By Arthur E. Foulkes
TERRE HAUTE — A teenage girl in hysterics was brought into the Vigo County Juvenile Center recently. She was crying, screaming, combative.
She didn’t want to be there — in a detention facility that is essentially a jail for people ages 12 to 17. But after a night spent in one of the cells, she had calmed down enough to face the issues that had led to her detention in the first place.
The center’s new executive director said that scenario is a frequent one at the juvenile facility, which handles about 800 area youth per year. Their offenses vary, from being a runaway to battery, shoplifting or theft, disorderly conduct, auto theft, burglary, molestation or some other crime as defined by state law.
Within 48 hours, the juvenile probation office decides what action will be taken, and a determination is made about how best to get the youth back on track toward being a law-abiding citizen.
“If at all possible, we try to improve those juveniles’ situations in life,” said Jim Jenkins, who was appointed Monday as executive director of the detention facility.
“We may only have 14, 15 kids here at a time, but they’re important individuals because they are the county’s youth,” Jenkins said during a tour of the facility.
The juvenile center at 202 Crawford St. is next to the Vigo County Annex Building, and just a few blocks south of the courthouse. Once home to a banquet center operated by nearby former Boston Connection hotel, the facility opened in March 2001 after being converted to its new purpose as a detention center, juvenile court and probation departments.
The facility still has the large restaurant kitchen, where three meals and an evening snack are prepared. A centralized control room with video monitors observes the large activity/recreation area, a classroom staffed by a licensed teacher, meeting rooms for programs and counseling, and a two-tiered cell block with 19 single cells.
Longtime jail officer Bobby Wood staffed the control room Tuesday and said the teens benefit from programs such as life skills and self-esteem, drug and alcohol counseling, healthy relationship groups and other counseling services.
The center housed 10 youths on Tuesday, and can hold up to 19 in single units. When the number of youth exceeds 19, the teens are doubled-up in the cells.
Each cell also is monitored by a camera to ensure that teens do not have the opportunity to harm themselves or to conceal something, Jenkins said. An issue arose last year when it was learned by county officials that cameras showed the entire cell, including hygiene facilities. However, the cameras have been repositioned so hygiene facilities are not visible.
A roving guard can see into each cell, and the guards conduct checks every 15 minutes during the lights-out time of 10 p.m. to about 7 a.m.
Jenkins, who served two four-year terms as Vigo County sheriff, in addition to a term on the county council and a term as mayor of Terre Haute, said his years of law enforcement experience seem to make for a natural fit with his new duty as executive director.
“I think I’m suited well for this position with my background,” Jenkins said.
As sheriff, he ran a department with a multimillion-dollar annual budget, he said, and as a council member he watched the flow of revenue and expenses for county services. The juvenile center has a smaller budget, most of which is allocated to salaries, but the facility takes a good deal of management.
“It’s very important and it’s very sensitive, due to the fact that we’re dealing with juveniles,” Jenkins said.
Good communication with the juvenile magistrate and her staff is important to Jenkins, along with the safe, secure detention of juveniles at the center, he said.
The center’s staff, many of whom have several years of service there, are competent, he said, and they are empathetic to detainees and try to be role models who encourage the troubled teens to change their attitudes toward a more positive future.
“The people here have a lot of experience. They’re very knowledgeable in what they’re doing, and they obviously like their jobs,” he said.
In addition, the procedures of the facility are time-tested.
“I’m confident the staff here knows what they’re doing, and they do it properly,” he said.
While Jenkins was appointed to the position only Monday, he had been working since last week as a representative for Sheriff Jon Marvel to transition into the office. An investigation last fall into complaints about the operation of the detention facility led to Marvel being appointed by county officials to oversee the facility. Ultimately, the sheriff decided to make a change in leadership at the center.
“Whatever problems there were have been dealt with by the sheriff and his staff since last November,” Jenkins said.
“I have stepped into a situation where the staff is really competent. The county residents should be thankful that the people here are here,” he said.
Attempts Tuesday to contact the former executive director of the juvenile center for comment were unsuccessful.
Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.
