Nov. 9, 2009 Finance Committee Meeting to Review the Proposed Budget--Juvenile Temporary Detention Center

Earl Dunlap, Transitional Administrator, Juvenile Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) of Cook County, provided an overview of the Detention Center.  The average daily population from 7/1/08 to 6/30/09 was 390.59 detainees.  The adult transfer population (included in total pop) was 94.78.  The racial breakdown of the population was 84.3% African American, 10.2% Hispanic, 2.6% White. 

There has been a rush of hiring in the last 10 months – 260 total new hires including 130 counselors and 20 team leaders.  Staff received 37,000 hours of training.  New staff gets 6 weeks of training before they begin.  Staff training complies with the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts (AOIC).

Reports on staffing have gone to the federal court in charge of the consent decree, which mandates the changes in the JTDC, Office of the Chief Judge of Cook County (newly made the administrator

of the JTDC) as per the federal court decree.

A dramatic upgrade is being made in the staffing at the Center. It will eliminate the current Juvenile Detention Counselor position and replace it with a Youth Development Specialist.  Making this change will provide more highly skilled workers available to the detention center population. It will also put the JTDC in compliance with the AOIC, permitting the JTDC to qualify for more State of Illinois dollars for costs, reducing its reliance on Cook County revenues. The Juvenile Detention Counselor position has traditionally been a position where only a high school diploma and no specialized training has been needed for direct work with the detainees in the living units. The Youth Development Specialist (YDS) position requires a college degree in an appropriate field.  A Youth Development Specialist Associate position will be available to those who

pass the hiring test for the YDS, get re-hired and are working to complete a college degree. All current Counselors will be welcome to go through the hiring process for the YDS Associate.

In the past year, there have been 88 investigations of instances involving the counselors done by the investigators newly hired by Office of Transitional Administrator (OTA). Of the 88 investigations, 33 involved physical abuse, 9 were substantiated, and employment terminated on that staffer.

Five of nine anticipated living centers are now open.

On Tuesday, November 17th there will be a federal court hearing regarding employees affected by the

recommendations to eliminate the counselor positions and the replacement of those workers by Youth Development Specialists with higher educational requirements.

The JTDC has not exceeded budgetary limits for FY 08-09. In fact, expenses have been below those limits.  There will be a reduction of overtime by 2011. 

Glass doors in the detainees rooms will be replaced by steel doors so that they have more privacy and detainees cannot break the doors as easily.  Safety rooms (padded) will be installed for detainees who need them.  Staff will get 2 way radios with direct contact with detainees.  Time clocks are being installed and activated for all staff. 

JD Counselor position will be upgraded to the YDSpecialist, which has essentially the same qualifications as an entry level Probation Officer.  The job reclassification will cost the JTDC $1.11 million. 

Currently there are 20 staff members in mental health positions, currently paid by the Cermak Health services. Many experts / standards say there should be 44 staff members in MH positions at JTDC. However Dunlap himself recommends a total of 30 MH workers. 

In response to questions from Commissioner Schneider, Dunlap answered that he, his assistant, and the consultants they hire submit itemized expenditures that are paid through funds from the State’s Attorney.  Dunlap works 2 1/2 to 3 days a week only.  There is a full time administrator who comes in on Monday around noon. He works Monday afternoon and into the night; all day Tuesday and Wednesday, including the night; all day Wednesday; and all day Thursday, taking the Thursday train at 4 or 8 p.m. to get back home. He puts in a 40 – 50 hour week at the DC, and works on the weekend at his home.

Regarding expenses, Dunlap said, the JTDC has been greatly ‘underresourced’ for a very long time. Much of the dollar expenditure is to close the gap from what was deplorable to what is proper.  The physical plant itself makes expenses higher than necessary. A more efficient facility could be 30% cheaper.  Just processing the detainees into the facility is expensive, but 26% of all those detained are released in 96 hours or less. Ways to reduce that have been brought to the attention of the Chief Judge of the circuit.

any alternatives to detention already in place should be increased, including electronic monitoring. Weekend courts and/or Saturday court calls would cut down on JTDC population. Evening and weekend court calls mean parents could be there with their kids. Kids on psychotropics now end up in JTDC, though it is not a proper treatment place for them. If the population is reduced, staff can be reduced, and expenses would be reduced. Juvenile crime rates are lower than they have been in 40 years, yet the population of the DC has not fallen by the same proportion.

Commissioner Collins stated that kids are now being punished twice: once by the situation that brought them to do illegal things, once by the very fact of being in the JTDC. It is important to keep the kids out who don’t belong there, and to appropriately assess and treat those who do belong there.

Collins asked why Dunlap thinks he only needs 30 and not 44 Mental Health staff at the DC. He responded that many of the mental health problems detainees have are not treated appropriately at the JTDC. They should have access to detox and other similar services in more appropriate settings. Collins also asked if the court could give a waiver to workers whose jobs will be terminated – there is value in having the good workers who have been with the DC for years stay there. Dunlap stated that the employees will all have a chance to apply for the newly created position.

Commissioner Sims stated that there should have been a way to work things out with the 200 plus workers who are being laid off.  She also said that the Chief Judge will hire a superintendent; after the Transitional Administrator will be out, the court can / will still be monitoring the situation.  Currently there is no superintendent of the JTDC. The office has remained vacant while Dunlap has been TA. Dunlap expects to be gone by the end of summer. 

In his concluding statement, Dunlap noted that Cook County locks up more kids than New York City does – and NYC has four times as many juveniles.  You can educate someone for six years at Harvard for what it costs to keep a youth for one year in the JTDC.

--Submitted by Observer Millie Juskevice, with assistance from Observer Ruby Donahue