CHESTER, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Residents brought plenty of opinions with them to a Monday night community meeting that sought feedback on proposed plans for a new Delaware County juvenile detention center.
“We have to have a facility that is going to address the needs of young people, right? What that looks like, how it functions … we're still looking for community input,” Superintendent of Juvenile Justice Services David Irizarry said, who proposed that the new center should be multipurpose.
“Just investing in a building that only locks kids up isn't one that our board and our county wants to invest in. So we hope that our final design is still going to consist of an open and secure side.”
The concept also includes family visitation space and medical support, and Irizarry pitched having fewer beds — only 24 — at the new site, compared to the old facility, which was shut down in March of 2021 following allegations of abuse.
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One of the many design concepts presented included a community resource center on the new campus, which got a mixed reaction. Some people were totally against the detention center, but others supported the idea.
“I have to go with this, because I'm tired of our babies getting killed. It's sad. And yes, if we can have different programs in the city for when they come home ... but this isn't just for Chester,” said one attendee.
“I do not want them leaving my community and going out there to go to your new ... that's just a new playground,” said another.
Irizarry said the meeting went exactly how it was supposed to go, as his team gathered input from community members — many passionate about funding organizations in Chester that already run programs to help young people.
“If we focus on preventative measures more, we wouldn't need a facility, because kids wouldn't be getting into trouble in the first place,” someone said.
“It's the 21st century. So we have to have help to work with our children. We value them, we love them, and we want help just as the county is coming in here now,” said another attendee.
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Irizarry said if the concept goes through, he’d like to see those programs get involved with the proposed community resource center.
The next step for the proposed juvenile detention center would be a feasibility study followed by a presentation at a Delaware County board meeting next month.