Judge orders Pa. DHS to take 15 juveniles from overcrowded Philly detention center
The order was issued Thursday after the City of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit last month.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A Commonwealth Court judge ordered Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services to take custody of 15 juveniles due to overcrowding at a juvenile detention facility in West Philadelphia.
The order was issued Thursday after the City of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit last month.
The City of Philadelphia was asking a judge to force Pennsylvania's DHS to take custody of more than 70 juveniles sentenced in court to state rehabilitation programs, hoping to alleviate what it says is dangerous overcrowding at the city's holding facility.
In the lawsuit, city attorneys said the state has refused to prioritize transferring the juveniles from the West Philadelphia juvenile justice center.
The city says there were more than 220 juveniles at the West Philadelphia location of the Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center (PJJSC), which has a maximum capacity of 184.
SEE ALSO: Philadelphia suing the state of Pa. over overcrowding at juvenile justice center
The city asked the judge to mandate that the state take the sentenced juveniles within 20 days and either contract with a private or public facility or open a state-run facility to handle the increase in youths being sentenced to state centers.
In the lawsuit, among a list of issues, city attorneys stated: "Some youth are sleeping on mattresses on the floor of the admissions area. Recently, youth from the PJJSC's separate unit for the most serious felonies were able to overpower staff, seriously injuring staff and other youth and causing damage to furniture and equipment."
According to the judge's order Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services must assume custody of 15 juveniles within 10 working days of Thursday's order and either send them to a private facility in Texas or a state-run facility in Luzerne County.
Workers from Philadelphia's juvenile facility spoke last month at a City Council hearing about worsening conditions at the center.
A spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services declined to comment on the litigation. In a statement issued after the City Council hearing last week, department officials said the state's facilities are also at capacity.
"There is not refusal to serve - the issue at hand, is the need to maintain safe operations at our facilities as well," department spokeswoman Ali Fogarty wrote.
In a statement released to Action News Thursday, the city says it will continue to pursue full legal relief:
"While we are grateful that this court order will provide some relief to the youth and staff at the PJJSC, we will continue to pursue the full legal relief that we initially sought," said Vanessa Garret Harley, Deputy Mayor for the Office of Children and Families. "The City of Philadelphia will continue to move forward with exploring all options to ensure that it can maintain the safety, health, and well-being of youth and staff at the PJJSC."
