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Published Tuesday, August 15, 2006
 

DJJ Office May Benefit Polk


By Julia Crouse
The Ledger

 
POLK CITY -- The Polk Juvenile Correctional Facility and the 400 other Department of Juvenile Justice programs may start getting some extra attention with the creation of a new DJJ accountability office.

Last week, DJJ Secretary Anthony Schembri announced the creation of a new Office of Program Accountability, which will enhance oversight of all of the agency's programs.

The DJJ was under fire this spring in Polk County after two independent reports confirmed heavy concentrations of mold in some of the buildings at Polk City's juvenile corrections center.

During the past several years, the state agency also has had several youths die at its detention centers throughout the state and allegations of abuse.

The office was not created specifically in reaction to the incidents in Polk County or any other in the state, said DJJ spokeswoman Cynthia Lorenzo.

"DJJ is committed to continually seeking to improve the quality of care we provide to our youth," she said. "The Office of Program Accountability emphasizes our dedication to making agency-wide improvements aimed at ensuring accountability across all service areas."

The new office is what one former Polk County School District official has been long pushing for.

Dennis Higgins, the former director of alternative education, sought more accountability and action from DJJ after problems at Polk's detention facilities increased.

Higgins went on an extended medical leave from the district earlier this summer.

The Polk Juvenile Correctional Facility in Polk City closed for five weeks in March after teachers at the site's school, Sabal Palm, complained about mold contamination.

Two air-quality reports confirmed moldy air. The district put in portables on the site and the DJJ promised an about $5 million renovation to remove the mold.

At PCJF, the Polk school district provides the teachers and materials to run the school. The DJJ contracts with Group 4 Securicor Youth Services (G4S) to manage the school. The company also runs seven other detention sites, including Avon Park Youth Academy in South Polk.

Higgins said much of the new office's duties mirror his own recommendations to the agency after the situation at PCJF.

The primary duties of the accountability office will be to set quality assurance standards, to provide unannounced reviews, to create annual report cards of each program, to work with program leaders to correct deficiencies and to monitor those corrections.

The DJJ will terminate the contracts with programs that fail to cure deficiencies, Lorenzo said.

G4S, which runs PCJF, supports the new office, said Mike Powers, spokesman.

The new office will not only maximize efficiency and accountability, but create more transparency among the facility, the Legislature and the public, he said.

The biggest problem that Higgins sees with the new office is that it is still under the DJJ umbrella.

Higgins said he would prefer that the office report to the Legislature or governor to prevent any coverups of facility problems.

Julia Crouse can be reached at julia.crouse@theledger.com or 863-802-7536.

 

 

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