You asked (1) whether the Ohio facility that served as a model for the Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS) has experienced problems similar to the Connecticut facility, (2) what services the Ohio facility provides, and (3) how much it would cost to convert the Connecticut facility to a charter school or community college. We have also enclosed, at your request, a report on CJTS prepared by the Office of the Child Advocate and the attorney general. Please note that a person in Ohio correctional system is a juvenile until he turns 18; in Connecticut a person is treated as an adult upon turning 16.

CJTS is the state’s only secure residential treatment facility for juvenile males committed to the Department of Children and Families’ custody by the Superior Court. The facility includes an intake unit, special needs units, general population buildings, extensive space for education and vocational programming, and a transition unit for youth preparing for community re-entry. It opened in August 2001, replacing the former Long Lane School.

By November 2001 significant public concerns arose about programming, vocational training, education, restraints, staff injuries, and workers’ compensation claims at CJTS. Late in November 2001, the Office the Child Advocate visited CJTS following receipt of many complaints raising concerns for safety and programming for the youth there. The child advocate initiated an investigation on November 30, 2001. The attorney general also received complaints under CGS § 4-

61dd, which raised serious concerns with respect to CJTS. The attorney general also commenced an investigation. The Office of Child Advocate and attorney general submitted a joint report in 2002 and a supplemental report 2003, which are available at http: //www. ct. gov/oca/cwp/view. asp?a=1301&q=254858&pp=12&n=1

Subsequent to these reports, a teenager receiving treatment at CJTS died of a heroin overdose shortly after being discharged, a 17-year old boy jumped to his death from the back of an ambulance on I-95 two-months after being discharged from CJTS, and a 15-year old boy was charged with murder less than two months after being discharged from CJTS.

CJTS is modeled after the Marion Juvenile Correctional facility in Marion, Ohio. The same firm (KZF Design) served as the architect/engineer for both facilities. The Ohio facility has 240 beds and opened in July 2000. Further information about the Marion facility is available at its website http: //www. dys. ohio. gov/MJCC. html.

According to Larry Gongner, the deputy warden of the Marion facility, it has had some physical problems. For example, it has had recurring problems with its wiring and with its lock systems, which are tied to a sophisticated software program. However, it does not appear that the facility has experienced the types of operational problems experienced by CJTS. The facility is accredited by the American Correctional Associations, and is due for re-accreditation this June. Gongner notes that the facility is not being used in the way originally contemplated, in part of because of changing attitudes regarding the use of isolation in dealing with young offenders. Most of the offenders suffer from mental illness, substance abuse, or both.

The Marion facility has a state certified high school and offers GED programs in a 14-classroom building. It offers vocational educational programs in such areas as office technology, horticulture, and graphic design. It has on-site employment programs in food services, and laundry, among other things. It also offers a wide variety of social services programs, including anger management and victim awareness. The Connecticut facility offers similar services and one of its seven buildings functions as a school.

We have been unable to determine how much it would cost to convert CJTS to a charter school or community college. Don DeVore, director of juvenile services at the facility believes that converting the residential buildings at the facility to educational uses would require extremely extensive renovations, but was unable to provide costs estimates. He notes that the Department of Children and Families is working with other agencies and interested parties to prepare a report, at the governor’s request, on the facility’s future. This report should be completed by August 1, 2005.

The city of Middletown has suggested that the facility be transferred to the city for redevelopment or converted to a school, but has not developed any cost estimates according to Bill Pillarella, executive assistant to the mayor. Staff at the community colleges system also do not have any estimates on how much it would cost to convert the facility for this purpose, but note that the operating costs for a satellite community college normally are about $ 10 million per year.

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