Juvenile facilities in Nebraska rocked by violence, escapes

A sudden and puzzling increase in violence and escapes at Nebraska’s two state-run homes for high-risk juvenile offenders has prompted officials to move some of the teenagers to other facilities and to consider spending millions of dollars on upgrades intended to enhance safety.

The incidents at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers in central Nebraska, including an outburst that sent two employees to the hospital after a group of boys beat them with pieces of a metal bed frame, has shocked state officials, legislators and parents.

“It’s dangerous,” said state Sen. Sara Howard, who has taken a leading watchdog role over the facilities. “The people who are there, they want to work with kids. But if it’s not safe to do it, why would you stay?”

The complaints about the youth facility call to mind problems Nebraska has had at its adult prisons, where four people have died in the past five years amid riots and other altercations.

But whereas the prison problems have been largely blamed on staffing shortages and training issues, there has been more confusion about the problems at the juvenile centers.

The Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers were created to serve juveniles ages 14 to 18 who have broken the law and been rejected by other private treatment facilities.

There were two main campuses in central Nebraska — one in Kearney for boys and one in Geneva for girls — until last month, when state officials revamped the system in response to the recent outbursts. The new system uses Kearney as the main campus for processing boys and girls, while the Geneva campus will treat lowerrisk girls in a less restrictive environment. A third campus in Lincoln will serve higher-risk boys and girls who don’t respond to treatment at Kearney.

Officials who oversee the facilities said the uptick has been driven partly by youths with a history of violence and who often suffer from severe behavioral and mental health problems. But some parents with children at the lockups say they are chaotic and are plagued by poor communication, a lack of rehabilitative programs and constant power struggles between staff members and the youth.

“It’s a mess,” said Prudence Waters, whose 17year-old daughter is being held at the Kearney facility. “How is she supposed to succeed and get on the right path when there’s so much chaos every day?”

Tensions at a girls’ facility rose to a boil in August after girls broke sprinkler heads in a sleeping area. Other girls complained that the water-damaged rooms where they were supposed to sleep smelled of mold and mildew, leading to a confrontation with staff members.

The boys’ facility in Kearney has faced problems of its own, with at least 39 confirmed escapes this year, up from four in 2018. The number surged despite a 10foot-high chain-link fence that officials installed in July to deter escapes.