County juvenile court advisers urged to pursue state recommendations, local community correctional facility

At a meeting of the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Advisory Subcommittee, presenters urged the panel to adopt recommendations from the Ohio Juvenile Justice Working Group and to consider creating a local community correctional facility as an alternative to state youth prisons.

The recommendations, presented by Gabriela Celeste of the Shubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University, call for “smaller is better” facilities, statutory changes to reduce mandatory admissions and expanded behavioral-health and reentry services. “Smaller is better. Really smaller is smarter,” Celeste said during her presentation, adding that Cuyahoga Hills is the county facility in the state system and that smaller, locally sited sites can better integrate community treatment and family involvement.

Why it matters: presenters and public commenters said Cuyahoga County accounts for a disproportionate share of the state’s juvenile adjudications and that county youth frequently present with behavioral-health needs. ACLU of Ohio policy strategist Pat Klaydura asked the subcommittee to examine implementation of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), audit county spending tied to youth outcomes and review the governor’s working-group report to identify opportunities to keep youth out of deep-end systems.

Most important facts first: Celeste said Ohio has three youth prisons and 11 community correctional facilities for youth; Cuyahoga Hills is located in Cuyahoga County. She showed county-level data the working group compiled indicating Cuyahoga County accounts for roughly 16.5 to 17 percent of the state’s juvenile adjudications in recent years and that bind-over — transfer of cases to adult court — remains elevated in the county compared with other counties. Celeste also cited facility staffing shortfalls and treatment gaps: she said about 77 percent of youth in the system have behavioral-health needs, while facility staffing shows “nearly a quarter” vacancy rate among correctional staff and about 41 percent vacancy among licensed behavioral-health positions.

The working-group report, Celeste said, includes 26 recommendations grouped around: smaller, regionally sited facilities; statutory changes (including reviewing mandatory gun-spec time and bind-over statutes); strengthening local detention and reentry planning; increasing behavioral-health capacity; and supporting staff wellness and recruitment. She told the subcommittee the state capital budget has already set aside funding to replace one juvenile prison and to create a community correctional facility (CCF); she said the state is proposing Cuyahoga Hills as a candidate for replacement and that a CCF could be sited in the county with state funding.

Public-defense attorney Leah Winsberg, who said she has moved to the Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s Office as community engagement attorney, told the group her office will submit recommendations and can provide county-level data used to track bind-over and serious-offender outcomes.

No formal policy vote was taken. Committee members asked presenters for supporting materials and follow-up; Bridget (subcommittee member) noted local programs already working in this area and said the county will pursue the CCF opportunity. Celeste recommended the subcommittee consider advocating for statutory and budgetary changes at the state level and to coordinate with local providers to leverage state reentry supports. Celeste also noted a Medicaid change taking effect Jan. 1, 2025, that will require attention to Medicaid coverage for youth during reentry.

Ending: The subcommittee did not adopt formal motions on the recommendations at the meeting; presenters agreed to provide slides and reports to the group for further consideration and the county indicated interest in pursuing a local CCF and in mapping existing services before recommending specific local investments.