ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, May 19, 1996 TAG: 9605200094
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: POWHATAN
SOURCE: Associated Press
The U.S. Justice Department will investigate conditions at Beaumont Juvenile Correctional Center, the overcrowded, understaffed home to some of the most dangerous juveniles in the state.
At issue are allegations of physical and mental abuse of juveniles, the improper use of isolation and segregation, an unacceptably high risk of violence, and inadequate medical and mental health care, said the May 7 Justice Department letter to Gov. George Allen.
Assistant Attorney General Deval L. Patrick wrote that lawyers would contact Virginia to arrange to see documents and inspect the correctional center.
Youths, their parents, staff members and administrators have complained that rehabilitation at the center in Powhatan County has been hampered and safety put at risk by crowding.
Secretary of Public Safety Jerry Kilgore said Friday the Justice Department allegations are not true. He suggested the investigation might be politically motivated.
``I certainly feel it's a distraction to keep us from implementing our nationally recognized reform,'' he said.
``We've poured $110 million into a system that admittedly had problems that had gone on for a long period of time,'' Kilgore said.
He noted that President Clinton recently advocated a crackdown on juvenile crime similar to what Virginia has done. ``He wants to get tough on juveniles, and Virginia is leading the nation,'' Kilgore said.
A similar Justice Department investigation in Kentucky last year found that conditions in juvenile centers there failed to meet minimum constitutional standards.
Beaumont, one of seven juvenile correctional centers in Virginia, has 10 regular residential cottages each intended for use by 20 or 25 youths, but instead occupied by as many as 50 or more. There are also two security cottages with isolation cells in the basements.
A 300-bed, $25.5 million complex is scheduled to open there next year. However, it may wind up augmenting the cottages instead of replacing them, to keep up with projected juvenile incarcerations.
Linda Nablo, with the Action Alliance for Virginia's Children and Youth, said she was not surprised by the Justice Department investigation.
``Some of the stories coming out of Beaumont and other institutions have suggested for many months that conditions are awful for kids and staff alike,'' she said.
``Hopefully, this intervention by the Department of Justice will shed daylight on the situation. If the rumors are not true, they need to be put to rest,'' she said. ``If the conditions are as bad as reported, drastic action needs to be taken immediately.''
Julie McConnell, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, said she was certain the Justice Department would find numerous constitutional violations.
``The problem is, we're incarcerating huge numbers of children who don't necessarily need to be held in state facilities. They could be held in locally run, alternative-type facilities,'' she said.
``My sense of Beaumont for a number of years is that it's been a time bomb just waiting to go off. It's gotten more and more crowded, and conditions have steadily worsened over the past few years,'' McConnell said.
Del. Earl Dickinson, D-Louisa County, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, accused the administration of dragging its feet on General Assembly-approved plans for expanding Beaumont.
``The General Assembly has never refused to fund any juvenile correctional center treatment program when so requested by the department or the administration,'' he said. ``They just don't ask for any.''
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