Cheltenham Youth Facility is ‘grim,’ says report

Building where youths sleep has been plagued by rodents and insects

Cheltenham currently houses 101 adolescent males awaiting trial or court disposition from Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties.

The report, released Monday, said youths end up sleeping in temporary ‘‘boat” beds on the floor and called the sleeping areas ‘‘grim.”

DJS Spokeswoman Tammy Brown said there are currently six youths in temporary beds.

‘‘For that facility each unit is divided by age and when we are over in a specific age group it is safer to put them in temporary beds than to combine ages,” Brown said.

Several years ago Cheltenham housed around 300 youths, said Superintendent Reginald Garnett. However the maximum capacity has been lowered to 110 youths after the United States Department of Justice toured the facility in 2003 and concluded the longstanding conditions of the facility violated the constitutional and federal statutory rights of juveniles confined there.

The report also states that rodent and insect problems have plagued the infirmary building where youths sleep and that bathrooms are worn down to the point that they are ‘‘virtually impossible to clean.”

To the recommendation that buildings should be torn down, DJS responded in a written statement that they maintain clean and safe facilities.

Many former problems at Cheltenham, including staffing shortages and subsequent overtime have been adequately addressed, said the report. Eighteen new staff members have been hired in the last six months and the current staff to youth ratio is 1-8.

DJS is seeking capital grant funding in upcoming state legislative sessions to make improvements to facilities, Brown said. She added that for the past two years, Cheltenham has been in compliance with all federal guidelines that monitor the program.

E-mail Andrea Noble at anoble@gazette.net.