Courtney - Ohio Department of Youth Services - Blog 1

We started out at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility that is scheduled to close in April. We spent our morning touring the facility and learning about the operations, procedures, and the youth that they house. This specific facility is the only facility that houses girls. When we visited, they only had 18 girls total, which is over 400 less than they usually do. The reasons behind the closing of the facility seemed to be financially based, as we learned throughout the day that they obviously have the most programs and opportunities available to their youth than any other facility. While most people thought the staff of Scioto was insane for allowing their youth to participate in wood shop using tools like saws and hammers, the youth were able to build “corn hole boards” and sell them for money. The facility also had an accredited high school where majority of the students were taking classes. They are able to receive a high school diploma or GED from Scioto. Four of the girls were also attending college, both online and at a local community college off campus. In the afternoon we received volunteer training and had the opportunity to talk with four of the girls. They told us what crime(s) they had committed, how long they had to serve, and a little bit of their background and home life. For me, this was the most eye opening part of the first day. I learned so much listening to the girls be 100% honest with complete strangers about their private lives. None of the girls were bad kids, they aren’t any different from us, and they just came from tough and difficult backgrounds and home lives. They stole to survive or so that their moms didn’t have to work so much and spend money on them. One of the girls shared that her home life was so awful and stressful that she found comfort in the youth detention service system. She enjoyed the structure of the days, receiving three meals per day, and in general being away from her family. I was able to identify with her because I lost my mom at a young age, as hers wasn’t around, and felt the pressure of being both a mom to my younger siblings and a normal teenager. While I escaped the pressures of my home life with friends or school, she found comfort in the detention system.