ending Contract With Controversial Provider In Santa Rosa County
September 26, 2014
A company that operates residential facilities for juvenile offenders has challenged a decision by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to terminate a contract in Santa Rosa County and prevent the firm from bidding on other contracts.
The challenge, filed by Youth Services International, Inc., was sent this week to the state Division of Administrative Hearings.
Youth Services has had contracts to operate nine juvenile facilities in Florida, including the Santa Rosa Substance Abuse Treatment Center. But in an August 20 letter, the Department of Juvenile Justice terminated the Santa Rosa contract and prevented Youth Services from seeking other contracts for 12 months, saying the firm had not taken adequate steps at the Santa Rosa facility to “provide a safe and secure therapeutic environment for our youth.”
But in the legal challenge, Youth Services disputes the department’s position. In part, the company pointed to department decisions to transfer juveniles to the Santa Rosa facility from another facility in Madison County that was closed after “significant disruptions.”
It said several of the youths transferred from the Madison facility caused problems and were involved in an August 16 incident that involved destroying property and altercations between residents.
“YSI (Youth Services International) appropriately handled the events by intervening between the participants and calling law enforcement,” the company said in the legal challenge. “After reviewing the video tapes, law enforcement arrested eight of the individual youth involved.”
by The News Service of Florida
Comments
3 Responses to “DJJ Challenged Over Ending Contract With Controversial Provider In Santa Rosa County”
I’m with you on this one Lowgun. I work for the Federal system and we have constant problems with the few private systems we use (primarily for juveniles.)
Some organizations need to be run in the most efficient way possible. Privatization is not the best bet for corrections.
Privatizing our prisons and juvenile detention facilities is a huge mistake. When you make it possible to make a profit by keeping people locked up, you create a constituency which will spend a lot of money to make sure more and more people are locked up for longer and longer periods of time, which is exactly what we’ve seen happen in this country since we started privatizing prisons. Some things should not be driven by a profit motive.
I think if the youth aren’t willing to take advantage of the services offered in treatment at the very least, then they should be removed so that the others who DO wish to benefit from treatment can do so. You can’t help someone who does not want to be helped. It’s that way in big boy (and girl) prison. Treatment programs are for those who can behave and benefit. Otherwise, they are removed. Why should youth be any different? It’s going the be that way once the reach adulthood anyway.