St. Charles youth center employees: We're not safe

Two months after being attacked by a juvenile in custody at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles, employee Maria Johnston Becker is still recovering.

Becker, a teacher at the state-owned facility, said she was punched in the face several times by a boy in the hallway on June 28. She fell backward, hit her head and was knocked unconscious. It was the second time this year she had been assaulted.

Several weeks later, Becker still has frequent headaches, as well as pain and swelling in her head and neck. She has yet to return to the job she otherwise has grown to love.

"We have some really good kids at IYC St. Charles, and I have a really good rapport with my students, but there are real problems," Becker said. "No employee, no counselor, no security (officer), no teacher should have to expect assaults as part of their job."

She was among dozens of employees who picketed outside the medium-security facility Monday to protest unsafe conditions and demand more severe consequences for the juvenile detainees who attack staff members and one another. Workers standing along Route 38 held up signs and banners with phrases such as "Unsafe conditions lead to violent assaults," and "Employees have rights too."

AFSCME Local 416, which represents 400 employees at youth centers in St. Charles and Warrenville, is now calling on the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice to improve staffing levels, provide better training to employees and strengthen its policies to prevent future violence, union President Ashley Landrus said. The St. Charles facility can hold up to 348 male juveniles.

"What I'm hoping for is a safer work environment for everyone who works in DJJ," she said. "(The youth) run the facility ... and it's out of hand."

Though historically understaffed, the juvenile justice department has recently increased hiring and now exceeds federal staffing standards at all facilities, Spokesman Mike Theodore said. The department also provides training opportunities for employees in areas such as conflict de-escalation, crisis intervention and appropriate use of force, he said.

"The department is deeply committed to improving the safety and climate of our facilities while providing constitutionally required, effective programming," Theodore said. "To accomplish these goals, we have and will continue to focus on hiring, training, and minimizing the use of solitary confinement and excessive physical force to manage youth behavior."

Landrus, a juvenile justice specialist at the St. Charles facility, said staff members should be guaranteed their safety at work, and the boys in custody should not have to live in fear of being attacked by their peers. She was also the victim of an assault there in January 2016, which caused her to step up and fight for better conditions.

Workers have expressed their concerns to upper management on several occasions, she added, "But it falls on deaf ears."

However, Theodore said department takes every assault seriously and immediately launches an investigation to determine whether internal or external disciplinary action is required.

"The safety of staff and youth is of utmost importance," he said.