ReportWire

Tag: Darrielle Fair

  • Latest NCDPS juvenile justice report details population increases

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    RALEIGH, N.C. — Earlier this month, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety issued its 2024 Annual Report, which found juveniles accused of crimes are spending more time locked up awaiting trial or sentencing, which is creating capacity issues at state facilities. 

    According to the report, the average stay for criminal court youth increased from 140 days in 2022 to 200 days in 2024, drastically reducing the juvenile detention bed capacity statewide. However, in comparison, the average stays for juvenile justice system youth have remained unchanged over the last three years. 

    What You Need To Know

    • NCDPS said it has already begun using the data from its report to improve conditions for youth housed in its facilities

    • The average daily population at juvenile detention centers statewide in 2024 was 373 youth

    • Juveniles committed to North Carolina’s justice system in 2024 presented with multiple and complex behavioral health needs


    NCDPS reported the most notable increase in the average daily population across its juvenile detention centers in 2024, with 373 kids committed to facilities daily, exceeding the average daily rate since 2011. 

    NCDPS, through its Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, operates 12 juvenile detention centers and five youth development centers statewide.

    The report highlighted notable increases in both staffing and youth populations, as well as the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s efforts to address these changes.

    The division works to provide the state with a comprehensive strategy that aims to prevent and reduce crime among youth. The division’s approach focuses on strengthening families, social development and intervention, supporting at-risk juveniles ages 8 to 17. The agency’s two-part system attempts to prevent problem behavior in the earlier stages, with elevated responses for repeat offenders and severe crimes.

    “We have to focus on how we make sure we are addressing the root causes of the problems of why kids come to the juvenile justice system to begin with,” said William Lassiter, NCDPS deputy secretary.

    The Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act was enacted in 2019. Known as the “Raise the Age” law, it allowed 16- and 17-year-olds charged with nonviolent crimes or low-level felonies to be tried in the juvenile justice system.

    Last year, North Carolina Republican lawmakers passed HB 834, amending the law. HB 834 went into effect on Dec. 1, 2024. It now requires 16- and 17-year-olds charged with Class A-5 felonies to automatically be sent to criminal adult court.

    By Dec. 31, 2024, criminal court youth made up 43% of the state’s juvenile detention population, and that number continues to increase in 2025.

    Facility director for the Chatham Youth Development Center, Fleuretta McDougald, says her staff have to be innovative in how they support additional youth brought to their facility. “Unfortunately, what has happened is so many youths are being sent to detention centers,” McDougald said. “Why? Because they haven’t been adjudicated yet.”

    “We can manage it the best way we can because, unfortunately, we can’t tell a judge who to commit, who not to commit,” said McDougald.

    Lassiter said as a result of population increases, the state has been tasked with addressing the complex behavioral health needs of its youth development center juveniles. “These kids are facing multiple challenges, mental health challenges, school challenges, family challenges, and you’ve got to have intensive programming to focus on those kids,” he said.

    In its report, the DPS confirmed 98% of youth development center juveniles have at least one mental health diagnosis. The report says 57% have multiple health and substance abuse diagnoses, and 51% were taking some form of antidepressant or anti-anxiety drugs.

    “Last year, every single one of them had a mental health diagnosis except for one,” Lassiter said.

    With its limited staffing, DJJDP has adjusted mental health programming by utilizing community-based services. Lassiter said the legislature’s decision to pass a comprehensive salary plan in 2023 reduced the division’s overall vacancy rate from 34% to 23%, but there’s still a way to go.

    Lassiter said his department plans to continue its support of the state’s most vulnerable youth because, for many of the young people in their care, it’s their last resource when others have failed them.

    Follow us on Instagram at spectrumnews1nc for news and other happenings across North Carolina.

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    Darrielle Fair

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  • How juvenile center says it grew stronger after Helene

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    RALEIGH, N.C. — Inmates were displaced from several state prisons across western North Carolina as a result of the damage caused by Helene. The storm not only affected the region’s adult prisons, but it also impacted its only youth development center.

    What You Need To Know

    • The Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center is the only facility that services the Asheville community and 28 other counties

    • The facility was forced to shut down without power and water to continue operations during Helene

    • Helene humbled the staff at Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center, but it challenged them to grow as individuals and as an agency


    Many communities across the region were forced to rebuild following the significant devastation caused by Helene last September and for the state’s criminal justice system, it revealed where the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections and the Department of Public Safety needed to improve response efforts to natural disasters.

    The Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center is the only facility that services the Asheville community and 28 other counties.

    The North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s website says juvenile crisis and assessment centers offer evidenced-based crisis assessment and mental health residential services for youth ages 10-17. During their stay at-risk youth are provided with recommendations for the most suitable behavioral interventions.

    Both boys and girls are housed at the facility and typically stay between 14 and 45 days to receive comprehensive evaluations by both licensed psychologists and clinical case managers. 

    The Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center first opened in October 2016.

    Nearly a decade later, when Helene hit the area last year, the facility was forced to shut down without power and water to continue operations.

    “Even after our youth were out of here and we could take a deep breath, it hit all of us,” said Jennifer Morgan, Asheville operations manager for Methodist Home for Children said in an interview with Spectrum News 1. “Youth were using the water that we had here, like jugs of water, to be able to flush the toilet.”

    Owned by the Methodist Home for Children, the facility partners with NCDPS’s Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The division’s Juvenile Facility Operations section maintains both juvenile detention centers and youth development centers.

    The Methodist Home for Children currently provides residential care and services for youth across 16 locations statewide.

    “We had two staff that were here with our youth, but other staff when the storm hit, just came here because they knew our kids are here 24/7,” Morgan said.

    Youth brought to the facility under secure custody are housed there for as long as a court order is in place. Morgan said Western Area did have one secure custody youth occupying one of its beds at the time of the storm.

    “Under normal circumstances, we cannot transport those youth,” Morgan said. “They’re brought here shackled and chained, and they leave in those as well, but because of the circumstances, what was more important was this kid’s safety.”

    Morgan said after a few days youth housed in the facility were transferred to the Bridges Juvenile Crisis and Assessment Center in Winston-Salem. Many of the kids had been struggling to get in contact with their parents and soon learned that the devastation had made its way to their homes as well.

    Until the youth could be safely transported, staff at Western Area returned to work to continue cooking and taking care of them, transitioning the facility into a safe haven for support and community.

    “Everything from cat litter, to baby food, to gas, to food, I mean, you name it, water, paper towels, everything,” Morgan said. “Methodist Home really wrapped around our staff, and while our kids weren’t here, it became a hub for our staff to come in here.”

    Staff members impacted by the storm stayed for days until relief came. Morgan said Helene humbled the staff at Western Area Juvenile and Assessment Center, but it challenged them to grow as individuals and as an agency.

    “All of our youth that still come here rather assessment crisis or secure custody are benefiting from that because our staff are like family,” Morgan said.

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    Darrielle Fair

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  • Students start a new year in N.C. as ICE expands operations to schools

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    RALEIGH, N.C. — As the Trump Administration ramps up deportation efforts, there are growing concerns among parents about whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s operations could impact their local school districts. 

    What You Need To Know

    • No ICE operations have been reported in any North Carolina school districts 

    • Earlier this year, both Durham and Wake County school boards issued immigration enforcement policies in response to the Department of Homeland Security extending operations to schools and churches

    • Advocacy groups are encouraging families, regardless of immigrant status, to consider developing a family preparation plan in the event of a raid in their community


    There have been no reported ICE operations at any North Carolina schools. But the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent confirmed this month that a 15-year-old boy was pulled from a car and handcuffed outside Arleta High School in northern Los Angeles.

    Spectrum News 1 reached out to Wake County Public School System and Durham Public Schools for comment on how the school districts were preparing to address those concerns. A spokesperson for WCPSS confirmed it has not issued any additional updates to parents and directed us to a statement it issued earlier this year.

    “Our district has always complied with federal and state laws and will continue to do so. We are equally committed to ensuring our schools remain safe and welcoming spaces for all students and families,” WCPSS said in the statement. “Additionally, our district does not ask for or record information about the immigration status of any family. We will continue to honor all laws protecting the privacy of student records as outlined in board policies.” 

    Anthony Lewis, superintendent for Durham Public Schools, said in a statement to Spectrum News 1: “We recognize that recent changes to federal immigration laws have caused uncertainty, worry and fear for many of our students, families and staff. Please know that the safety, dignity and well-being of our school community remain our highest priority.”

    “While our district is carefully reviewing these changes with our legal counsel to fully understand their impact, we want to assure our community that we have not experienced any ICE raids or investigations. In the unlikely event that such an incident were to occur, we would expect and advocate for mutual respect of established protocols and standard operating procedures between our district and federal agencies,” Lewis said. 

    Earlier this year, both DPS and WCPSS issued immigration enforcement policies responding to the Department of Homeland Security extending operations to schools and churches.

    Spectrum News 1 asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to confirm whether families could expect the agency to conduct investigations at any of the state’s local school districts and whether the agency is taking a specific approach to how it deals with these cases. 

    ICE spokeswoman Lindsay Williams responded in an email, “As a matter of policy and operational security concerns, [the agency] does not discuss future operations.”

    El Centro, an organization working to provide socioeconomic resources to Hispanic and Latino communities, said it’s working closely with residents across North Carolina communities to prepare them if a situation such as an ICE raid or investigation occurs in their district. 

    “It becomes a health concern. Nobody wants children to be worried in school, because if they’re worried, then they’re not thriving,” said Emilia Ismael, with El Centro. “They’re not focusing on studying and their academics, and just developing socially.”

    Ismael said that through their education department, families can take advantage of resources to learn about their constitutional rights. “We also have case management so that a specialist in case management can help them create a roadmap,” Ismael said.

    Ismael encourages families, regardless of immigration status, to consider developing a family preparation plan, and for any residents, not just those of immigrants, to visit or call the organization if they have questions.

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    Darrielle Fair

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