Cassandra Washington describes unsafe conditions and staff burnout
Cassandra Washington, a grievance representative and 20-year youth development specialist, describes unsafe conditions including violence, unsanitary spaces, and chronic overcrowding. She says staff face burnout and recommends protective gear and relocating older residents age 18 to 21 to a separate facility.
Good afternoon.
My name is Cassandra Washington, and I'm a grievance representative at the Social Service Employees Union Local 371.
On behalf of the president, on behalf of President Anthony Wells, our officers, staff, and the entirety of this membership,
I want to thank the chairs in the honorable Letha Stevens of the Committee of Children and Youth for extending this opportunity to testify.
SSEU Local 371 represents the Youth Development Specialist Title Series.
Having proudly served in this title for over 20 years, I know firsthand how critical and valuable this role is to juvenile facilities.
Yet despite the tireless and unwavering efforts of these workers, severe systemic challenges continuously hinder their ability to safely and effectively support the youth in their care.
We are deeply concerned by the multitude unsafe conditions currently persisting within the Department of the Youth and Family Justice Facilities.
These issues directly threaten the safety, health, and well-being of both our staff members and the juveniles in custody.
While juvenile facilities are mandated to provide a secure, structured, and rehabilitative environment, compromised safety creates unnecessary risks.
heightens stress, and undermines the system's core responsibilities.
Right now, staff and youth are facing unacceptable dangers, including pervaded violence, unsanitary living spaces, and chronic overcrowding.
This is a critical threat that remains unresolved despite previous
previous engagements with agency leadership.
These hazards expose everyone in the facilities to physical injury, emotional distress, potential sexual assaults, and repeated psychological trauma.
Vulnerable youths who are already struggling with behavior or emotional challenges are especially
damaged by these volatile environments.
Co-currently, the inaction on these safety concerns leads to crippling stress, severe fatigue, and burnout among our staff.
This crushing work land directly impacts employees'morale,
critical decision-making, and daily job performance.
Without adequate training, protective resources, and logistical support, staff face an uphill battle when responding to emergencies, conflicts, or behavior crisis.
Ensuring staff safety is absolutely essential to ensuring staff safety.
It's absolutely essential to the stability of the facility and the resources rehabilitation of the youth.
These compassing crises can be, may I continue?
Can be drastically reduced by immediately implementing two proven solutions.
One, providing sufficient protective gear, which is issuing neck guards, cut-proof gloves, and protective sleeves to immediate...
Please wrap up.
Excuse me?
Please wrap up.
Yes.
To immediately...
mitigate sharp objects injury risk, relocating adult residents, aggressively restationing older residents age 18 to 21 to separate.
We suggest such as the Element Queen facility located in Brooklyn.
Facility administrators and agency leaders.