Objective

To determine whether the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) adequately oversees juvenile justice facilities for youth placed in local detention facilities to ensure they meet State regulations for the health and safety of juveniles and staff. The audit covered the period from October 2018 through January 2024.

About the Program

OCFS’ mission is to serve New York’s public by promoting the safety, permanency, and well-being of our children, families, and communities. Toward this end, OCFS, through its Bureau of Juvenile Detention Services, is responsible for the certification, oversight, and monitoring of the State’s juvenile detention facilities (local detention facilities). Outside of New York City, OCFS oversees 19 local detention facilities: five specialized secure, six secure, and eight non-secure. These local detention facilities are operated by counties or privately contracted entities that provide supervision and care to the youth in their custody who are awaiting adjudication or disposition of their case by the court. OCFS is responsible for overseeing local detention facilities to provide assurance they are operated in good condition, meet certain environmental and safety standards, and comply with other provisions of OCFS’ regulations (Regulations). For example, the Regulations require youth to have a health assessment upon admission and individualized de-escalation plans. Further, under the Regulations, local detention facility staff must meet certain training requirements and log and report incidents (e.g., assault, possession of contraband, self-harm, employee misconduct, restraints of youth) to OCFS.

New admissions to New York’s local detention facilities decreased 28% from 1,728 in 2019 to 1,246 in 2021 due to efforts to limit admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic to limit exposure to and spread of the virus. Admissions rose to 1,854 by 2023, or 7% above the 2019 level. Both the average length of stay and the average daily population in local detention facilities increased between 2019 and 2023.

Key Findings

While local detention facilities are meeting the Regulations for health, safety, and physical condition (e.g., sufficient lighting and ventilation, fire safety equipment), we found local detention facilities were not adhering to other requirements of the Regulations. For example:

• Certain assessments and documentation for youth at local detention facilities were not completed as required or within the required time frames. Consequently, this created a risk of missed or delayed opportunities to provide care for physical or mental health issues youth may have when they are admitted to detention facilities. We found missing comprehensive medical assessments, which evaluate the physical and mental health of youth entering the facility and missing individualized de-escalation plans. We reviewed files for 368 youth admitted to nine local detention facilities and found:
  • 127 files (35%) lacked support for required assessments or documentation and/or had an assessment or documentation completed late.
  • 82 of the 127 youth with missing or late assessments or documentation were at specialized secure facilities, which have more specific requirements. Of the 82, 57 youth lacked support for a required assessment or documentation, 16 had assessments or documentation completed late, and nine both lacked support for a required assessment and had assessments or documentation completed late.
• In some cases, reviews of restraint incidents were not complete or thoroughly documented. Of the 108 restraint incidents, 22 (20%) were missing certain forms or signatures.
• Of the 227 employees whose training records we reviewed, 93 (41%) were not up to date with required training. Of the 93 employees who were not up to date with training, 84 (90%) worked at secure or specialized secure detention facilities. The most frequently missed training, by 54 employees at these types of facilities, was first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. At one facility, OCFS issued a performance improvement plan—which was in effect from January 2023 through at least October 2023—relating to missed training, but the facility had yet to implement corrective measures.

Key Recommendations

• Clarify, communicate, and, where practicable, standardize procedures for oversight of local juvenile detention facilities to increase assurance that facilities:
  • Comply with Regulations related to completing required assessments, documentation, and staff training
  • Adhere to policies and procedures for documenting and reviewing incidents involving restraints
  • Implement corrective actions as directed in the performance improvement plan