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In the wake of the Luzerne County judicial scandal — or “kids for cash,” as some call it — courthouse officials have been especially careful to demonstrate transparency and accountability in matters relating to young people.
It appears county officials did the right thing last month when they removed a local juvenile who had been placed at Glen Mills Schools, a reformatory complex in Delaware County, near Philadelphia.
That move came as Glen Mills was under increasing scrutiny following a series of Philadelphia Inquirer reports about alleged violence at the facility, saying workers “routinely punched, choked and kicked the boys in their care, even breaking their bones, then kept them quiet with threats.”
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) followed up by ordering an emergency removal of all children remaining at Glen Mills while a formal investigation is underway.
According to a DHS release, there were 64 students from 21 Pennsylvania counties at the school on Monday, and 43 from eight other states.
What we don’t immediately know is how many Luzerne County youths had been placed there in the recent past, as Chief Solicitor Romilda Crocamo was still reviewing records when contacted by reporter Jennifer Learn-Andes on Monday.
What we do know is that outside placement of delinquent juveniles has “plummeted” in the county in recent years, largely due to increased support for diversionary programs that involve counseling and in-home monitoring, county Court Administrator Michael Shucosky told Learn-Andes.
That also is a welcome transition from the days when a terrifying “zero-tolerance” regime imposed by now-disgraced judge Mark Ciavarella meant many juveniles accused of truly menial offenses were being locked away following lightning-quick proceedings, often without lawyers.
We have seen the human toll that culture of corruption wrought on juveniles and their families.
Earlier this month, Charlie Balasavage, 28, died of a drug overdose. Balasavage was 15 when he was arrested for possession of a stolen motorbike, despite protests that his parents had purchased it for him and did not know it was stolen.
Ciavarella sent the teen off to what would turn into a three-year stay in juvenile detention centers after a hearing that lasted only three minutes.
Balasavage developed a drug addiction from his time in detention, friends and family said, and it was a demon he would struggle with, on and off, for the rest of his short life.
To those heartless cowards who rant and rave about personal accountability and say things like “just another drug addict gone,” as we heard from online commenters and others in the wake of Balasavage’s death: You are part of the problem, and we pray your families never find need of the compassion you so easily deny others.
Yes, invididuals must be held accountable for their actions.
It defies credibility, however, to pretend that the juvenile detention system isn’t contributing to the emotional and social damage suffered by many of the young Americans passing through their halls — youths who went in with problems to begin with, often not of their making.
Every school may not be as violent as Glen Mills is alleged to have been, but we are hearing enough of these stories to believe it may be an extreme case, though far from the only such case.
Kudos to DHS to taking action, but we have to ask why it took the Inquirer’s digging to discover such a disturbing pattern of abuse. Once again, we see the importance of a free press.
We also hope that Luzerne County officials will continue to do all they can to ensure that local youths who must be placed in outside detention are being held in safe, compassionate facilities.
— Times Leader