Farías asks how ACS delivers services amid overcapacity

Okay, we love when you do that.

Okay, so access to programs.

Given that the secure detention system is over capacity by roughly 130 people, how is ACS ensuring that each young person is given the attention they need?

What procedures are in place to ensure that each young person in detention is getting appropriate medical care, mental health care, educational instruction, regular contact with parents and guardians, and access to other recreational and supervised programming?

And just one thing I want to say as a follow-up to that, I know you did list out all the different things that ACS is doing to provide various programs to the young people who are in detention.

But because you all are at capacity, I think we want to understand how you're able to accomplish all of that given the capacity issue.

Thank you for that question.

We share your concern about meeting the needs of all our young people.

We've been working very hard to expand available services to meet those needs.

We have added $9.6 million to the budget of the Bellevue Juvenile Justice Mental Health Service.

We have added $4 million for career and work readiness programs.

We have seen last year 367 of our young people

receive certifications in workforce development, and we are on track for over 400 young people to receive certifications this year.

We had 94 young people participate in SYEP.

We have 39 young people in college and 260 young people who have taken college classes over the seven semesters since we started

offering college classes through the MOU with K-316.

We have graduated 163 young people since 2022-2023, and we are on track to graduate more.

We have periodic graduations for young people who complete their GEDs and regular graduations aligned with the school year for young people.

who are being promoted from middle school, although we have very few of those, and high school regions graduates.

You asked about something else, right?

Yeah, no, just you don't have a lot of space, and so it just begs the question, like, are you able to deliver on all of the things you just said, given the space constraints?

Yeah, we have been working with our vendors, and we've actually expanded contracts for our current vendors who we have who are open to providing services on the residential halls,

since that requires less movement and less additional space to provide those services.

So we have painting, taping, and spackling that happens on the residential halls.

Many of our young people have actually painted their own halls and their bedrooms after getting that certification.

We have had electrical and HVAC provided in the gym and other.

Areas around the facility where our staff is incredibly flexible about ensuring that our young people receive these services.

We have an art club that in Crossroads that meets both in the residential halls and in the cafeteria.

We'll use any space that we can find to provide those services.