Tulsa's embattled juvenile justice center is on probation and the judge who oversees it may soon be replaced.
Judge Kevin Gray has requested to give up his oversight of the county's Family Center for Juvenile Justice following two months of intense scrutiny. In May, a civil rights lawsuit over conditions at the center was filed by more than 20 detained youth.
In a statement Thursday, county commissioners said the state Office of Juvenile Affairs interviewed Gray in May about the allegations of sexual abuse, harassment and neglect at the center. OJA personnel visited multiple times and placed the center on probation July 8.
“Under Judge Gray’s supervision, the detention home has continued to be the subject of repeated allegations of misconduct,” the commissioners’ statement reads. “According to OJA, the detention home has failed to satisfy their standards, applicable policies, and regulations. Judge Gray has now requested that he be relinquished of the responsibility of the detention facility.”
“In the interests of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the detention home, the Board of County Commissioners intends to schedule a Special Meeting to request the Presiding Judge of the Judicial Administrative District replace Judge Gray as Judge of the Juvenile Division."
The center was on probation before in 2023. According to the lawsuit, concerns at that time included “youth being kept in their rooms/isolated, education concerns, and problems handling grievances and their resolutions."
A Tulsa County public defender also told the commissioners that they were subjecting themselves “to a federal civil rights lawsuit” if they didn’t correct conditions in the center, the lawsuit reads.
Tulsa County commissioners are named as defendants in the lawsuit. While the commissioners do not have direct authority over the juvenile justice center, they have been briefed on its status and have made staffing recommendations.
Members of the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law & Justice — who drew attention to allegations at the center in May — are holding a town hall at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Greenwood Cultural Center.
