Hinds County officials have named a new director for the Henley-Young-Patton Youth Juvenile Justice Center.
Dedria Black plans to revive the troubled facility.
“I’m coming in fresh. You can’t unscramble eggs, so I can’t undo what was already done, but I can speak to the stakeholders and see where we missed the mark and what we can do to fix those gaps,” Black said. “It’s bringing me back to my roots. I’ve been in this field for about three decades. I started out with youth. It was my origin, my foundation, so I’m just coming back home.”
Black is from Forest in Scott County, but for the past eight years, she’s been in California serving as the deputy director of Lifesteps, a skills and education training program. She’s now ready for her new challenge.
“I’ve been doing my research and kind of speaking to different individuals, just really looking at some of the root causes of some of the issues that are going on,” Black said. “And then appoint interventions — that’s going to address the heart of the matter.”
The issues include retention of staff, as well as problems with fights and escapes.
“We are committed to safety. We are committed to mitigating all of that and the risk to our staff and the risk to our current youth in there,” she said.
Black was tapped for the position by County Administrator Kenny Wayne Jones. He said she is a perfect fit for the role.
“I’m quite excited about the comprehensive plan she’s talking about to come in,” Jones said.
The facility has been without an official director since Marshand Crisler resigned in February to run for Hinds County sheriff. Black is set to fully take over in two weeks.
Source : 16 Wapt