Plan to replace Ohio youth prison should be put on hold, task force says

Ohio should ditch plans to build a new youth prison and instead use the state money to construct smaller, closer-to-home juvenile lockup facilities, a task force created by Gov. Mike DeWine said on Tuesday.

The Ohio Department of Youth Services had been planning to replace the Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility, which has open dorm-style housing, with a youth prison with individual cells.

SPECIAL REPORT Ohio's juvenile detention system struggles with violence, neglect

Legislators are now working on the next state capital budget bill, which earmarks money to be spent on big construction projects. About $118 million in state capital money has already been set aside for the prison replacement project.

Researchers and experts told the task force that locking up troubled juveniles in large groups isn't as effective as keeping them in smaller facilities. Cuyahoga Hills youth prison houses about 125 juveniles and employs 270 staff.

Tom Stickrath, who is leading the governor's task force on youth prisons, said next week the group will fully flesh out its first recommendation.

He added that he wants Ohio to hire an outside consultant to review the youth prisons' operational challenges, similar to what Kentucky did recently.

Stickrath said the two early recommendations are immediately needed. A full report to the governor is expected in June, he said.

Task force created after Ohio newspapers' investigation

DeWine created the task force in November, the day after publication of an eight-month investigation by The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Columbus Dispatch, Akron Beacon Journal, Canton Repository and other newspapers found the system is overwhelmed by violence, trauma and staff shortages.

The investigation found that Ohio doesn't have enough employees to provide adequate security, education and mental health treatment for incarcerated children.

Employees and kids are injured − sometimes seriously − in fights and assaults and workers are struggling to maintain order. Within three years of leaving a state youth prison, four in 10 teens are incarcerated again in either the youth or adult system. And those who don't return to prison face a higher likelihood of dying an early death.

Ohio operates three youth prisons for about 470 juveniles who have been adjudicated on felony cases. The average stay is about 16 months, and the cost is $646 per day per person. There are about 215 youths on supervised parole after being released from these prisons.

The department also pays for three community-based alternative sites that are meant to give kids the treatment to improve their lives. Additionally, there are 11 county-run correctional facilities that allow kids to stay close to home.

More than a decade ago, the state closed several of its youth prisons and dramatically reduced the number of children held in prisons.

Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Task force says Ohio should cancel plan to build new prison