Leading Stories, Articles

Report documents problems at Maine detention center

By Janine Weisman

Understaffing has contributed to “dangerous and unhealthy conditions for both youth and staff” at Maine’s only state juvenile detention center, an independent report finds. Seven vacant Juvenile Program Worker positions at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland led to the use of regular forced overtime last year when the report by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Children’s Law and Policy (CCLP) was compiled. The overtime was necessary to achieve a required staff to youth ratio of 1:8 during waking hours and 1:16 during overnight hours. The report made public in December was commissioned by the Maine Juvenile [More]

Tags: youth, juvenile detention center, Maine, understaffing, residential facilities, Long Creek Youth Development Center, forced overtime, transgender death, suicide prevention, kids, self-harming behavior
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