The Dallas Black Clergy held an emergency press conference on June 30 at Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center (Henry Wade) concerning the purported inhumane conditions of the Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center. The gathering was swiftly organized following the airing of the most recent investigative report by WFAA Channel 8’s Rebecca Lopez, that detailed a former employee’s depiction of the callous conditions for juveniles at Henry Wade.
Several of the concerning conditions of confinement are listed below, but not limited to (taken from the 2023 Evident Change Report):
- 15 violations of state juvenile standards
- Children isolated in cell as long as 5 days (not sure how frequent)
- Children reported not showering daily
- Guards not checking on children per state standards, especially for suicide watch
- White (including Hispanic) children tend to wait less time than Black children for their cases to be decided
- Over half of the children are sent deeper into the system instead of diverted out – when they are reported low risk (47%) or medium risk (32%)