DC Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services

The District of Columbia Department of Youth Rehabilitative Services, formerly the Youth Services Administration, has historically been a troubled agency. It is responsible for all youth held in custody in the District, both pre-adjudication (detention) and post-adjudication (commitment). The District's Oak Hill Youth Center has been the subject of a 20-year-old lawsuit over conditions of confinement, and previous agency directors have failed to provide effective leadership. With support from the Public Welfare Foundation, CCLP is training DYRS staff on the legal and professional standards governing conditions of confinement at Oak Hill and the District's juvenile detention facility, the Youth Services Center (YSC). CCLP staff have held more than half a dozen trainings for groups of staff at Oak Hill and YSC.

In addition, the agency is establishing an Advisory Board of community, faith-based, law enforcement, legal, academic, and public leaders to serve as external and internal voices for DYRS. Some members of the Advisory Board, along with other specialists, will also serve on a Citizens Oversight Committee to regularly monitor conditions at DYRS facilities. CCLP staff are helping DYRS to develop the Advisory Board, and will provide training on conditions of confinement for members of the Citizens Oversight Committee.