Philadelphia sues state of Pennsylvania over crowded juvenile detention facility

The City of Philadelphia has sued the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to try to force the state to take custody of dozens of children at the city’s overcrowded and understaffed juvenile detention center.

The suit, filed in Commonwealth Court on Friday, outlines a nearly three-year clash between the city and officials from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration over the population at the West Philadelphia Juvenile Justice Services Center, a city-run facility intended to temporarily hold children ages 10 to 17 who are awaiting their cases to be heard.

Philadelphia officials say 74 children living at the facility have been sentenced to rehabilitation in state-run facilities but have not yet been transferred. That figure has contributed to a bloated population at the facility, which is licensed to hold 184 children and is housing 223.

At the same time, the number of staff at the center has dwindled amid a broader shortage of municipal workers, creating what city officials describe as a dangerous situation.

According to the lawsuit, overcrowding has made it unsafe for children to move around the facility, so they aren’t permitted to leave their units for meals, school, or recreation. Two dozen children are sleeping on mattresses on the floor in an admissions office.

Employees who spoke before City Council about the matter on Thursday described a rapidly deteriorating situation that culminated on Oct. 4, when a large altercation broke out, leaving one resident severely injured and dozens of staff hurt.

“We are working in violent conditions,” said Ebony Richards, a worker at the center. “We need help. We need it immediately. Someone is going to end up dying in that facility.”

Ali Fogarty, a spokesperson for state DHS, said in a statement Thursday that state treatment facilities are at capacity. She said counties are responsible for contracting with private providers “to support their local needs,” and it’s the responsibility of the courts to approve and facilitate transfers.

“There is not refusal to serve,” she said. “The issue at hand is the need to maintain safe operations at our facilities as well.”

She declined to comment further on Monday, citing the pending litigation.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia officials threaten to sue Gov. Wolf over ‘nightmare’ conditions inside juvenile facility

In the meantime, children are stuck in the center awaiting transfers even after they’ve been sentenced. According to the lawsuit, before 2019, children were typically placed at state facilities within 20 days of sentencing. The average wait is now four to five months, and some children have been at the JJSC for longer.

Lawyers for the city wrote that local officials met with state DHS leaders in January 2020 to discuss 31 children being held at the facility awaiting state placement and the strain it put on city workers. They detailed a back-and-forth that lasted for more than two years, with the city on several occasions pleading with the state to expedite the process of accepting youth into state facilities, to no avail.

On Aug. 2, Vanessa Garrett Harley, the city’s deputy mayor for the Office of Children and Families, met in person with DHS Deputy Secretary Jonathan Rubin and Bureau of Juvenile Justice Services Director Chuck Neff to request “immediate relief.”

Six days later, the population at the facility surpassed 184, the maximum. According to the suit, “no progress was made” for weeks.

A half-dozen more meetings took place between the parties, and DHS “could not commit to accepting more Philadelphia youth in the immediate future or prioritizing Philadelphia youth for available placements,” lawyers wrote.

Garrett Harley said in a statement that the state has been “derelict.”

“The city, in good faith, pleaded with state officials to fulfill their obligations and avoid the crisis,” she said. “As months passed, unfortunately, no meaningful action was taken on their part and empty promises were made.”