The state on Monday said it’s taking steps to resolve a heating issue at a youth detention center in Baltimore after the system malfunctioned. But advocates described it as a “delayed response.”
The Maryland Office of the Public Defender and advocates with the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition raised the alarm over the downtown facility last week after public defenders learned more than 60 children were “extremely cold and at risk.”
Located on Greenmount Avenue, the center is run by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and houses children under the age of 18 who have been charged as adults and are awaiting criminal trials.
Two compressors in the youth detention center’s heating system failed, causing temperatures to drop in the male housing units and the facility’s gym, according to the DPSCS. Keith Martucci, a spokesperson for the department, said staff have been conducting hourly temperature checks and providing additional blankets and clothing.
Alice Wilkerson, the executive director of Advance Maryland, said at a press conference Monday afternoon that it’s unclear how long the children were without heat and that the issue could have been “going on for several weeks.”
“There are some things in place to make it more comfortable,” Wilkerson said. “But that does not substitute for adequate heating in the facility.”
Indoor temperatures at the facility averaged between 55 to 60 degrees for over a week, advocates said, as frigid temperatures blanketed much of Maryland since the start of December. Schools in Baltimore usually close when indoor temperatures hit below 60 degrees, said Public Defender Natasha Dartigue.
The children in the facility, however, “were forced to live in it, to sleep in it at night,” Dartigue said. “Night after night after night.”
“They’re denied the protections of childhood,” Dartigue said. “They’re denied the focus of rehabilitation that could actually change their lives.”
Classes at the detention center were canceled Wednesday evening as temperatures fell below 68 degrees, the minimum requirement under the union contract, Martucci said. Otherwise, school has continued, and classes were moved to an alternate area of the facility, he said.
DPSCS Secretary Carolyn Scruggs said staff have been focused “from the immediate start” on maintaining “safe, stable conditions” in the facility.
The state dispatched staff to New Jersey on Friday to secure four industrial-grade electric heaters, the maximum the facility’s electrical system can support, according to the news release. The heaters were installed that evening and will operate until permanent repair is made, Martucci said.
The part needed to repair the heater was expected to arrive Monday after the state issued an emergency procurement declaration, Martucci said.
“The repair is complex but is expected to be complete by the end of the week,” Martucci said.
Correction: This story was updated to correct Alice Wilkerson's name and title.
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