Kentucky opening first female-only juvenile detention center after violent riot

Gov. Andy Beshear announced Thursday he has ordered the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice to open a female-only detention center in Campbell County, on the heels of several riots at their facilities — including one where workers were injured and a girl was allegedly sexually assaulted.

Beginning in December, girls between the ages of 11 to 18 who are ordered into secure detention will be housed at the Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Newport, with "limited exceptions."

The detention center has 35 beds available, with juveniles separated based on where they are in the process of their court case. As with all juvenile facilities, the Beshear administration indicated, the youths there "will receive education, counseling, recreation opportunities, meals, snacks and health care."

At his Thursday press conference, Beshear said the juveniles housed at detention centers are increasingly charged with more serious crimes, with 17 charged with a capital crime and nearly half of the state's 179 detained juveniles charged with at least a Class C felony — with recent violence caused by those individuals.

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Besides the disruption to services for the youths, Beshear said, "what we've also seen are crimes against our female juveniles that have occurred during some of these riots or violent encounters. While our female juveniles are in separate parts and we attempt to make them secure parts of these facilities, that is not enough."

The worst of the recent events at Kentucky's juvenile detention centers took place in Adair County last month, when state and local police were needed to quell a riot and restore order. Besides staff being seriously injured and hospitalized in the riot, a girl housed in the female-only wing of the facility was allegedly sexually assaulted.

Beshear said the Kentucky State Police is still investigating the riot and allegations.

According to the governor, there are now 20 girls housed within the juvenile justice system, with the possibility of two not being housed at the new facility, including one who may need to be at a higher level of security and at least one other "very young individual that may need to be closer to services."

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While this step will "create some travel issues" by moving some female juveniles further from their homes, Beshear hoped they and their families "will understand that this is a significant additional level of protection to try to ensure we don't see any of these individuals harmed in situations like we recently saw in Adair County."

"The model that we've been following is one that — based on both the population that we are serving and what we are seeing — is outdated and it is not providing the type of safety either for the workers."

Beshear added that there would be other "major changes" to the juvenile justice system announced as early as next week.

In a press release announcing the move, the administration indicated it is recruiting 15 workers to staff the facility to "safely protect the female juveniles and provide successful reentry skills," with openings including youth workers, administrative specialists and social service clinicians.

The Beshear administration's move comes nearly two months after state Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, urged administration officials to move boys and girls into separate facilities.

At an Oct. 13 meeting of the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee that he chairs, Nemes said girls were housed in the same facilities as boys who were charged with rape, creating a dangerous situation.

Both Department of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Vicki Reed and Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Kerry Harvey said separate facilities for female juveniles would be ideal, but they did not currently have the ability to do so.

When Harvey added that sending girls farther away from their families than boys might also create a legal problem, Nemes replied that "setting her up to be raped may also be a problem."

At the Nov. 15 meeting of the State Government Committee, just days after the Adair riot, Nemes told administration officials the alleged sexual assault was "the most foreseeable thing in the history of mankind" and again urged separate detention centers for male and female juveniles.

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Beshear: Kentucky to open first girls-only juvenile detention center