$700,000 OK’d to reopen troubled Red Rock juvenile facility

The Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee on Thursday unanimously approved a transfer of about $700,000 for state officials to get the troubled Red Rock Academy ready to reopen in September.

The decision didn’t come without questioning from state lawmakers as to how the state got this far if there were many noncompliance issues at the juvenile correctional facility in North Las Vegas, especially having an on-site state monitor.

The state had a contract with Rite of Passage, a nonprofit, to run the facility in Clark County.

“How did we get this far down the road without knowing?” asked Sen. Debbie Smith, D-Sparks. “I’m puzzled.”

A total of $674,912 that the state would have used to pay Rite of Passage will be used to replace hundreds of windows covered with graffiti, fix torn floors and replace damaged equipment.

The state has also submitted a budget amendment for the Legislature to consider for fiscal year 2016-17 operations at Red Rock. State officials are requesting approval for the state to run the facility. If that is approved by the Legislature, the facility would reopen Sept. 1.

The state plans to hire 61 employees and budget it for up to 50 juveniles. The facility would start operating with a small number of juveniles and employees.

State officials explained that they tried to work out improvements with Rite of Passage, but they got to a point where they weren’t seeing the results they wanted to see. Several reviews found noncompliance issues with supervision and security.

The trigger, in recent weeks, to end the relationship with the independent contractor included issues identified in the facility’s medical unit and continued noncompliance. Two state nurses with the state’s Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance were concerned about the lack of having a registered nurse employed to provide oversight to the medical unit.

There was no single event at the facility that prompted the state to close it, state officials said.

“We didn’t wait for an event,” said Richard Whitley, interim director for the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. “At some point, when they are noncompliant, the risk is great.”

There was no mention of the three youth who escaped from the facility in late April 2014.

Smith asked why money needs to be spent on the facility.

Amber Howell, administrator for the state’s Division of Child and Family Services, which oversees the state’s three juvenile correctional facilities, said a number of things need to be replaced such as the gym floor and cell windows, which are significantly damaged, and that circles back to supervision issues.

Assemblywoman Robin Titus, R-Wellington, said she had expressed concerns for months. She cited the event that happened at the Silver State Academy, a private juvenile facility on Paiute tribal land in Yerington.

The Silver State Academy, also run by Rite of Passage, recently had its fourth riot in four months, which left an employee injured and two buildings burned.

She said it took such an event to happen for the state to remove the juveniles from that facility.

“I would encourage you to learn from mistakes,” she said.

The state closed Red Rock in March.

The state and Rite of Passage signed an amicable contract amendment, which the nonprofit has challenged and the state contends is lawful. The nonprofit late last month sought to revoke the amendment.

Currently, no litigation is pending, Howell said.

The grand opening for the facility was June 1, 2000. It was being run by Youth Services International, an independent contractor, according to a state’s timeline. Exactly a year later on June 1, 2001, a “roof-top” riot erupted there.

The state terminated the contract and the facility closed in March 2002.

It reopened in Jan. 26, 2004, and it was run by the state. In 2010, it closed due to budget cuts.

There were also issues when the state ran the facility, Mike Willden, chief of staff for Gov. Brian Sandoval’s office, acknowledged Wednesday. But he said the issues were not as bad as problems seen when the facility was run by contractors.

He added: “It’s not like we negotiated corrective action, we implemented corrective action. You terminate employees and you make quick changes.”

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Find her on Twitter: @yeseniaamaro