NEWBURY, Vt. (AP) - State officials are hoping to open a proposed six-bed juvenile detention facility in Newbury by the end of the year to replace the state’s only such facility, the Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Essex, that closed in October.
The nearly 280-acre property at the end of a rural road in the small town of Newbury has served as a 12-bed treatment center for children since 2013. The plans includes about $3.2 million in renovations to convert the building to a secure facility, with secure windows, electronically controlled doors, a video monitoring system, new lighting, a wire mesh fence around the outdoor recreation space and a backup generator, the Valley News reported on Saturday.
Becket Family of Services, which owns the property and would run the facility, will need to get a permit from Newbury Development Review Board and a license to operate the program from the state. Becket is based in Orford, New Hampshire.
The Vermont Department for Children and Families and Becket were still working through the details of a contract, DCF Commissioner Sean Brown told the Valley News on Friday.
Children and teenagers are expected to stay at the secure treatment center for less than four months, in time for staff to assess their needs and help them to move on to a less restrictive setting, officials said.
At public forums about the proposal, some neighbors said they are concerned about housing such a facility in their small rural community.
It “threatens my perception of Newbury as being a safe place to live,” said Joanne O’Meara, who lives within walking distance of the proposed center and noted that the town does not have its own police.
The select board, and state and Becket officials have agreed to participate in another discussion on March 18.
The Woodside Juvenile Rehabilitation Center in Essex closed after a disability right’s group sued it over use of restraints and was empty when it shuttered in October.
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