TULSA, Okla. — Amid scathing reports and lawsuits, there is a new person designated to run the Family Center for Juvenile Justice.
In a special hearing on July 19th, the Tulsa Board of County Commissioners voted to create a manager position for the juvenile home and hired David Parker to run it.
He has three decades of experience managing corrections facilities, including four years as the head of Tulsa's jail.
Why?
In recent months a series of allegations about the FCJJ and some employees became public with criminal and civil cases filed— those allegations include sexual crimes, drugs and physical violence.
- Previous coverage >>> Lawsuit alleges pervasive child sex abuse at Tulsa Co. Juvenile Detention Center
After the hearing, Chief Public Defender Laura Howard said, "We are not talking about minuscule issues, and we are not talking about one or two bad apples. We are talking about more than two years of history of physical abuse, sexual abuse, denial of basic human rights."
"We received reports of everything from we’ll provide you marijuana products in exchange for sexual favors to the children being locked down for more than 12 hours a day – the children not receiving school – children not receiving counseling programming and that had just consistently been a repetitious issue – there were always problems."
Commissioners said they were forced to take over the facility to keep the State Office of Juvenile Affairs from shutting it down on July 31.
Commissioner Stan Sallee emphasized County Commissioners did not have any authority over the facility until this vote and that this vote only pertains to the management of the detention side of the facility.
The court side still remains with the Juvenile Bureau and the Office of Juvenile Affairs.
Parker said he does not have a specific timeline for fixing issues with the detention home but told reporters, "There will be zero tolerance for anybody who breaks the law, period."
2 News Anchor Erin Christy's been digging into the allegations and issues at the FCJJ since April.
Also, during the meeting, the Commissioners accepted taking over management of FCJJ; this is to prevent the Office of Juvenile Affairs from closing the facility later this month.
Who is David Parker?
According to Corrections1.com, an online community and resource for corrections worldwide Parker his law enforcement career as a deputy with the Woods County Sheriff’s Office in Alva, Oklahoma, while attending college. After graduating from Northwestern Oklahoma State University, he accepted a position with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Entering as a correctional officer, he was promoted through the ranks as an investigator, deputy warden, divisional supervisor of construction and maintenance, warden, deputy director and retiring as director of Division II. After retiring he accepted the position of jail administrator for the Tulsa County Jail located in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a 1,900-bed facility.
The Board of County Commissioners learned on July 8 that the OJA interviewed Judge Kevin Gray and others about the misconduct and noncompliance allegations and conducted a number of announced and unannounced visits to the center.
As a result, the OJA put the center back on probation, claiming the center failed to satisfy its standards, applicable policies, and regulations.
The BOCC released this statement following the meeting:
The Board of County Commissioners of the County of Tulsa acted today to assume management of the Tulsa County Juvenile Justice Detention Home with the full support of the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs.
The immediate shift in responsibility comes after more than 50 years with the Juvenile Detention Home being operated and managed by the Tulsa Juvenile Bureau of the District Court, under the supervision of the Chief Judge of the Juvenile Division. Last week, OJA said it was prepared to close the Detention Home on July 31 absent significant operational improvements.
OJA representatives met with County Officials on Monday, July 15, and suggested immediate management changes. Discussion centered on the immediate takeover of management of the Detention Home by the BOCC.
Although the Juvenile Bureau has managed the Juvenile Detention Home effectively for more than five decades, it has deteriorated under the recent administration. OJA has been engaged with the Juvenile Bureau for more than two years to improve operations of the home, but the level of improvement has not been adequate. The Board of County Commissioners has accepted the challenge to take over management of the Juvenile Detention Home.
At the July 15 meeting with the OJA, several individuals were identified who could possibly assist with the day-to-day management and improvements needed at the Juvenile Detention Home. David Parker was one individual identified. Parker was previously the Jail Administrator at David L. Moss for four years and has more than 30 years’ experience in the detention field. David Parker expressed an interest in assisting Tulsa County with the management of Juvenile Detention Home.
The management changes will go into effect immediately following the BOCC approval. To ensure there is no disruption to the level of care provided detainees housed at the Juvenile Detention Home, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office is assisting by providing supplemental detention staffing as needed. A thorough review of staffing and resources is ongoing.
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