Two local youth detention facilities have been named in a class action civil rights lawsuit filed against the state Office of Children and Family Services, which alleges that the state agency held minors in solitary confinement to punish youth and compensate for staffing shortages.
Filed on Jan. 8 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all youth who are or will be incarcerated at OCFS facilities, the lawsuit seeks a court order ending the practice of solitary confinement. OCFS Commissioner DaMia Harris-Madden and Deputy Commissioner Norman Hall are named as defendants in their official capacity. Four young Black men with disabilities, ages 16 to 20, are named as plaintiffs in the case and represented by The Legal Aid Society and Jenner and Block. Two of the young men are in custody at Goshen Secure Center, in Orange County, and another was formerly at Brookwood Secure Center in Columbia County. Industry Residential Center, in Monroe County, and MacCormick Secure Center, in Tompkins County, are also mentioned in the complaint.
“Young people housed in secure placement facilities operated by OCFS have a right to safety, dignity, and age-appropriate treatment,” The Legal Aid Society Chief Attorney of the Juvenile Rights Practice Dawne Mitchell said in a statement. “Locking these children — the majority of whom are Black or Latinx — alone in small, unhygienic rooms for hours on end with no access to education, programming, or interaction with others is detrimental to their development and can have devastating, lasting impacts on their mental health and well-being. OCFS must immediately put an end to these barbaric, unlawful and inhumane practices and ensure these young New Yorkers are provided appropriate care, including basic hygiene, education and rehabilitative services.”…