TULSA, Oklahoma – The Tulsa County Detention Center (also known as the Family Center for Juvenile Justice, or FCJJ) is under a 60-day probation order from the Oklahoma Juvenile Authority, a state agency, after a lawsuit was filed alleging widespread abuse. It also follows the arrest of two former prison guards accused of sexual abuse and years of documented problems.
The Tulsa-based nonprofit Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice has been saying for months that a temporary closure is the best solution to fix a systemic problem.
“The problem with running a juvenile correctional center is that it never stops, so you can’t restart anything, it’s always running, kind of like the post office,” said Colleen McCarty, executive director of Oklahoma Appleseed. She believes a closure would give facility managers time to retrain staff and give FCJJ a fresh start.
On the agenda for the upcoming Tulsa County Board of Commissioners meeting is to discuss contracts for five additional detention centers to make room for FCJJ residents “should the need arise.” However, 2 News learned from a Tulsa County spokesperson that these plans are not related to preparing for a facility closure, but rather in the event of a staffing shortage. Detention centers have rules regarding resident-to-staff ratios. The spokesperson said the contracts were entered into as a precautionary measure, but were not necessary because the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office has been helping with staffing in recent weeks.
Joe Dorman, executive director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, calls FCJJ’s situation “catastrophic” in his recent column, but opposes closing it. He says the building is not the problem and he thinks it is much nicer than surrounding facilities. He said the children would be farther from home and their legal resources. He agrees that the staff needs to be replaced.
“Closing it would be very dangerous for the stability and access of these individuals,” he said. “I’m not opposed to the fact that we need to overhaul staff and tighten the reins immediately, but relocating these children would be a drastic mistake.”
There has been no personnel “restructuring” since the allegations surfaced. Some of the defendants named in the lawsuit are no longer employed by FCJJ, but at last check, eight of them are still employed. This means that many of the children accused of abuse are still being cared for by the alleged perpetrators.
Dorman says House Bill 2313, vetoed by Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2021, would have given more authority to the state’s inspection authorities and “would have helped prevent this disaster.” Dorman is in talks with lawmakers to reintroduce the bill in the upcoming legislative session.
Additionally, Appleseed sent a letter this week to all lawmakers, including Deputy Senator Greg Treat and House Speaker Charles McCall, calling for the creation of a special committee to investigate incarcerated youth.
“We believe the entire system needs to be investigated,” McCarty said. “Particularly with regard to the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice, but we have also received tips from other facilities because we have been working on it quite intensively.”
2 News has reached out to Senator Treat’s office and said they are reviewing Appleseed’s letter and are negotiating with Appleseed about possible next steps.
2 News also learned that the civil suit is likely to cost far more than the county’s legal budget, with a monthly bill totaling $42,000, according to a letter from Tulsa County’s senior budget analyst sent to the Tulsa County Budget Committee.
The budget for fiscal year 2025 was originally $100,000. At a recent budget meeting, the budget was tripled to $300,000.
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