City-run juvenile detention centers have become overwhelmed and more difficult to manage in the seven years since more teens transitioned into the system, according to a detailed report released by the city Department of Investigation Thursday.
The 75-page report is based on interviews with city Administration for Children Services employees, confidential complaints and observations of youth development specialists, and focused on the child welfare agency’s two youth detention facilities: Horizon Juvenile Center in The Bronx and Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn.
The number of youths detained at the two centers has shot up dramatically since a 2017 state law known as “Raise the Age” began transitioning 16- and 17-year-olds from the adult to juvenile criminal justice system, according to DOI. The watchdog agency also reasoned that bail reforms passed in 2019 further skewed the youth detention population toward those who are charged with serious violent crimes, while many facing lesser charges are no longer detained after they are charged…