WASHINGTON, D.C. – The ACLU of the District of Columbia and the ACLU of Maryland sharply criticized the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services this week for considering the reopening of the Thomas J.S. Waxter Children’s Center, a condemned Maryland juvenile detention facility, arguing that the move will worsen health and safety conditions for youth, according to a joint statement released Tuesday.
The ACLU noted in the press release that DYRS officials appear to be revisiting the closed facility as a response to overcrowding at the Youth Services Center in Washington, D.C. but emphasized that “reopening a previously condemned facility will exacerbate health and safety concerns for youth in DYRS custody.”
According to the ACLU’s statement, the overcrowding crisis at the Youth Services Center is tied to DYRS’s “ongoing harm” of delaying transfers to appropriate rehabilitative placements. The organizations stated DYRS has “been failing to meet the rehabilitative and treatment needs of children in its custody and has instead been unlawfully extending the time these children spend in jail-like settings.”
The press release explained that in October 2024, ACLU-D.C. and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia sued DYRS for “a widespread failure to promptly move the children committed to its care into appropriate rehabilitative placements.” The ACLU said these delays violate both the District Code and the constitutional due process rights of children.
The ACLU reported that after oral arguments in December 2024, “within five days after the hearing, the D.C. government transferred the two sixteen-year-old plaintiffs to their long-overdue rehabilitative placements,” illustrating DYRS’s capacity to move youth when under court pressure.
Although the lawsuit secured relief for the two plaintiffs, the ACLU stressed that the underlying systemic delays persist across DYRS. The joint statement noted that “the average wait time for transfer to rehabilitative placements is up to 69 days, which is more than double the DYRS director’s goal of 30 days.” The organizations argued that instead of reopening a condemned building, DYRS “needs to focus on identifying and applying for rehabilitative placements faster,” stating that another “warehouse” facility lacking services would not solve the crisis.
The statement emphasized that youth at the Youth Services Center are entitled to rehabilitative services and should not be held in “jail-like conditions” due to agency delays. The ACLU warned that transferring youth into a condemned setting would further violate their rights and worsen the conditions they already face.
The press release reaffirmed that “the ACLU-D.C. will continue to fight for all children held in DYRS custody to promptly get the rehabilitative placements they need, and this fight includes working to ensure they are not held at a condemned facility.” ACLU-Maryland expressed full support for those efforts.
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