Juvenile Justice Commission Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Report Blasts Plan to Change At-Risk Kids Psychiatric Care

The state Juvenile Justice Commission is accusing the West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources of operating under a “cloak of secrecy” while negotiating new contracts to place youths in residential psychiatric facilities.

The commission released a report Monday saying that the DHHR intended to “unilaterally” overhaul the residential placement system without consulting key figures in the juvenile justice system or considering how the changes would affect residential centers’ finances.

The Supreme Court has placed a stay on a pending contract that would include a 180-day limit on juveniles’ stays at the facilities and change how services are billed.

The DHHR has said its changes are aimed at ensuring children with behavioral problems are assigned to a community-based setting, rather than the traditional group setting.

New Chairman Appointed to Juvenile Justice Commission

Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret Workman announced Tuesday the appointment of a new chairman for the West Virginia Juvenile Justice Commission.

Twenty-Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Phillip Stowers of Putnam County will replace Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Omar Aboulhosn of Mercer County.

Aboulhosn will step down as circuit judge on December 31 and become a federal magistrate on January 1.

The Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Commission was established in 2011, in large part due to concerns with events at the West Virginia Industrial Home for Youth in Salem. The facility was closed after a lawsuit claimed poor conditions and a lack of rehabilitative services at the home. After the closure, juveniles were reassigned to other facilities around the state.

Chief Justice Workman made the announcement at the Donald R. Kuhn Center in Boone County. Earlier this year juveniles armed with aluminum pipes at the facility attacked and injured several staff members.

Since the commission was established, housing juveniles in West Virginia has been re-evaluated, redesigned, and monitored, most recently with help from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

W.Va. Juvenile Panel Expands Mission, Changes Name

A state juvenile commission has a new name, a new chairman and an expanded mission.

The West Virginia Supreme Court says the Adjudicated Juvenile Rehabilitation Review Commission made the changes this week during its quarterly meeting. Its new name is the Juvenile Justice Commission.

Supreme Court Justice Margaret Workman established the commission in 2011 to monitor the state’s juvenile justice system. It focused on children in the Division of Juvenile Services’s custody.

The commission’s focus will now include all out-of-home placements for troubled juveniles.

Workman stepped down as chairwoman and appointed Mercer County Circuit Court Judge Omar Aboulhosn as chairman.

Aboulhosn presided over a lawsuit challenging the treatment of juvenile offenders in state facilities. He appointed the commission to monitor compliance with a settlement of the case.