State to Close Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility

Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Juvenile Justice Working Group announced what they’re calling “transformational changes across Ohio’s state and local juvenile justice system.”

The group says the Ohio Department of Youth Services should replace its three large detention centers with numerous smaller facilities. The first to close would be the 180-bed Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility in Highland Hills. It will be replaced with four 36-bed buildings with specialized units, DeWine announced in a news release.

DeWine and the justice group are also urging ODYS to create community correctional facilities in Cuyahoga, Franklin and Hamilton counties because “youth are closer to home and better connected with family, which generally leads to better outcomes upon release.”

The justice group and DeWine also made numerous other recommendations. For a national perspective on the juvenile justice detention crisis, read our piece here.

This article was first published by The Marshall Project , a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters , and follow them on Instagram , TikTok , Reddit and Facebook .