D.C. Plans New Center Despite Bill in Congress to Prevent Use of Md. Site
By Theola S. Labbe
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 8, 2006
D.C. officials say they are moving ahead with plans to close the city's Oak Hill juvenile detention facility in Laurel and build a smaller juvenile center on the site, despite a bill in Congress that would force the District to give up the land.
Under legislation sponsored by Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), the 800-acre property would be divided among the National Security Agency, the National Park Service and Anne Arundel County. The NSA would give the District funds to build a detention facility at another site, with priority given to a location inside the city.
The District received the property in Laurel under a federal land grant in 1929 and built Oak Hill in 1967. The 220-bed facility, which houses District youths convicted of nonviolent and violent crimes, has been plagued by poor conditions, mismanagement and security problems. In 2004, the D.C. Council passed legislation to close it and build a facility that meets national standards on the site, a project estimated to cost $34 million.
But Cardin said the location is too remote and prevents close interaction between the youths and their families. He also noted that the NSA, on the grounds of nearby Fort Meade, wants to expand its security perimeter and that Fort Meade will gain roughly 5,300 workers as part of the Pentagon's base realignment plan.
"This is not the District's land. This is the federal government's land," said Cardin, who is running for U.S. Senate. "I think the best place for a juvenile detention facility is in the District."
Vincent Schiraldi, the city's director of Youth and Rehabilitation Services, disagrees. The District needs to put its juvenile detention center outside the city so that youths will have space for recreation, he said, adding that most states locate their juvenile facilities in suburban or rural settings for that reason.
The facility where juveniles are held as they await trial is in Northeast Washington. It was moved from the Oak Hill campus in December 2004. It has no outside recreation space, but the average length of stay is only 23 days, Schiraldi said. The juveniles at Oak Hill are serving sentences of several months, and it would be difficult for them to go that long without some kind of physical outlet, Schiraldi said.
He added, however, that the city needs only a small portion of the Laurel property for its new center and that it would be willing to give up much of the land.
"We don't need 800 acres for our facility, and we understand that the county and NSA and others may have an interest in the land -- and we're not opposed to negotiating around their interests," Schiraldi said.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said she has spoken with Cardin about his bill and thinks an agreement could be reached that would allow the District to build the center on the Laurel property, despite Cardin's public statements calling for the facility to be in the city. Norton has advised city officials to continue with their plans.
"Nobody on either side, including people who are in a position to do something about it, has indicated any reason for the District not to proceed, as it is now, with a smaller facility," Norton said.
The quality of care at Oak Hill has been monitored closely since 1985, when the D.C. Public Defender Service and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of juveniles living there.
Although the suit was settled with a consent decree in 1986, the District since has repeatedly been found in contempt of the court order and has paid millions of dollars in court fines.
Escapes and violent incidents remain a problem.
In November, a youth died after suffering head injuries in a fight with two other detainees. D.C. police are investigating the death, and Schiraldi's agency is reviewing whether guards followed proper procedures in responding to the fight.
About 30 of the 50 buildings scattered around the weed-strewed Oak Hill campus have been abandoned over the years. The complex includes six housing units, two administration buildings, three school buildings, a gym and a large multipurpose room where meals are served.
Plans for a new facility are in the predesign phase, youth agency officials said. Construction is scheduled to begin in September 2007 and to be completed in January 2009.
Schiraldi, who was appointed a year ago by Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) to lead a reform effort at the agency, said the capacity would be reduced from 220 to 60 beds to create a more intimate setting that would allow officials to provide more intense and personal services to the most troubled juveniles. Oak Hill has about 85 residents, but Schiraldi said some of them would be better served in community treatment programs.
The eventual goal would be to place 24 of the 60 beds at a site in the District, he said.
Under the legislation sponsored by Cardin and Sarbanes, Anne Arundel would reimburse the NSA for the amount it spent to pay for a new D.C. detention facility if the county made 25 percent or more of its share of the property available for purposes other than open space or recreational use.
Residents living near Oak Hill said they support the bill. They said searchlights and the noisy whir of helicopters looking for escaped juveniles are frequent.
"There's safety issues there," said BJ Taylor, vice president of the Russett Community Association, which includes 3,700 homes in western Anne Arundel near Oak Hill.
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