Children’s Village outlines renovations, staffing and community programs tied to juvenile justice reforms

Barb Hanke, director of public services for Oakland County, and Heather Caltagera, manager for Children’s Village, briefed the Board of Commissioners on May 27 on work underway to align the county’s juvenile detention and care facility with recent state juvenile justice reforms and evidence‑based practices.

Hanke and Heather Caltagera said Children’s Village has three distinct state licenses — secure detention, residential treatment (secure and nonsecure) and shelter care — and that the shelter program is the only one on campus that serves children placed for abuse or neglect under a contract with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Hanke said Children’s Village meets and at times exceeds Division of Child Welfare Licensing staffing standards, and described staffing ratios of as low as one staff to one youth in the shelter program for acute needs.

Why it matters: county officials and Children’s Village staff said work at the campus is being guided by the Michigan task force on juvenile justice reform and a package of bills passed in…