Nearly two weeks ago, officials from the West Virginia Division of Juvenile Services expressed concerns of increased physical and sexual assault by adult residents housed at the Industrial Home for Youth, at Salem.
Division of Juvenile Services Director Dale Humphreys, states in the restructuring plan that between the time periods of March 2008 through Feb. 2009, there have been 19 assaults in which the perpetrator was more than 18 years old and the victim was under 18 years old.
The report continues to state that during this same time period, there were 25 assaults on staff in which the perpetrator was 18 years of age or older.
“The total number of significant assaults, meaning something more than two residents getting into a skirmish with both being equally responsible for the incident, is estimated at 73, which means that about 60% of the assaults involved residents that were 18 years of age or older,” Humphreys’ report states.
One youth from the Industrial Home for the Youth took his own life while several others have been hospitalized.
There has also been reports of assaults against prisoners allegedly perpetrated by correctional officers employed at Salem.
Humphreys’ proposed solution to the problem was to transfer the adult male population from the Salem juvenile center to the Donald R. Kuhn Center, near Danville, by June 1.
This would have required the juvenile offenders, under the age of 18, at the Kuhn facility to be transferred to alternate locations within the state.
Humphreys proposed to send all sex offenders from the Industrial Home for Youth to the Donald R. Kuhn Center, but stipulated that this population would be housed separately from the remaining population.
Humphreys’ proposal also outlined the transfer of all female offenders from both the Kuhn facility and the Industrial Home for Youth, to the Gene Spadaro Center, in Mt. Hope.
Although the Donald R. Kuhn Center, in Julian, provides detention beds to juvenile offenders, the facility is one of the Division’s Diagnostic Centers.
Humphreys’ proposed restructuring would have resulted in the diagnostic center to be closed, as stated in his prepared plan.
Despite this fundamental change in facility structure, Humphreys maintained that there would be no difference in the caliber of offenders housed at the Kuhn facility.
“Now, some of the concerns that have come up is that they don’t want the sex offenders and some of the ‘hard core’ criminals in Boone County. Well, you’ll see what has already been there for four years – since it was opened – the caliber and the type of offenders have not changed at all,” he said, referring to a list of residents who have been placed at the Kuhn center in the last three or four years.
“These are not different types of crimes and offenders than what is currently being housed there now. They’re just one year older is all,” Humphreys said in regards to the adult male offenders he planned to transfer to the facility.
The current Kuhn Center offenders’ crimes include first-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, first and second-degree sexual assault, domestic battery, malicious wounding, incest and possession of controlled substances.
“The concern of not wanting sex offenders in that facility doesn’t really have any merit; they’re there anyway,” Humphreys said.
Out of the 169 current residents at the Industrial Home for Youth, 67 have been housed at the Kuhn facility.
Two weeks ago, a meeting was held for Kuhn staffers where they were informed of the imminent change the structure of the Kuhn Center.
The plan became public a few days later, and elected officials on the county and state levels that represent Boone and surrounding counties began to express their concern and “downright opposition.”
On March 24, Boone County Commissioners Mickey Brown, Athol Halstead and Eddie Hendricks traveled to the offices of Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, to see if they could do anything to halt the plans.
County Administrator Jim Gore told the Coal Valley News that Sen. Tomblin informed them that he had not been informed of the change until shortly before they were.
Last Thursday, a meeting was held between law enforcement, legislators and officials from juvenile services, DHHR, judges, and military affairs at the West Virginia State Capitol.
Boone County House of Delegates Member Larry Barker told Humphreys that law enforcement officials in the area were concerned about the safety of not just residents in the Julian area, but law enforcement officials tasked with patrolling the area and residents in surrounding areas.
In addition, legislators expressed what Barker called “grave concerns” over the fate of juveniles in the justice system that would, instead of being transported a short distance to the nearby Kuhn Center, be forced to travel to centers in Huntington, Dunbar and even the northern part of West Virginia.
“The only thing we’re trying to do is keep the adults away from the juveniles and segregate them,” Humphreys told group assembled in Senator Tomblin’s office.
According to Humphreys, these “adults” were at one time a juvenile offender who had been sentenced to a juvenile facility after committing a crime as a juvenile.
Humphreys and Military Affairs Secretary James Spears argued that people in Boone County are under a false sense of security where the Kuhn facility is concerned.
“I think that’s where the misconception comes in. People think that just because it’s a juvenile, they can’t be that harmful or violent,” Humphreys said. “With that mindset, they think it’s much safer; and that’s not really true.”
Humphreys and Spears were presented with an alternative to the proposed restructuring of the Kuhn Center by legislators from Boone, Logan, Lincoln, and Fayette Counties and called upon to provide alternatives to the changeover.
One alternative solution was to transfer the adult offenders to a McDowell county adult facility, although no representatives from McDowell were present during the meeting.
Thursday’s meeting at the Capitol ended with Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin requesting that Humphreys and Spears hold an additional meeting with legislators to work out an alternative plan by Monday.
“It is my duty and job to look after the safety of the state; I’m not concerned about districts or boundaries. I’m concerned about the lives of the juveniles of this state. I’m willing to sit down with anybody and flow left or right to solve it. I’m here to bring to your attention that there is a problem and we need to solve it,” Humphreys said.
Senator Ron Stollings and other legislative officials met with Humphreys later in the week. “We worked out a plan that I think will be pleasing to everyone,” said Raamie Barker, Chief of Staff to Senator Tomblin.
“After they knew the current plan wasn’t going to fly, we were able to convince them to send male and female 18-21 year olds at Salem to different facilities in the state and to renovate an as-yet unused but ready additional building at the site to better care for juveniles,” he said.
Additionally, plans are afoot in the West Virginia State Legislature to change the law to mandate that 18-year old prisoners may no longer be housed in juvenile facilities.
“Centers like the one at Julian were never meant to house the over 18 prisoners,” Barker said. “We are on track to make sure that a plan like this can never happen again.”
“This is 2009. We should not have 14 year olds with 19 year olds,” commented Delegate Jeff Eldridge, of Lincoln County.
Barker said the agreement would not have been possible without the assistance of a large group of people.
These included Gov. Joe Manchin, Senators Tomblin and Stollings, and House members from Boone, Logan and Lincoln Counties.
He also recognized the input of Boone County Sheriff Rodney Miller, the Boone County Commissioners and Steve Canterbury, currently a West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Administrator, who, when the Donald R. Kuhn Center was built, helped conceive and design the diagnostic center for youth.
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