Juvenile lock-ups in the city are facing a staffing “crisis within [a] crisis” as overworked guards manage an aging and increasingly listless population of detainees. Youth advocates and union officials are asking for more staff and structure in the detention facilities as the city’s child welfare agency struggles to maintain a workforce dealing with injuries […]
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Posted inVaccinations
New York’s Homeless, Foster and Jailed Teens Now Eligible for COVID Vaccine
New Yorkers 16 and older in juvenile detention, youth shelters and foster care facilities can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine, according to new guidance from the Cuomo administration. The Office of Children and Family Services sent a letter to provider agencies Monday night emphasizing that older teens in residential programs licensed or certified by the […]
Posted inJuvenile Justice
Students in Juvenile Detention Finally Being Heard, But Not Seen
Nearly a year into the pandemic, children in city juvenile detention centers are finally having their voices heard by teachers during remote learning — but full video capabilities are still elusive, according to city child welfare and education officials. In November, reporting by THE CITY showed that kids could not be seen or heard by teachers […]
Posted inJuvenile Justice
City Moves to Take Students Off Mute in Juvenile Lockups, But Due Date Elusive
Nine months after the coronavirus pandemic forced a move to remote learning, children in juvenile detention may finally be heard by their teachers while in class. Officials with the city’s Administration for Children’s Services and Department of Education say they are looking into programs that would allow secure voice communication for pupils behind bars, as […]
Posted inJuvenile Justice
City Agrees to Extend Federal Oversight of Youth Lockup After Grim Reports Persist
New York City’s child welfare agency has agreed to the return of some federal oversight of its Bronx juvenile detention center, a court filing shows. The Horizon Juvenile Center, which largely houses teens being held pre-trial, lost its independent federal monitor in July after the city Administration for Children’s Services took over operations from the […]
Posted inJuvenile Justice
New York City Pushes Toward Goal of Zero Girls in Detention With New Program
New York City’s child welfare agency is teaming with advocacy groups to launch the first city-run diversion program for girls and gender-expansive youth at risk of going into the criminal justice system. Girls Justice — a placeholder name, officials say — was born out of a task force started in 2017 by the Vera Institute […]
Posted inJustice
Use of Force Against Inmates at NYC Jails Hit ‘All-Time High’ Last Year
City correction officers’ use of force against inmates reached a new “all-time high” last year, with incidents climbing even as the jails population dropped, the latest report by the federal monitor overseeing the system found. The overall number of force incidents rose to an average of close to 600 per month over the last six […]
Posted inJustice
Juvenile Detention Population Climbs After COVID Releases
Need to know more about coronavirus in New York? Sign up for THE CITY’s daily morning newsletter. Even as New York’s jails population has plummeted after inmate releases to stem the spread of coronavirus, the number of young people in the city’s two secure juvenile detention centers is starting to rise again, top child welfare […]
Posted inJuvenile Justice
COVID Kills Staffer at Juvenile Center Where Youth Are Being Sent for Safety
Need to know more about coronavirus in New York? Sign up for THE CITY’s daily morning newsletter. A staff member who worked with youth at Brooklyn’s Crossroads Juvenile Center has died — a victim of COVID-19, her family said. The Administration for Children’s Services has designated Crossroads as the juvenile justice system’s secure facility for […]
Posted inJuvenile Justice
Mayor Hails Releases From Juvenile Detention, Yet Most Remain as Virus Hits
Need to know more about coronavirus in New York? Sign up for our daily morning newsletter. Mayor Bill de Blasio offered some news during his daily coronavirus briefing Sunday about young people held in city juvenile detention facilities where the bug has hit three teens and 10 staffers so far. “More than half of those […]