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Florida Institute for Girls Grand Jury Click here for Text of Grand Jury Report 05/12/04
ACLU sues for access to girls prison papers ...why privatization of state juvenile correctional facilities is a bad idea May 7, 2004
Top officials tour troubled girls prison A Sheriff's deputy described the incident as a "minor riot." Interim Secretary C. George Denman said that he couldn't characterize the disturbance as a riot May 4, 2004
Flag football incident ignited melee at girls prison The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office responded with 30 deputies and guns loaded with rubber pellets. Darryl Olson, Department of Juvenile Justice regional director, said Monday that the law-enforcement response was the most dramatic of his long career. April 2, 2004
Company to try to reform girls prison A new company [Lighthouse Care Centers LLC] will try to end problems at a prison for serious female offenders in suburban West Palm Beach when it takes over May 15. Officials fired the previous contractor, Premier Behavioral Solutions, after a grand jury faulted the company for rampant turnover, poorly trained staff, a pattern of violence, broken bones and sexual misconduct at the Florida Institute for Girls. The new contract gives the state power to fine the company if it fails to hire enough staff or to meet rigorous training requirements. The company can also earn up to $127,000 in incentive pay if it prevents child abuse and doesn't need outside law enforcement to break up fights. February 24, 2004
Grand jury criticizes private prison operator Healthy profits for a private company caused dangerous conditions and inmate injuries at [FL Institute for Girls] while state officials looked the other way; the news media brought attention to injuries and sexual misconduct at the prison last year; the state seemed "unconcerned" with repeat violations. Staff shortages also compromised security and left the girls at risk. The result was an exodus. On a staff base of less than 100, more than 400 workers have resigned or been fired to date. The state required 120 hours of training before workers started, but most started work with the troubled girls after only a week. "In fact, there was no testimony as to any time the facility was in compliance with this provision except the original staff on opening day," grand jurors wrote. When a state juvenile justice official was presented with this repeated failure, he testified that the state should do away with the training requirement. February 24, 2004
Grand jury slams state on prison for girls near West Palm But the department should have taken action, and booted Premier, months ago, said Rep. Gustavo Barreiro, R-Miami Beach, chairman of the House Select Committee on Juvenile Detention Centers and who has closely followed the state's juvenile justice issues. "The thing that disturbed me the most with FIG is that these allegations have been coming for a long time, yet the department renewed the contract," he said. "You get to the point where you've got to do armlocks and break kids' arms, something is wrong. You've lost control of the program." February 24, 2004
Report: Sex and violence plague prison for girls "On one occasion [referring to the Florida Institute for Girls (FIG)], a DJJ assistant secretary simply sought to weaken the contract to match the provider's performance, eliminating a requirement that Premier's staff be trained before beginning work. DJJ is willing to accept noncompliance with some contractual clauses in an effort to ensure that these facilities continue to function ... Acceptance of noncompliance was a common practice for DJJ and private providers.'' A victim of budget cuts, DJJ's inspector general's office had to triage its workload, and decide ''which cases it can reasonably investigate,'' the report said. The inspector general's office only staffed its hot line during weekday working hours. After-hours calls sometimes were not logged in, and were never investigated. Investigators were hindered by a poorly designed and badly functioning surveillance system -- a problem that has plagued DJJ facilities elsewhere. In Miami, the grand jury investigating Paisley's death complained that cameras didn't work. At the girls' facility, ''the camera system was inadequate to meet the safety needs of the girls and staff,'' the report said. ``There were numerous blind spots that were well known to all.'' February 23, 2004
Grand
jury assails DJJ, operator over mistreatment of girls at prison The Florida Institute for Girls [FIG]: With inadequate and virtually untrained staff and poor state oversight, a 100-bed prison for hard-to-manage delinquent girls became a nightmarish place where girls were injured and sexually abused. . . February 21, 2004
How DJJ deals with girls is focus of jury's report The Florida Institute for Girls holds some of the state's worst-behaved girls, given maximum security sentences. It has also been the home of numerous complaints, including inappropriate sexual contact between guards and inmates. One former guard pleaded guilty to sexual activity with a juvenile offender in October and was barred from ever holding a similar job. February 20, 2004
Judge: Girls prison report must be public One of the state's top juvenile justice officials asked a judge to expunge the entire report, or the parts the department deems "improper," according to the ruling. American Civil Liberties Union attorney Frank Kreidler said the state should not seek to suppress an impartial citizen review. "A public agency like the DJJ has a duty and responsibility to answer critical reports such as the grand jury report, not to try to keep them hidden from the public," Kreidler said. |
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