LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Violence is plaguing Kentucky's juvenile detention centers. On Tuesday, the state Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) said staffing and pay will in turn address the violence.

"The staffing level we have now is unacceptable. We have to have more staff here," Josh Hicks said.

Hicks is the State's Budget Chair and spoke with DJJ Commissioner Vicki Reed Tuesday morning in Frankfort.

Hicks said DJJ has 98 vacancies in the eight juvenile detention centers across the state and that offering competitive pay is a must.

"If we don't have more workers we're not going to solve this problem, period," Hicks said.

DJJ said the starting pay was $30,000 dollars two years ago, after two rounds of raises it's about $50,000, but the DJJ can only afford it because of the current number of vacancies. 

Overall though, the DJJ said it wants nearly $50 million combined for fiscal year 2023 and 2024 to address pay, facility upgrades and transportation services.

Commissioner Vicki Reed said the data shows there’s more youth accused and charged with serious crimes detained than in the past. She said this is partially because a 2014 law enacted removed more low level offenders from state detention centers.

Then, Gov. Andy Beshear announced a plan in December to shift the population in juvenile detention centers again. His plan separated girls and boys and boys would be separated again based on the seriousness of offenses.

DJJ pointed to several issues in the detention centers: violence, lack of respect for authority and aging facilities that cause concern for safety. DJJ said all of these issues are exacerbated by a lack of staffing.

Kentucky state Rep. Patrick Flannery (R - Georgetown) asked about House Bill 3 and whether the DJJ agrees with the $8.9 million proposed to repurpose the former youth detention center in downtown Louisville. 

CLOSED - LOUISVILLE YOUTH DETENTION FACILITY DOWNTOWN - FILE.jpeg

The former Louisville Metro Youth Detention Services building downtown, which closed in 2019. (WDRB file image)  

Hicks said DJJ hasn't walked the space yet, so he can't say for certain if the $8.9 million is the correct amount.

"The goal though is to create a facility in that area of the state that can handle higher security offenders. So we all agree on the goal," Hicks said

While there's no detention center for serious offenders in Jefferson County right now. The DJJ confirmed it is now allowing up to 10 low level offenders back into the facility in Lyndon, Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

On Wednesday, two Louisville Democrats are expected to announce proposed legislation on how they want address issues facing the department.

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