Monday, May 23, 2005 | 11:04 a.m.
Officials at the Nevada Youth Training Center in Elko dispute claims in a recent letter from the Justice Department to the state attorney general's office that the center is failing to provide special education services to students.
In response to an update of the federal probe that dates back to 2002 following allegations of abuse, Dale Warmuth, superintendent of the detention center, said the facility has resolved all issues regarding special education services, and the government's accusations no longer apply.
"If the Department of Justice were to come here today, we would be in complete compliance," Warmuth said.
Officials acknowledged that the school wasn't offering federally mandated special education services to 30 of 39 youths who needed the help, according to a letter from the Justice Department to the state attorney general's office dated April 7. The letter was posted on the Justice Department Web site.
The Justice Department also said the training center lacked "individual education plans" for the students. The plans outline students' educational needs.
"It is evident that youth requiring special education services mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Act ... are not receiving those services," the letter stated.
There are currently 145 youths housed at the Nevada Youth Training Center, a 160-bed correctional facility for boys and young men ages 12 to 18. As of Friday, there were 48 youths who required special education services, according to the facility's staff.
The April 7 letter was part of the Justice Department's ongoing case regarding the youth center. Since February 2004, the federal government has been working under a formal memorandum of understanding with the state to get the Elko facility in compliance with federal standards.
In 2002 the government found that youths housed at the facility were being abused and sometimes beaten.
Although the Justice Department recognized that the conditions at the Elko facility were substantially better than they once were, it pointed to several deficits besides the lack of special education services, such as a need for a competent investigator to look into claims of abuse and the need for a full-time, on-site psychologist.
"We are still monitoring the situation," said Eric Holland, spokesman for the Justice Department. He could not comment further because the case is ongoing.
The Nevada attorney general's office, which is representing the youth center in the matter, said the center has improved its services.
"It's true we are not in full compliance, but we are in substantial compliance," said Karen Dickerson, deputy attorney general. "The Department of Justice understands this is a work in progress."
On Dec. 13 the facility hired a new administrator, Joe Scholl, who is currently vice principal at Independence High School, a junior level and senior level high school that serves youths at the center, Warmuth said.
Scholl now oversees the special education programs for upwards of 48 youths needing those services and has the individual education plans in compliance with federal standards, he said. The facility completed 17 plans in February and an additional 31 after that, he said.
The plans include information specific to each student and help staff to determine education placements for the students, officials said.
The facility originally had difficulty with the plans because it didn't have the staff to complete them, and other jurisdictions where the youths were previously attending school didn't send prior plans to the facility, Scholl said.
Scholl was hired in December and the Justice Department toured the facility from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 -- almost two months after Scholl was hired. Warmuth said the facility was not yet in compliance because it took at least 160 hours of training before Scholl could work with youths at the facility.
When the Justice Department officials visited the facility in January and February, Scholl would have "just been getting involved with the school," he said.
Although Scholl said the training center is in full compliance with special educations needs, the Justice Department had complaints regarding other services, including a lack of staff to conduct proper investigations into allegations of abuse.
The facility "continues to rely on mental health counselors who are untrained in investigations" to conduct inquiries into uses of force, the Justice Department noted in the letter. "Consequently, although the quality of documentation regarding uses of force and other incidents has improved, the quality of the investigations, themselves, is lacking."
According to Warmuth, many of these problems stem from a shortage of staff members.
"We do the best we can with what we have and keep on asking" for additional staff, he said.
archive
