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Lawmaker sees problems after touring YDDC facility
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Lawmakers concerned about violence and crowding at the Youth Diagnostic and Development Center went inside for a firsthand look at conditions.
Rep. Jim Trujillo, a Santa Fe Democrat, said he didn't like what he saw at the Albuquerque center on Edith Boulevard Northeast.
"I just think YDDC is an accident waiting to happen," he said after the tour Friday afternoon. "A lot of things can go wrong there."
Trujillo and other members of the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee toured YDDC's school, cottages, cafeteria and gymnasium.
The YDDC houses 150 convicted teens. Their safety has come under increased scrutiny since a rape was reported by a 15-year-old inmate in September.
The rape victim told his mother and State Police that three roommates assaulted him his first night at the center and said it was his "initiation."
In a careers class at the center's high school, Trujillo told students the legislators were there "to find out how the system is working and to better your lives."
He assured the students that there were plans in the works so that "the ones who come behind you will have better programs and services."
After the tour, Trujillo said he saw evidence of crowding, especially in the Loma high-security unit.
The Loma unit houses 10 young men who have caused serious problems at the center. The unit was full Friday.
Battery, destruction of state property and rioting, according to a chart in the control center, were the offenses that landed the boys in Loma.
Trujillo and other lawmakers looked through the control center windows into the 10 rooms and a suicide-watch room monitored by guards.
Trujillo said he wanted to talk to the guards and others who work directly with the inmates and hear their opinions.
"I know they aren't happy and are overworked," Trujillo said.
A report prepared for him revealed $1.1 million in overtime was paid to guards at YDDC. "That's a lot of stressed-out correctional officers," he said.
Trujillo said he was not blaming YDDC staff for the problems.
"I'm not criticizing Bruce Langston (the center's superintendent) because he's doing the best with what he's got. But the bottom line is we have a huge potential problem."
Trujillo said he's going to meet with Gov. Bill Richardson and ask for support to create a youth authority, a new department responsible for the juvenile justice system separate from the Children, Youth and Families Department, which is now the caretaker for incarcerated teens.
"The juvenile justice division is a stepchild of CYFD," Trujillo said. "It needs to be its own department."
Trujillo said CYFD was at fault for causing the crowded conditions at YDDC by not planning better for the closure of the Boys School in Springer, a move he supported.
"We should have had more places to put kids," he said.
Peter Cubra, an attorney and child advocate who worked with the ACLU-New Mexico to force closure of the Boys School, said incarcerated youths are better off now.
The ACLU has an agreement with CYFD to improve services in all of its juvenile facilities. "We are closely monitoring" the YDDC and the promised improvements, Cubra said.
"Thank God that hellhole in Springer will not be harming more kids in the future," Cubra said.
"We do not believe the kids are in more danger today than they were at Springer, yet much remains to be done to get conditions in the facilities where they need to be," he said.
Secretary-designate Dorian Dodson on Friday presented the proposed $61 million budget for the juvenile justice system that reinvests $10 million from the Boys School, which is closing this month.
She said the budget includes $1.7 million to increase staffing at YDDC and another $1.8 million to increase staffing systemwide to improve services to incarcerated youth and to beef up security.
She also proposed the formation of a new Juvenile Justice Commission for technical assistance and oversight. The commission will draw on the expertise of the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center staff and its director, Tom Swisstack, who are leaders in juvenile detention reform.
