Westmoreland juvenile detention center on track to fully reopen soon

Westmoreland officials said Monday hiring efforts could result in a full-scale reopening of the county’s juvenile detention center next month.

The 16-bed secure detention center at the Regional Youth Services Center in Hempfield was closed in June amid staffing shortages and state inspections critical of employment levels and training.

It reopened last week on a limited basis to house two juveniles after two teens fled the non-secure shelter program in the same building.

Juvenile detention center Director Rich Gordon told members of the county board that oversees the facility that eight workers recently were hired, including several in the past month. That will enable the program to ramp up its reopening.

“We have three (more) people in the process of hiring. That will get us to two vacancies and right at the point where we can, in my opinion, get the ball to full operation,” Gordon said. “Training will take about two weeks at a minimum.”

County commissioners in September authorized an increase in the pay scale for juvenile detention center workers that meant about a $7,000 increase in annual salaries. The jobs pay between $49,000 and $55,000 per year.

Efforts have progressed to fill vacant positions, including staff needed for the eight-bed shelter program that is in the same building. The shelter program is for children who are considered nonviolent and not facing criminal charges.

Two teens ran away from the shelter this month, including one who was facing second-degree murder charges. That teen, along with another who was prosecuted in juvenile court for drug and weapons offenses, were placed in the facility in late October and early November when court officials said there was no secured alternative location available for them as they served house arrest.

The youths ran from the facility just before bedtime Dec. 1 and were captured two days later in Fayette County.

Unlike the shelter program, which does not have exterior door locks and doesn’t prevent residents from entering and leaving the facility, juvenile detention is a secured, jail-like atmosphere for children.

Officials said the pay hikes approved by commissioners helped reverse the staffing shortage that caused the facility to shutter for the second half of 2023.

“Just not as fast as we would like,” said Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Michele Bononi, who oversees the county’s juvenile courts and is a member of the juvenile detention center board.

Officials said, while pay was a factor in the staffing issues, a state requirement that juvenile detention workers complete at least 60 hours of college credits to qualify for employment has been another stumbling block in recruiting personnel.

County leaders said they are lobbying state officials to change that policy.

“It’s on us to advocate for changes in response to our need to hire staff,” Commissioner Ted Kopas said.

At the start of this year, Gov. Josh Shapiro waived a requirement for as many as 65,000 state employees to have college degrees. That edict did not impact workers in county-level jobs whose qualifications are mandated by state code.

A similar change to remove college requirements for juvenile detention jobs could spur additional hiring, officials said.

“That requirement means a lot of good people who can do the job can’t be hired because of their background,” Gordon said.