CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cuyahoga County has secured $30 million in state funding to build its first Community Correctional Facility, a major step toward keeping young offenders closer to home, where they can receive treatment near their families and, ideally, achieve better outcomes.
The Ohio Department of Youth Services announced the award Friday, saying Cuyahoga County beat out Hamilton and Franklin counties to create the 32-bed secure residential treatment center serving both male and female youth. ODYS Director Amy Ast praised the county’s unified commitment and plans for a trauma-informed approach to heal and rehabilitate youth and help them transition back home.
“Their vision of community stood out through and through,” Ast said in a news release Friday. “From involving stakeholders, community partners and judicial support, their focus on community is what put their proposal over the finish line.”…