FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2008

Contact:

Anthony Puglisi
 973-621-2542

Lauren Shears
973-621-1590

ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO ANNOUNCES FEDERAL CONSENT ORDER INVOLVING THE ESSEX COUNTY JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER HAS BEEN DISMISSED

Essex County Complies with Stipulations to Bring 21-year Litigation to a Successful Conclusion

Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced on Wednesday, July 30th that the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey has agreed to dismiss all remaining stipulations of the Federal Consent Order against Essex County and the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center. The Order stated that certain conditions at the Juvenile Detention Center (formerly known as the Essex County Youth House) violated the federal constitutional and statutory rights of juveniles. Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise of the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, dismissed the case on Monday, July 21st, bringing to a close the 21-year-old Federal Consent Order that was originally filed in December 1987.

“My administration updated the infrastructure, enhanced the academic, extracurricular and social service programs, and provides first-rate medical care for our juvenile detainees. We would not have reached this point without our administrative staff and officers at the Detention Center coming together to provide a safe and supportive environment for our detainees,” DiVincenzo said. “For the first time in a generation, our Juvenile Detention Center will operate without any oversight from the Federal government. While this is a great accomplishment, we now must continue to work hard to ensure our facility continues to meet and exceed acceptable standards of operation,” he added.

“In six years, this administration has restored fiscal responsibility, resolved long standing problems and fostered pride in Essex County,” Senator Teresa Ruiz said. “In this room we see tangible evidence of what can be achieved and that a cookie cutter approach is not always the solution to provide the best services to our detainees,” she added.

“It took the leadership of the County Executive and the Freeholder Board to bring this day to fruition. I know that we will never return to the old ways and the County Executive deserves credit for that,” Freeholder Patricia Sebold said.

“A community is judged by how it treats its youth and most vulnerable residents,” Prosecutor Paula Dow said. “On man decided to do something about this facility. It is appropriate that we are in the library to tell the world that we are no longer lacking,” she added.

“The County Executive’s crowning achievement is how kids are now being treated. Of all the things you achieved, there is nothing greater than this accomplishment,” Sheriff Armando Fontoura said.

“Today is a unique and special day for our County,” Essex County Citizen Services Director Anibal Ramos said. “The dismissal of the Consent Decree is symbolic. Our facility has been completely turned around for the better and we are being recognized as a model for the development of alternative to incarceration programs and staff training,” he added.

The original Federal Consent Order against Essex County was filed in 1987 and was amended several times. Among the areas Essex County was cited for being deficient were Protection from Harm, Staff Training, Cell Restrictions and Mechanical Restraints, Mental Health Care Services, Case Workers and Positive Behavior Management System, Living Conditions and Quality Assurance.

After taking office in 2003, County Executive DiVincenzo hired professional leadership to oversee the Juvenile Detention Center. Deficiencies in the infrastructure were addressed, including installing security covers on all sprinkler heads to prevent detainees from turning on the sprinklers or attempting to commit suicide and replacing existing mattresses with fire retardant mattresses to reduce the number of fires caused by detainees. In addition, a state-of-the-art surveillance system was installed to enhance the management of activities and assist with investigations of abuse. Overcrowding was addressed by working closing with the Family Court and Youth Services Commission to place juveniles in alternatives to incarceration programs. The population at the Juvenile Detention Center regularly had exceeded 300 detainees prior to 2003 to an average of about 110 during the last five and a half years.

Greater attention was also given to enhance the education programs at the Juvenile Detention Center. In 2004, supported largely by donations and grants, the first-ever library with over 8,000 books was opened in the JDC. That same year, the number of school hours at Sojourn High School, the alternative school located at the Center, was extended to six and a half hours a day instead of three hours. Essex County is still the only juvenile detention facility in the state to provide a full school day. In addition, extracurricular clubs, sports and activities are offered and the JDC has partnered with local houses of worship and clergy to provide an extensive mentoring program for the detainees.

The Juvenile Detention Facility has worked with the Essex County Youth Services Commission to develop and implement a number of alternative to incarceration programs. To reduce overcrowding, eligible youth are diverted to home detention, electronic monitoring and an evening reporting center program. The Commission provides grants to fund school assemblies, mentoring programs and after school programs that inform youth about the dangers and effects of gun violence and drugs and supports recreation programs to provide alternative activities for youth.

On March 30, 2007, Judge Debevoise wrote that Essex County has been “working diligently to remedy the federal constitutional and statutory violations at ESJDC.” Judge Debevoise dismissed a majority of the stipulations in the Consent Order, but left those addressing deficiencies in mental health care intact.

On May 13, 2008, an expert consultant with the U.S. Department of Justice, Dr. Brian Zimnitzky, toured the Essex County Juvenile Detention Facility and reviewed revised policies, procedures and quality assurance studies provided by the County. “We wish to commend the County for its diligent efforts to improve mental health services at the facility, which have yielded impressive results. As discussed in Dr.Zimnitzky’s June 9, 2008, Report, appended to this letter, the County has made significant progress toward implementing virtually every remaining provision of the Plan. We congratulate the County on these achievements,” wrote Shanetta Y. Cutlar, Chief of the Special Litigation Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division in a June 19th letter to Essex County Counsel Harry Del Plato.

Cutlar’s June 19th memo continues: “We find the County to be in compliance with all but two Plan requirements. Although the two remaining issues are important ones, we believe the County can take steps to address them outside” of the Consent Decree. “Accordingly, we are prepared to jointly stipulate with the County to dismissal of the 2003 Amended Consent Decree,” Cutlar wrote. As a stipulation of the dismissal, the County was required to (a) provide staff training on the facility’s confidentiality policies and (b) revise its “Informed Consent Form” to clearly define the circumstances of when a child can be administered prescribed medicine if the parent or guardian fails to return the form or disapproves of the medication.

Staff from the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center and the Essex County Counsel’s Office worked with the Center’s health care provider, Correctional Health Services, developed a corrective action plan to address the two stipulations.

The Juvenile Detention Center also received support from Special Master Bennet D. Zurofsky, who is representing the Federal Court. “Resolving all of the alleged Constitutional deficiencies in the Essex County juvenile detention system has been a long road. It has, nevertheless, been a fruitful journey in terms of the improvements that have been realized in the conditions of juvenile confinement,” he wrote in a June 25th memo to Judge Debevoise. “There has been a general improvement in the processing and other policies in Essex County such that the facility is no longer plagued by constant overcrowding beyond its capacity. The Juvenile Detention Center now has fully staffed classrooms sufficient to provide real education to the juveniles who are confined there, as well as good facilities for physical recreation and food services,” Zurofsky wrote.

“I commend our officers and staff for their hard work, dedication and professionalism,” said Essex County Juvenile Detention Center Administrator Charles Green. “Our County Executive had a vision for this facility and his support made this day possible. This is just part of the vision. We will continue to progress and become a model,” he added.

“The County Executive doesn’t get enough credit for his human feeling. His legacy will be that he helped to save kids’ lives,” said Newark Deputy Mayor Ron Salahuddin, who formerly served as Director of the Juvenile Detention Center. “This is not a small accomplishment. We have created a safe environment and are helping to give these kids a chance,” he added.

“We made it to this day because our County Executive set a goal to have the case dismissed,” said Harry DelPlato, retired Essex County Counsel who was assigned to the case. “This legislation ended with us all being winners. It saw Constitutional issues resolved, a safe environment was created for the detainees and officers, and better educational opportunities were introduced for the detainees,” he added.

Significant Action to Move Essex County Forward

The dismissal of the Federal Consent Order over the Juvenile Detention Center is another significant milestone achievement for the DiVincenzo administration and means that for the first time since the 1980s Essex County is not involved in any Federal litigation, is not subject to potential Federal fines and has completed major capital projects that were stalled for years.

“The Juvenile Detention Center, Correctional Department, Historic Courthouse and Hospital Center were ongoing concerns that were not addressed by previous administrations. We realized early that we had to tackle these projects head on and resolve them. That was the only way we could move Essex County forward and prevent millions of dollars from being wasted,” DiVincenzo said. “These four issues dragged on for decades until we set a new tone and held everyone accountable. What four previous County Executives were unable to accomplish, we resolved in just five and a half years,” he added.

“We are extremely proud of each of these cutting edge institutions. Our Historic Courthouse is the cornerstone of our initiative to modernize our government complex and has been recognized with numerous preservation awards. And our state-of-the-art Correctional Facility and Hospital Center have become model institutions that set new operating standards in New Jersey,” the County Executive noted.

Essex County Correctional Facility (25 years): County inmates filed a lawsuit in 1982 protesting substandard conditions and inferior medical care at the Essex County Jail in Newark and Jail Annex in North Caldwell. The new Essex County Correctional Facility was just 40 percent constructed when County Executive DiVincenzo took office in January 2003. In one year, the facility was completed and over 2,000 inmates were relocated from the County’s two antiquated jail buildings to the cutting edge structure. In addition, DiVincenzo hired seasoned corrections professionals to manage the Department of Corrections and provided training for all Corrections Officers. After 25 years and becoming the longest case in the history of the District of New Jersey, the Federal Consent Order was dismissed in February 2007. In 2007, the Essex County Correctional Facility earned a perfect inspection score from the NJ Department of Corrections’ Bureau of County Services and accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. In 2008, it received the Governor's Council on Mental Health Stigma Ambassador Award.

Historic Essex County Courthouse (approximately 16 years): The Historic Essex County Courthouse, built in 1906, had fallen into neglect and disrepair by the late 1980s, prompting the Essex County Bar Association to file a lawsuit against Essex County to repair and preserve the building. The project was
underfunded and stalled, leaving the Historic Courthouse vacant and mostly unusable by the mid-1990s. Construction on the Historic Courthouse was barely begun and was just 5 percent completed when County Executive DiVincenzo took office in 2003. Under his leadership, the restoration project was completed in just two years and the building was reopened in December 2004. The Courthouse is currently used for Civil Court proceedings and the Essex County Bar Association relocated its headquarters there in 2007. The Courthouse is a well-maintained facility and its restoration has been recognized with numerous International, National, State and local awards.

New Essex County Hospital Center (approximately 25 years): Original attempts to replace the Hospital Center, which was built in 1897, were made in the 1980s. The previous administration later proposed relocating the facility to the former United Hospital grounds in Newark. DiVincenzo, then serving as Freeholder President, appointed a Blue Ribbon Committee to study and monitor the move. He halted the move after it was discovered the Newark facility could not support modern treatment methods. Under DiVincenzo’s leadership a state-of-the-art Hospital Center was designed and constructed in 25 months and opened in December 2006. A new academic division of the Hospital Center, the Institute for Mental Health Policy, Research and Treatment, was established in 2006. The first of its kind in New Jersey, the Institute will help shape mental health treatment and policy throughout the State.

# # #