Shuman watch
‘Kind of shocking’ at juvenile detention center
The state Department of Human Services has issued a third provisional license to Allegheny County’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, signaling that serious problems exist there. The department has cited numerous red flags in recent months, including poor record-keeping, inappropriate restraint of residents and a suicide attempt that occurred when a staff member wasn’t paying attention. The same staff member, who has since left Shuman, also was accused of losing his cool with a belligerent resident.
After a fourth provisional, the county is at risk of losing its license for Shuman, and that is the last thing the local justice system needs. The county must redouble efforts to impose order and routine at the 120-bed facility in Lincoln-Lemington. If understaffing and forced overtime are problems, as a union official told the Post-Gazette’s Molly Born, the county must address them.
The violence at Shuman — as described in state inspectors’ reports — is alarming. The former staff member reportedly charged a resident with a plastic chair the juvenile had thrown at him moments before, then chased and dragged the youth. Officials told the state that the staff member “fell victim to a classic power struggle” and let his emotions get the better of him. In another 6-second period captured on video, one resident attacked another. Then the victim went the offensive, according to the inspectors’ report, punching the first resident 10 times and then five times more, causing facial injuries so severe they required surgery.
Inspectors said one staff member did nothing for several seconds; Shuman officials told the state it was difficult to restore order because one of the combatants was twice the size of a staff member trying to intervene. Inspectors also documented other incidents of staff member-on-resident and resident-on-resident violence, including a second occasion on which staff members allowed precious seconds to elapse before breaking up a fight.
The county says violence by Shuman residents is not unlike incidents at other secure detention facilities, which house youths considered too volatile for community treatment programs. It also says it has self-reported some of the violations cited in the inspectors’ reports and worked diligently with the state to improve operations. That includes making sure Shuman staff have training in mental health issues that is similar to what police officers and corrections officers receive.
Still, Shuman is the only juvenile detention center in the state operating without a full license, and one expert told Ms. Born that three consecutive provisionals is “kind of shocking.” While it may not be possible to prevent all resident-on-resident violence, Shuman should strive to do better. It should be able to hire staff members who will keep their temper and act immediately when violence between youths breaks out. The state also has faulted Shuman for inadequate staffing and other safety violations, such as failing to keep track of residents’ violent outbursts and adhere to residents’ health and safety plans. Surely, Shuman can do better on these fronts, too.
The children and teens at Shuman already lead tumultuous lives, and they’re not likely to improve their behavior unless their environment stabilizes. Improvement cannot come soon enough.