PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Commonwealth Court judge has ordered Pennsylvania officials to take custody of 26 residents of Philadelphia’s Juvenile Justice Services Center (PJJSC) to relieve dangerous overcrowding.
Judge Ellen Ceisler ordered the state to take 26 youth within 30 business days. That’s a victory for the city even though it’s only about a third of the PJJSC residents who have previously been ordered to state custody by Family Court. And it won’t immediately relieve the overcrowding.
The population is currently 230 in a facility built for 184. The population fluctuates and recently hit a record high of 246. Ceisler said that if the PJJSC is still overcrowded in 30 days, the state will have to take more residents.
“If, following the 30 working days indicated in Paragraph 1 of this order, the PJJSC remains over its 184 youth capacity such that youths are sleeping on mattresses on the floor in the admissions area, in hallways, in the gym, or in any other area of the PJJSC not designed for residential habitation, the department is further to accept as many youths as possible into its treatment facilities within 30 working days thereafter until the PJJSC reaches its licensed capacity of 184 youths,” she wrote in her order.
Ceisler ruled after a hearing this week in which PJJSC officials testified that children are not only sleeping on the floor but spending their entire day there with no activities, education or even non-urgent medical care because the staff is stretched so thin. Residents from rival groups cannot be separated, they said, leading to frequent fights. They testified that a search for contraband on July 4 turned up makeshift weapons, including toothbrushes carved into points and remote controls wrapped in layers of tape.
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The state insisted it could not accept more residents because it wants to keep staff to resident ratios at a one to four rate. The city argued that ratio is unreasonably low, given that the overcrowding it creates in Philadelphia leads to ratios of one to 15.
The city said it is grateful to the judge and believes her order will help the safety and well being of PJJSC staff and residents.
The state says it is still studying the order but noted in an email statement it is working to expand its capacity.
“The state recently opened a new secure treatment facility, hired additional staff at its other secure treatment programs, and contracted with both in-state and out-of-state private providers of secure treatment,” they wrote. “DHS plans to open a new state-operated secure care treatment program in November 2023 and continues to examine additional secure treatment programs.”
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The statement also suggested Family Court judges may be contributing to the problem.
“Many of these youths are being referred to DHS for periods of time far exceeding the traditional timeframe for treatment, taking limited bed space,” they said.
At the hearing, state attorneys focused on youth who are in custody for adult crimes, such as homicide, and are sentenced to remain in state custody until they turn 21, meaning some stay for several years in a program designed for six to nine months of treatment.