Delaware County out of juvenile detention options – at the moment

Over the weekend, Delaware County ran out of options for juvenile detention placements, resulting in two youth accused of committing armed robberies being confined to their homes.

“This weekend we were faced, for the first time that I’m aware of, with two juveniles at home after an armed robbery because there were no beds,”  Danielle DiMatteo, director of the Delaware County Juvenile Court said, adding that those two are being closely monitored by monitors they have to wear. “But, it’s the first time since the center’s closing that we were faced with no options.”

DiMatteo gave the update at Tuesday’s Juvenile Detention Board of Managers meeting and said the incident occurred on Sunday.

“They’re still home, they’re on monitors,” she said. “We’re keeping contact and we’re keeping a close watch on them but it was the first time that two juveniles who would have otherwise qualified for detention … but we had no options.”

DiMatteo said one of the juvenile’s families has raised concerns about the severity of the offense and the ability to supervise this person closely. However, as of Tuesday, county officials have said there have been no incidents involving these issues and the home detention is going fine.

She said she believed that there were no beds available to Delaware County on Sunday because of the current staffing at the time of their request.

Kevin Madden, chair of the Juvenile Detention Board of Managers and county councilman, offered his perspective.

“It’s not ideal,” he said. “I think we should never been in a place where the courts in their determination say that there should be a juvenile that should be detained and we don’t have a bed that’s available to us … We are trying to get some movement on what can be done with the facility even while there’s an ongoing investigation.”

On March 12, Common Pleas Court President Judge Kevin F. Kelly closed the county Juvenile Detention Center in Lima after the facility lost its state license following allegations of physical, sexual and psychological abuse by Delaware County Public Defender Chris Welsh and First Assistant Public Defender Lee Awbrey. The allegations continue to be investigated by the state Attorney General.

Since then, Delaware County has had to find other locations to house juveniles who are determined to need detainment. They have formed partnerships with other counties, such as Montgomery, Bucks and Chester and private organizations. However, all of these reserve the right to deny Delaware County a bed at these facilities for any reason ranging from behavior and alleged offense of the juvenile to lack of staffing.

The state Attorney General’s Office released a statement regarding the status of the Delaware County case.

“The Office of Attorney General accepted a criminal investigative referral into the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Facility and under the law we are not able to share any further details,” it read. “That referral, however, has no legal impact on the decisions the County must make about what juvenile justice services to provide or who should serve as a County employee.”

During her update, DiMatteo said the current population is nine juveniles, with two in Montgomery County, three in Bucks County, three at ASPIRE Youth Center and one is at Abraxas in Morgantown, Pa.

From March 13 to Aug. 31, Delaware County committed 53 juveniles to detention for a total of 1,186 days of care with a per diem ranging from $305 to $479 with a total cost of $402,384, according to DiMatteo.

Of the 53, 15 percent have either gone home or to a treatment program, she explained.

Also, Alyssa Poole, chief of the Juvenile Division for the county Public Defender’s Office, said she wants more transparency about why juveniles are being detained and why they are being sent to specific facilities.

“For example, ASPIRE is five hours away,” she said. “That makes it very difficult for us to speak with our clients, for them to speak with their families when they’re at such a great distance.”

She said she wanted assurances that closer facilities had been contacted prior to a juvenile being sent to ones farther away.

In other business, the board discussed their search for a Juvenile Detention director who would manage the contracts that exist. They are in the process of setting up interviews for the candidates.