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DHS statement, updated lawsuit call FCJJ progress into question

Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice Director David Parker delivers his weekly progress report to the county commissioners on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, at the county office building.
Max Bryan
/
KWGS News
Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice Director David Parker delivers his weekly progress report to the county commissioners on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, at the county office building.

Reports of progress at Tulsa County’s juvenile detention center contrast reports from attorneys representing youth suing center staff and a state agency that county officials claim validated their work.

The Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice has been under scrutiny since May, when the public was made aware that detention officer Jonathan Hines allegedly raped a detained youth. Since then, Hines and another officer have been charged with sexual abuse, 27 formerly and currently detained youth have filed a lawsuit against county officials, and Homeland Security searched the center on July 12.

County commissioners took over the center from Juvenile Judge Kevin Gray after it fell out of compliance with the state Office of Juvenile Affairs. They appointed former Tulsa County jail administrator David Parker as its new director.

The county sent out a news release on Aug. 13 outlining progress since commissioners took over the center. The news release said the state Office of Juvenile Affairs will let the center stay open at least through Sept. 29 and claimed officials have taken steps with outside agencies that have contact with the center.

But state Department of Human Services officials have called the accuracy of these claims into question — specifically, a report that says a DHS worker told staff there were no issues at the center.

Furthermore, the lawyers representing the 27 youth have updated the lawsuit with allegations of racism, medical neglect and center staff facilitating and betting on fights between youth. The amended complaint was filed the day after the county put out the news release.

These statements contrast Parker, who on Monday questioned the credibility of the new allegations and reported steps for improvement at the center.

Did DHS praise the county?

In their news release, county officials claimed a public guardian from DHS visited the center on Aug. 6.

“At conclusion of the visit, the guardian verbally stated there were no concerns,” the news release reads.

DHS spokesperson Nazarene Harris refuted the news release.

“The office of the public guardian at Oklahoma Human Services has not been involved in the review or inspection process at the Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Home and has not made comments on the conditions at the facility,” Harris’ statement reads.

Harris also said a public guardian “is not a regulatory or inspecting entity” and lacks authority to give such opinions.

County spokesperson Laurie Lee said the statement in the news release was informal.

“(DHS’ statement) doesn’t mean they don’t come in and have vetting every time they come in,” said Parker.

The Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice is seen.
Max Bryan
/
KWGS News
The Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice is seen.

New lawsuit allegations: “Fight clubs,” infections

Originally filed in May, the lawsuit articulates criminal allegations against the two detention officers who have been charged, accuses a nurse at the center of giving a youth dubious “heat treatments” and accuses a third detention officer of threatening to put the youth in adult detention if they discussed the abuses.

The newest accusations in the most recent version of the lawsuit include:

  • A detention officer allegedly facilitating “fight clubs,” in which center staff bet on youth in the fights
  • A youth allegedly contracting a bacterial infection that could require surgical intervention, “including possible amputation”
  • A detention officer allegedly giving a youth a racist nickname

The amended lawsuit lists Parker as a defendant and claims that “to date, no publicly-available corrective action, by either Juvenile Bureau or OJA, has occurred to protect the children held within the confines of the Juvenile Detention Center.”

The lawsuit contrasts Parker’s remarks at Monday’s county commissioners meeting, where he relayed steps reportedly taken to improve conditions at the center. He said center staff now make sure youth “who are assigned to go to school, do go to school.” He also said staff are getting trained on “state statutes [and] policy updates,” and how to interact with youth more tactfully.

“The process is in place, and the end will show that we’re doing what we need to do,” Parker said after the meeting.

Parker also said he has not seen any "fight clubs" at the center since taking over last month.

The lawsuit now also includes allegations against a third detention officer accused of sexually assaulting a youth on July 24, five days after Parker took over the center.

Tulsa County Chief Public Defender Lora Howard called for the center to be shut down after these allegations surfaced.

“Closure of the facility, for a brief interim period, would allow Mr. Parker to build a new team from the ground up,” Howard’s statement reads. “It is abundantly clear that a new team is needed to provide a safe environment for these vulnerable children.”

Tulsa County Chief Public Defender Lora Howard asks newly appointed Family Center for Juvenile Justice Director David Parker questions on Friday, July 19, 2024, at the Tulsa County office building.
Max Bryan
/
KWGS News
Tulsa County Chief Public Defender Lora Howard asks newly appointed Family Center for Juvenile Justice Director David Parker questions on Friday, July 19, 2024, at the Tulsa County office building.

In an Aug. 8 interview with Public Radio Tulsa, Parker said he had removed some center staff since taking over the center, but did not to go into specifics, citing ongoing investigations into center workers. He also said he turned the allegations over to the Tulsa Police Department, which Howard noted in her statement.

Parker also said he has worked to improve the relationship between the juvenile bureau and the public defender’s office. County officials said in the Aug. 13 news release that they have created office space for public defenders outside Parker’s office for increased collaboration.

Public Radio Tulsa has reached out to the public defender’s office for comment from Howard on the claims in the news release.

Max Bryan is a news anchor and reporter for KWGS. A Tulsa native, Bryan worked at newspapers throughout Arkansas and in Norman before coming home to "the most underrated city in America." Several of Bryan's news stories have either led to or been cited in changes both in the public and private sectors.