ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701100046
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
Roanoke's juvenile jail, which has been the subject of two criminal investigations while on probation for violating state standards, has made significant progress in correcting its problems, a panel was told Wednesday.
A report presented to the state's Board of Juvenile Justice recommended that the Coyner Springs Juvenile Detention Home be taken off probation if there are no other infractions by next month, when the board will come to Roanoke to tour the home.
"From all the evidence, it seems that the city has really made this a priority," said Cari Brunelle, a spokeswoman for the Department of Juvenile Justice, which oversees the state's juvenile detention homes. "They've put a lot of work into it, and we've seen a lot of improvement."
At a meeting Wednesday in Norfolk, the board voted to continue Coyner Spring's probation until Feb. 12, when it will convene in Roanoke to make a final decision on the home's future.
Last November, the board placed Coyner Springs on probation after a certification audit revealed that the home had violated 33 state-enforced standards. The violations included deficiencies in record-keeping, "substandard" housekeeping, problems with fire safety and other infractions that stem from a serious overcrowding problem.
At the same time, authorities said they were investigating reports that food and money were taken from the home by a staff member, and that some employees had used excessive force in subduing disruptive juveniles.
Police documented reports of embezzlement at the home but found insufficient evidence to place charges. They still are investigating complaints from two boys who said they were assaulted by staff members.
Although the Board of Juvenile Justice was informed of the criminal investigations, its decision to place the home on probation was based on the violations of state standards. The board - which is appointed by the governor to oversee the state's juvenile justice system - has the power to revoke the home's certification, which essentially would shut it down.
In placing the home on probation, "grave concern for the safety and responsible management of detained juveniles was expressed," Board Chairman Marvin Garner wrote in a Nov. 27 letter to City Manager Bob Herbert.
But after touring the home Dec. 18, a Department of Juvenile Justice team recommended to the board that Coyner Springs be taken off probation and certified for one year - "pending the board findings on its tour and subsequent meeting with the city manager" next month.
Glenn Radcliffe, who supervises the home as Roanoke's director of human development, said the team was "significantly pleased with what we had done" to correct the earlier violations.
"We've done a lot of work," Radcliffe said. "The city has pulled together and done a lot of things that have helped put us back on track."
One of the biggest accomplishments has been to reduce overcrowding at the home, which is designed for 21 juveniles but has held as many as 50.
By finding alternative placements for youths and limiting the number of juveniles it takes from surrounding localities, the home was able to keep its average daily population at about 21 through November and December. On the day of the team's December visit, there were 17 detainees.
As a result, Coyner Springs has discontinued an earlier practice of keeping half the youths locked in their cells for half a day during periods of overcrowding, while the rest spent the time in the home's day area and classrooms.
At the time of the December tour, "all detainees were actively engaged in school or other staff-led group process," the report stated.
The reduced number of detainees has "allowed us to do a lot of the fixing up that needed to be done," Radcliffe said.
At the time of the July inspection, there was peeling paint in the home's cells, graffiti scribbled on the walls, dust clogging the ventilation ducts and mildew coating the bathroom ceilings. Raw sewage backed up in one of the dormitory wings when it rained.
Since then, there has been a "major effort" to clean up the home, the report stated.
Newly painted walls, improved lighting and plumbing, and other improvements were evident during the December tour.
City work crews and inmates from the jail - kept separate from the youths - were at work cleaning up when the team arrived, and during its visit a delivery truck pulled up with a load of new beds for the home.
Other problems with record-keeping, fire safety and medical procedures have all been corrected, the report noted.
But several key steps have yet to be completed:
* The home has not had a superintendent for the past two years, and the certification audit noted that employees believed an acting superintendent did not have the authority to make decisions and run the program effectively.
The most recent acting superintendent resigned last fall, after a police investigation into embezzlement reports revealed that he had made $172.38 worth of personal telephone calls from his office.
City officials plan to interview candidates for the superintendent's position this month, Radcliffe said, and the job may be filled by the time the board comes to Roanoke in February.
* An expansion to the home remains in the planning stages, even though the city has known since 1991 that overcrowding was a serious problem.
Radcliffe said he hopes that ground will be broken in July for an expansion that will double the home's bed space - from 21 to 42 - and include other additions that will make it more efficient to operate. Construction is expected to take about a year.
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