"The OIG investigation is a broad review of neglect allegations associated with the detention of juveniles within the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center," Chief Inspector General Daniel Guajardo said in his letter, according to WFAA.
The investigation comes just weeks after The Dallas Morning News reported on conditions of Dallas’ Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center. According to the News, parents said their children were being left in their cells for a majority of the day, they’re not getting fed enough and some have not received needed medical care.
Darryl Beatty, director of the juvenile detention department, didn’t respond to a request for comment but told the News in a previous statement before the investigation was launched that he wasn’t aware of the reported conditions at the juvenile justice center, adding that a shortage of guards could be a contributing factor.
David Finn, a local attorney who works juvenile cases, told the Observer that he’s had clients held in isolation for extended periods of time. “The juvenile system is broken in Dallas,” Finn said. “It’s been bad, but it hasn’t been this bad in a long time.”
Finn said one current client has been in custody for about four months for calling in a bogus bomb threat at a school. He wouldn’t give his client’s name but said, “It’s like pulling hen’s teeth” trying to get anything done on the case. “He has been in isolation on and off for three and a half months,” Finn said. “No sunshine. They don’t really seem to let him out for any rec time. Especially with my mentally ill people, and he’s one of them, it’s not really good for anxiety, depression, and their mental health just goes south, and it’s really sad to watch.”“The juvenile system is broken in Dallas." – David Finn, attorney
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Texas Rep. Venton Jones, a Dallas Democrat who represents the district where the juvenile department facilities sit, told the Observer his team “is working to get to the bottom of the challenges that are being raised regarding the facility.”
“I am shocked and disturbed at the alleged conditions in the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Facility,” Jones said.
Andrew Sommerman, a Dallas County commissioner who serves on the juvenile board, said he’s hopeful the investigation and media attention will lead to faster solutions within the local juvenile justice system and that he's "thankful that the [Texas Juvenile Justice Department] is doing an investigation.” He’s not sure what the scope of the investigation will be, but he hopes it looks into the claims of isolation.
According to The Dallas Morning News, a report commissioned by the county and released earlier this year found that children stay an average of 140 days in the detention center waiting for their cases to be resolved, but most cases should be resolved in about a month.
“No child should wait 140-plus days for their trial, be locked inside a cell for almost 24 hours a day, be denied medical attention, or have substandard living conditions while being held for trial," Rep. Jones added. "This is unacceptable. Simply put, if these allegations are true, every member of our community should be outraged.”
