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Custer youth report released
Posted to SDPSG by Ann Bates
http://www.argusleader.com/news/Tuesdayarticle3.shtml
Lee Williams
Argus Leader
published: 2/18/2003
Justice Department is OK with S.D.'s use of force
U.S. Justice Department investigators looking into the operation of the Custer Youth Correctional Center have reported deficiencies in education and mental health care provided there.
But investigators found no problems with management practices, the use of force by staff members or the medical care provided at the facility for juvenile offenders, according to the federal investigation, which was completed last year.
The state could face a federal lawsuit if the civil rights concerns raised in the report are not addressed. But Department of Corrections officials said they already have implemented many of the suggested changes.
Doug Herrmann, director of juvenile services for the corrections department, said officials would rather invest the state's resources in improving the programs at Custer rather than disputing in court what the Department of Justice recommended.
"There hasn't been any determination by a court of law that there were any violations of civil rights, and we're not necessarily in agreement that there were any civil rights violations," Herrmann said. "They issued a report that had very specific recommendations. We reviewed those and determined they were good suggestions. We do not anticipate a lawsuit."
Federal investigators did not return telephone calls seeking comment.
Lawyers from the U.S. Justice Department's Special Litigation Section first notified the state that they intended to investigate
conditions at the Custer center and other juvenile facilities in December 1999 - six months after 14-year-old Gina Score died of heatstroke during a forced run at the former girls' boot camp in Plankinton.
The federal inquiry was made pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). That law allows the Justice Department to investigate corrections facilities where "there is a pattern or practice of violations of residents' federal rights."
Since CRIPA was enacted in 1980, the Special Litigation Section has investigated more than 300 corrections facilities in more than 39 states.
Standards
Jennifer Ring, executive director of the ACLU of the Dakotas, said the standards of a CRIPA investigation are fairly thorough, though somewhat less rigorous than the discovery process used in private litigation.
"It does set a floor at which things can be judged," she said. "The Department of Justice has the resources to really put some experts out there."
Investigators inspect the facilities, evaluate practices and procedures and interview inmates and staff. They also work with experts from other federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Prisons. The probe, which can last more than a year, could lead to class action lawsuits on behalf of inmates or to other corrective measures such as the implementation of an outside monitoring system.
In the worst-case scenario, the federal department could take control of the state's corrections facilities.
Repeated requests
According to the Justice Department's report, in February 2000 the state refused to allow federal investigators into the Custer facilities, citing the ongoing litigation caused by Score's death.
The state closed the Plankinton facility in January 2002. Justice Department lawyers renewed their request to tour the Custer facility on March 4, 2002. Two weeks later, the state again refused to allow federal investigators into the facility.
In June 2002, the state agreed to allow federal mental health, medical and education experts to tour the Custer center but refused to allow a management expert to enter. Instead, corrections officials provided documents for the expert to review.
The federal investigators conducted three on-site inspections of the Custer unit in June and August of last year. They interviewed inmates and staff, reviewed policies and procedures, looked over incident reports and education records.
Areas of deficiency
The investigators determined that the institution failed to provide adequate instruction to youth held for up to 20 days in the intake center and to children confined in isolation cells.
The education experts said the facility did not have a sufficient number of certified teachers on staff in several areas of instruction, including special education. They also noted that vocational training is not made available to girls at Custer.
Mental health experts said there were technical problems and gaps in the care provided to children. For example, youth awaiting transfers to other facilities did not receive psychiatric care or support.
Gov. Mike Rounds did not return a call seeking comment, but a written statement issued late last month by the Department of Corrections states that the governor ordered corrections officials to address the issues raised in the federal report.
"I am committed to providing the best atmosphere and programs possible for children placed in juvenile-corrections programs," Rounds said in the statement.
Corrections Secretary Tim Reisch said that Rounds' plans have been implemented.
"We've contracted for additional special education services, increased classroom time for youth in the Intake Center, developed vocational program options for girls, improved telepsychiatry services and ensured that youth awaiting transfer continue to receive needed mental health services," Reisch said in the statement.
Ring said the report is encouraging because parts of the system were found to be in compliance with federal standards. "And it's very encouraging to find that our suspicions about mental health care were borne out, and that the Justice Department is going to work with the state to solve these problems," she said.
Boot camp criticism
Critics of the boot camp system say the report is further evidence that the corrections facilities should be closed.
"If South Dakota would look around the nation, we would find that most states have shut down this kind of juvenile program because they don't work," said Pat Haley, a former Democratic lawmaker from Huron and a frequent critic of the state's juvenile-corrections system.
Ring said boot camps are not effective in rehabilitating young offenders.
"Regardless of whose boot camps they are, the issue is not one of compliance or constitutionality. The issue is what works," Ring said.
Earlier this month, lawmakers rejected a bill that would have banned juvenile boot camps in the state.
Herrmann said he is committed to the boot camp program. He points out that the deficiencies noted in the report did not deal directly with the boot camp.
"I think we run outstanding programs at Custer," Herrmann said. "I think the report speaks for itself."
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