9 May 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Juvenile Residential Facility (JRF) reopened Monday after closing in April of 2022 because of staffing shortages.
“Post COVID, we had a lot of staffing difficulties, a lot of staffing shortages,” Deputy Director of Juvenile Programs Mario Salinas said. “So it just wasn’t safe for us to continue to operate with limited number of staff.”
At that time, they had 56% of full staff between the residential and detention facility. JRF staff had to fill in at the Juvenile Detention Facility (JDF), closing JRF.
Now, they have reached 79% of staff, allowing JRF to open at a limited capacity.
The staffing increase comes from a pay raise. Sedgwick County Commissioners approved a wage increase of $6 for correctional officers. They used to start at $14.80, and now that will be $20.89.
JRF used to serve 24 youths, but now its capacity is 16 because they closed a dorm to be used for Evening Reporting Center, which provides cognitive behavioral intervention groups.
On reopening day, JRF is serving seven kids. As they get more staff, they will serve up to 16.
“I’ve heard them say that they don’t feel like a prisoner basically anymore, an inmate like they get to kind of be who they are again,” Corrections Counselor Emily Allen said.
JDF is much different than JRF.
“In detention, they don’t receive any services, any groups or any type of thing to rehabilitate them,” Salinas said. “So, being able to be an unlocked facility, attend groups, attend therapy in the community. It’s a lot more helpful for their rehabilitation.”
Allen says when JRF closed, it was hard.
“When we put all the kids back into general detention facility, moved all of our stuff back over here, it kind of hit feelings because this is what we knew,” Allen said.
She was hopeful that wouldn’t be the end.
“Eventually, with the staffing levels, here we are, and it’s good to be home,” Allen said.
She says JRF is a stepping stone.
“They have windows so they can see the outside world,” Allen said. “The doors aren’t locked, and they can have a lot more items in their room. It’s not just a little bucket of things. Access to their family, their friends or community just to who they are as a person.”