By
DEBORAH A. MILES The state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) has taken a radical new direction the past two years under Commissioner Gladys Carrion, a direction PEF warned would be costly.
Unfortunately, it took the death of 24-year-old Renee Greco who was bludgeoned June 8, allegedly by two youths at Avenue House, a privately operated group home in Lockport, to raise the final red flag that the state’s juvenile justice system is out of control.
Greco was a counselor at the OCFS- licensed facility where 17-year-old Robert Thousand and 18-year-old Anthony Allen, are charged with killing Greco to cover-up a $160 theft that occurred in the home.
This was not an isolated tragedy.
OCFS has been moving juvenile offenders and delinquents out of more secure state-run facilities and into communities.
On June 23, a teenager was arrested for a murder committed May 30 in Brooklyn. The teen was in an OCFS aftercare program and was released from a limited-secure residential facility March 30 despite concerns about his release from staffers.
At the end of May, a dozen youths from the privately operated Randolph Children’s Home in western NY, fought with police and staff, forcing authorities to use pepper spray to quell the melee.
And PEF has received numerous complaints from members who work in OCFS facilities, stating Carrion’s changes have created a breakdown in discipline, causing a violent environment where troubled youths assault staff and gangs intimidate other youths.
“Someone needs to be held accountable for these deaths and the way the juvenile justice system in New York has deteriorated,” said PEF President Ken Brynien.
Lawmakers, community members, youth facility staff and police are pointing the finger at OCFS Commissioner Gladys Carrion.
State Sen. Catharine Young recently announced the creation of a Special Legislative Task Force to fix the broken juvenile justice system.
Young also is calling for an investigation into the placement of the two youths charged with the Lockport murder questioning whether an unsecure facility was the proper place for youths with violent criminal backgrounds.
And Young is pushing for a wider investigation of the cutbacks and policy changes under Carrion’s command.
In the last year and a half, OCFS has closed 13 juvenile facilities and downsized three, as a cost-savings measure. Carrion has stated her focus at youth facilities is to promote recovery, healing and growth. Instead, according to PEF members from the Tryon Residential School for Girls in Johnstown, the new method has resulted in a total breakdown in enforcement of discipline and led to increased violence among the youths and against the staff.
“Through her spokesperson, Commissioner Carrion has implied that facility unrest is due in large part to employees’ intransigence to change from a correctional to a therapeutic environment. This is not only incorrect, it is insulting,” Brynien said. “Our members, including teachers, counselors and psychologists, have dedicated their careers to changing the lives of troubled youths. They now find the environment within OCFS is too unsafe and dysfunctional for them to effectively do their jobs.”
The Tonawanda News reported June 16 state Sen. George Maziarz and Assembly Member Jane Corwin met with OCFS administrators in Albany and quoted them as saying the meeting was “very disappointing.”
Brynien said Gov. David Paterson needs to hold Carrion accountable for her actions and the direction she has taken OCFS.
“Our goals for troubled youths must be balanced by public safety, safety of staff and safety of the youths. These tragic deaths bring us to the conclusion the commissioner has crossed the line.”
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