by Murrel Bland
A $14,000 federal grant literally changed the way the Juvenile Detention Center looks.
That is one of the more significant things that members of the combined West and Midtown Police Advisory Committee learned Thursday, Sept. 22, as they toured the Juvenile Detention Center, which is part of the Wyandotte County Jail next to the Courthouse.
Terri Broadus, the administrator of the center, said that this grant had some 300 objectives. Two of the key objectives included painting the walls of the center and taking the badges and uniforms off corrections personnel—creating a “softer prison environment.”
Broadus has to answer to various levels of government including the Sheriff’s Department (which is part of the Unified Government), the Kansas Department of Corrections and the U.S. Department of Justice.
The center is the second largest in Kansas with a capacity of 52 beds; the largest is in Johnson County. The juveniles range in age from 10 to 16. Boys and girls are housed in separate pods.
The youth are enrolled in an alternative school administered by the Kansas City, Kan., District. There are six teachers.
A medical doctor, a dentist and two nurses serve the needs of the youth. Broadus said it costs $120 a day to house and feed a juvenile.
There is an exercise area for the youth including a basketball court and a treadmill area.
Broadus said the center accepts the donation of paperback books for its library. Church services are held on Sundays.
The center also houses runaway youth from other jurisdictions; they are held at the center until they can be sent home.
Broadus said she offers tours of the center. For more information, telephone her at 913-573-8158 or email [email protected].
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.