Local 371 VP Derek Robinson testifies on staffing and violence
Derek Robinson, vice president of grievances and legal services for Local 371, says initiatives were announced without meaningful union engagement. He says members face overcrowding, staffing shortages, violence, and complex clinical needs, and that programs on paper need staffing, training, space, and security.
Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Chair Stevens and members of the Committee on Children and Youth.
My name is Derek Robinson, the Vice President of Grievances, Legal Services for SSEU Local 371.
We represent our youth development specialists, program counselors, caseworkers, congregate care specialists, and frontline employees who do this work every day in detention, juvenile detention that is.
SSEU Local 371 is deeply concerned that these initiatives were publicly announced without meaningful engagement with the union regarding the operational impact on youth development specialists, caseworkers, program counselors as well.
Our members are not simply
Observers of the juvenile justice system, they are the professionals responsible for carrying out these policies in real time.
Inside facilities where overcrowding, staffing shortages,
Violence, security concerns, and increasingly complex behavior and clinical needs are daily realities.
The people making these announcements must understand that there are significant differences between announcing a plan and successfully implementing it inside a juvenile detention facility.
One, programming must reflect the reality inside Crossroads and Horizon.
The young people detained at crossroads in Horizon Juvenile Centers individually facing allegations of extremely serious offenses, including murder, attempted murder, and other violent crimes.
These are circumstances that can involve significant security, behavioral and clinical considerations that must be addressed before programming can be implemented safely and effectively.
Members understand that rehabilitation and the public safety are not competing objectives.
Both are essential, but a program on paper is only as effective as the staffing, training, supervisors, space security, and resources available to support it.
Additional staffing must translate into actual substantial coverage.
Recruitment and retention efforts, including strategies reduced turnover rate, appropriate training before employees are assigned to these demanding facilities,
The resources necessary to protect both employees and the young adults.
We need staffing plans that reflect the actual conditions inside these facilities, not simply the number of positions announced in a press release.
Ongoing violence require immediate intervention.
This is one of the most urgent concerns.
Okay.
This is one of our most urgent concerns is the violence dealing in both of these facilities.
Our position is straightforward.
There's a big disconnect between
The agency, the leadership of this agency, and our members is a big disconnection that they're not adhering to.
That's more extremely why we're dealing with
a crisis and they have no urgency of the way they're dealing with this crisis, no urgency whatsoever.
Thank you for giving us the time to testify and we look forward to any questions and answers you may have.
Thank you.