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Wyoming Boys and Girls schools highlight rehabilitation, family reunification and capacity pressures
Summary
Superintendents of the Wyoming Boys and Girls schools told lawmakers both facilities focus on trauma‑responsive care, community engagement and family reintegration; they also gave capacity, average‑stay and program details used to plan care and transitions to the community.
Superintendents of the Wyoming Boys School and the Wyoming Girls School briefed the joint committees on operations, capacity and programming at the state juvenile facilities and described efforts to reduce restraints, increase off‑campus community engagement and improve discharge planning.
Dale Weber, superintendent of the Boys School, said the facility is staffed to hold 60 students though the campus has physical capacity for 75 beds; he said the average age is just over 16 and average stay is just over six months, with longer residential terms for adjudicated sexual offenders. Weber described a trauma‑responsive, relationship‑based approach and said students in recent years completed community service projects and off‑campus activities at senior centers, animal shelters and community events.
Chris Jones, superintendent of the Girls School, said the facility holds up to 65 beds but is currently staffed for about 32 operational beds; she said average age is about 16 and average stay about seven months. Jones said her facility starts discharge planning at admission and uses education, mental‑health counseling and independent‑living skills to prepare girls to return home or to successful community placements. Both superintendents emphasized family therapy partnerships with community mental‑health centers and said improved family engagement reduces recidivism.
Committee members asked about capacity, outcomes and whether the state tracks long‑term recidivism and adult incarceration for former residents. DFS staff said they have some follow‑up information for youth who remain in state systems but that confidentiality laws and data‑sharing limits make long‑term tracking difficult without additional mechanisms. The Department of Family Services told the committee it reunifies approximately 72 percent of children placed out of home and reported roughly a 5 percent re‑entry rate within 12 months.
No formal actions were taken; superintendents said they would provide additional materials if the committee seeks program or staffing changes.
