DOJ hosts community meeting ahead of investigation into Kentucky's juvenile justice department

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice answered questions from community members Monday evening as they get ready to start their investigation of Kentucky's juvenile justice department.

The DOJ announced its statewide civil investigation into the conditions at eight youth detention centers and a youth development center in Kentucky in mid-May, in response to allegations of institutional abuse and mistreatment of children.

Some of those facilities are in Jefferson and Fayette counties. It also includes the Adair Youth Development Center — where a riot broke out in 2022, causing injuries to young people and staff. Order was restored after state police and other law enforcement officers entered the facility. In another incident, some juveniles kicked and punched staff during an attack at another center.

Lawmakers in Frankfort have looked into reports of assaults, overcrowding, and staffing shortages as the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice struggles to house increasing numbers of youths accused of violent offenses.

Department officials said in recent years, more of the kids being held in the centers face felony charges, such as rape and murder.

Gov. Andy Beshear responded with a series of policy changes to try to quell the violence. He announced, among other things, that male juveniles would be assigned to facilities based on the severity of their offenses, and "defensive equipment" — pepper spray and Tasers — was provided for the first time so detention center workers could defend themselves and others if attacked.

As the problems mounted, state lawmakers responded by appropriating money to boost salaries for juvenile justice employees, hire more Department of Juvenile Justice correctional officers, improve security at detention centers and increase diversion and treatment services for detained youths.

In a Zoom meeting Monday evening, the DOJ outlined some of the possible violations it will examine, such as the possibility of children being held in mental health crises.

One question from the public asked if the DOJ would make some surprise visits to the state's youth detention centers. But officials said they generally schedule their visits.

The DOJ said investigations such as this typically take a year or longer. If the investigation uncovers systemic violations of the children's' constitutional rights, the DOJ will work with the state to fix the issues.

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