In the wake of a “large disturbance” at the Bernalillo County Youth Services Center — a juvenile detention center — on Christmas, the county has developed a plan to boost staffing, training, morale and emergency planning.
The plan also includes hiring a director by April 1, since the previous director, Michael Ferstl, retired last week. He had been on a personal leave of absence since September, according to a county spokesperson.
“We currently have two acting directors with Deputy County Manager Greg Perez at the helm,” said spokesperson Elizabeth Hamm in an email.
Hamm said the staff will get more training on verbal de-escalation, first aid and CPR. A six-page planning document prepared by the county also calls for morale boosting efforts — including pay incentives, weekly visits by a crisis response clinician, a newsletter and a Valentine’s day goodie bag for the employees.
On Christmas, about 13 teenagers barricaded themselves in a cell block, demanding chicken wings and falsely claiming they had taken hostages. The stand-off lasted for about five hours and officials say it cost $100,000 in damages. Three of the juveniles were charged in relation to the incident.
In early January, parents of the jailed juveniles released their own demands, including that their children get healthy food served on time, clean laundry, access to school programs and books, and the end of strip searches and prolonged confinement.
The county’s long-term efforts include requesting $1 million for improving the facility and outsourcing laundry to a commercial vendor.
The average time that teenagers are staying in the facility has increased over the past several years — from 20 days in Fiscal Year 2019 to 40 days in Fiscal Year 2023 — according to the planning document. The number of teenagers who have been locked up for more than a year has also doubled in that time — from seven to 16. Hamm said there are 45 juveniles in the facility right now.
The planning document identifies a shortage of staff as “the highest concern” and states that the facility lost many employees during the pandemic due to many factors, including retirement.
“The Bernalillo County Youth Services Center is currently in the company of other juvenile and adult facilities around the nation who are facing shortages and lack of interest in the field of corrections and public safety,” the document states.
Hamm said there are 35 employees at the YSC right now but by March 26 there will be 64. The ultimate goal is to have 80.
In a statement, Deputy County Manager Perez said the Christmas Day incident was a “wake-up call.” He said many of the county’s efforts to improve conditions are already in place.
“We understand changes are needed so residents and staff are always safe,” Perez said. “We have had difficulty with staffing and are addressing that through hiring events and increased training sessions.”