Luzerne County facing another crisis within its Juvenile Justice System
The effects of Kids for Cash are still felt to this day, as another crisis unfolds within the Juvenile justice system in Luzerne County and beyond.
It's been 15 years since two Luzerne County judges were accused of taking Kickbacks in exchange for sending kids to privately-run juvenile detention centers in the scandal now known as "Kids For Cash." The effects of Kids for Cash are still felt to this day, as another crisis unfolds within the Juvenile justice system in Luzerne County and beyond.
This crisis is unfolding as law enforcement has been grappling with violence and gangs among young people. Just last month, a man barely out of his teens was charged with shooting a Scranton police detective in the head. Days later, Scranton police arrested a teenager from Wilkes-Barre as he walked toward Scranton high school carrying a rifle. Many officials cite one common factor in many of these crimes.
Action 16 Investigates reporter Melissa Steininger has been working for months to uncover this hidden issue.
The Cloud
The cloud of what's become known as the "Kids for Cash Scandal" still hangs over Luzerne County, 15 years later.
It's believed to be our country's biggest judicial corruption scandal. One where the Juvenile Law Center says the lives of 2,500 kids were changed forever. But in its wake, another crisis is unfolding within Luzerne County's juvenile justice system.
"They know right now, over the last few years, you could do pretty much whatever you want. and nothing is really going to happen to you," said Kingston police Chief Richard Kotchik.
Effects of "Kids for Cash" can be found in every corner of Luzerne County, and because of it, lives are still being impacted to this day.
Inside her home in Plymouth, Sara Chicallo now clings to the memories of what her life looked like before May of last year.
“He was going to hang out with friends and an hour later a kid ran through my house and said Owen was shot. I don't know, I just dropped everything. Ran out the door,” recalled Chicallo.
Sara says her son, Owen was shot in the head at an apartment with friends on South Franklin street in Plymouth. Owen was just 14 years old at the time. Chicallo says he was found alone when the ambulance arrived.
“They should've... been there for him. He wouldn't have left them,” she says, pushing through tears.
So far, no charges have been filed in Owen's Case. The Luzerne County District Attorney tells Action 16’s Melissa Steininger, the suspected shooter should have been in juvenile detention for previous crimes at the time of the shooting, but there were no facilities available.
While Owen's recovery has been a miraculous one, his story isn't unique. Law Enforcement, school districts, and Luzerne County officials are all working to combat violence among teens in incredible numbers.
Kingston Police chief, Richard Kotchik, says his department made 144 arrests in the Wyoming Valley west Middle school during the 2021-2022 school year, alone. That's nearly one arrest, each school day.
“I took it personal. I took it personally, as I watched what was going on in these schools. I went to these schools,” said Kotchik. “The calls for service were unbelievable for violence.”
These agencies all believe it stems from one issue: a lack of detention beds.
“There is no punishment for them. we don't see anything that's being done,” added Kotchik.
The History
So, how exactly did we get here? People working on all levels of Pennsylvania's juvenile justice system believe this current crisis started with the reforms and changes that stemmed from the "Kids for Cash" scandal.
“I was always there for those kids and I resent the fact that people think I did something improper. I didn't do anything improper when it came to the care of those kids,” said former Luzerne county judge Mark Ciavarella, back in 2009.
Ciavarella and Luzerne County's former President Judge, Michael Conahan, were accused of shutting down the Luzerne County county-run juvenile detention center and accepting millions in kickbacks from the builder and co-owner of two for-profit detention centers. One of those centers was near Pittston.
Ciavarella presided over juvenile court and pushed a zero-tolerance policy that often guaranteed harsh sentences, and included placement at those facilities for minor offenses.
The two Luzerne County judges at the center of the Kids for Cash Scandal are continuing to serve their sentences.
In 2010, Judge Michael Conahan pleaded guilty to a federal charge of racketeering conspiracy, He was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. In 2020, during the pandemic, he was allowed to serve the rest of his sentence on home confinement in Florida. His sentence is scheduled to end in August 2026, when he would be 74 years old.
Judge Mark Ciavarella went to trial in 2011. A federal jury found him guilty on charges including racketeering and mail fraud. He was sentenced to 28 years. He's currently housed at a federal prison in Kentucky. He's scheduled to be released in June 2034, when he will be 84 years old.
Currently, Judge Michael Vough has served Luzerne County for the past 12 years as President Judge. It’s the role previously held by Conahan.
"Nothing that happened here would ever happen again because of the safeguards put in place by the legislature after what happened here,” said Judge Vough.
After the "Kids for Cash" scandal, there's been an overhaul of the juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania. Kids must now be represented by a lawyer throughout their entire process in juvenile court and juvenile records are easier to be expunged. All of the kids who appeared before Ciavarella between 2003 and 2008 had their records expunged... nearly 2,500 of them.
Since these changes were solidified into law, the Council of Chief juvenile probation officers reports: there's been a 74 percent decline in the number of kids getting sent to detention facilities. That stark drop prompted the closure of a dozen private and county-run detention centers across the state.
“The pendulum has swung so far to the other side, that now it's far to the other side that right now there are no consequences for their actions,” says Greater Nanticoke Area Superintendent, Dr. Ronald Grevera.
The New Crisis
Those closures of the 12 detention facilities have created a shortage of Youth Detention beds. The spaces serve as a safe place for a child to stay while their case is being handled in court, or for those who commit a crime serious enough to be removed from the community. Judge Jennifer Rogers sits on the bench for the Family and Juvenile Court of the Luzerne County Court of Common pleas.
“The frustrations with the lack of beds is not because we want to place more children. The frustrations with the lack of beds is that when we do have that rare instance where placement is necessary, we can't right now,” said Rogers.
According to the Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges' Commission, Pennsylvania currently has 513 detention center beds licensed by the state Department of Human Services. But, because there are not enough workers and staffing issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, only 366 of those beds are actually operational. Chadwick Libby is the President of the PA Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers.
“If we don't correct this, those 50% reductions in allegations are going to start skyrocketing. But we're still struggling with the infrastructure of the system because of the lack of resources,” said Libby.
About half of those operational beds were designated by the courts for kids from Philadelphia. Seven counties operate their own beds and a portion are also designated ‘shelter beds’. Which means, there are just 15 secure detention beds available to serve 60 counties across Pennsylvania. There's not a single detention bed throughout 13 counties Northeast PA, including Luzerne County.
“All of these countries are competing for the same beds, but the beds aren't in our area. So, you're competing in the Philadelphia region, Western PA. Even Ohio, our kids are getting sent to” said Luzerne County Probation Director, Kevin Perluke.
Without a single juvenile detention bed available in or near Luzerne County, probation director Kevin Perluke says the county has nowhere to house the most violent offenders. These are kids arrested for gun crimes, aggravated assaults, robbery, or fighting in schools.
“We're not looking to detain every kid that comes on juvenile probation. But there is a small amount that needs to be detained,” said Perluke. “Unfortunately they're back in the schools, they're on our case load causing stress to our probation officers, who all know they should be placed somewhere, and they're back in our communities.”
Police and Luzerne County Probation officers often drive hours and even states away to find a bed. If they do find one, the facility has the right to reject a child. They say it’s putting a strain on local police departments, county systems, and taxpayer money. Detective Steve Gibson is a juvenile detective for the Kingston police department.
“We're not doing anything with them, there's nowhere to go with them. And then if they do find a placement, outside of costs, I can say that manpower wise, it's a burden. An enormous burden,” said Gibson.
The Pennsylvania Juvenile Court Judges' Commission estimates that 12 counties throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania would need anywhere from 35 to 43 detention beds. But without a single one, Nanticoke Police Chief Michael Roke says these crimes are getting out of hand.
“We're coming back and arresting the same juveniles two, three, four times” said Roke.
Some of the young offenders are being placed on house arrest. However, officials say that’s not a solution to the issue.
“I's a safety crisis. Because, what we need to do now because we can't place them, is we put them on electronic ankle monitoring to see where they are But we’ve had children cut the monitors off, we have children run, we have children reoffend,” said Vough.
Oftentimes, those young offenders return back to the streets and even in the school hallways throughout Luzerne County.
"And they can be back in a classroom on a Monday, with or without an ankle bracelet and you not even knowing it, that's a problem,” said Dr. Grevera.
“We're failing them. We're failing the good kids, the kids that want to be there, the kids that want to learn that are afraid to go to the bathroom, the kids that are afraid to walk the halls because of violence,” added Kotchik.
Failing a community, and failing our kids It’s something Sara Chicallo also feels, as this mom from Plymouth continues to wait for answers.
“They better build another building to put these kids in, they're running around like animals. Look at my son now,” said Chicallo.
Action 16’s Melissa Steininger reached out to Former Judge Mark Ciavarella in jail, asking if he wanted to take part in this series. He declined that offer, but wrote back saying he hopes these stories bring change to the juvenile justice system.
This story is a part of the series on the issues stemming from the lack of detention beds. In part two and three our Action 16 Investigates team dives into why some believe it's contributing to the teacher shortage in Luzerne County, and what some schools in our area are doing to help curb the violence in the hallways. This series also touches on the original victims of the ‘Kids for Cash’ scandal, the changes to the juvenile court system since then, and the hundreds of millions of dollars saved since the drop in juvenile detention.