SALEM, W.Va. — Officials with the state Division of Juvenile Services said, as of Thursday, the last of the juveniles being held at the Harriet B. Jones Treatment Center in Harrison County had been transferred off the Salem property.
Earlier this year, Mercer County Circuit Judge Omar Aboulhosn ordered the moves because of conditions at the facility in response to a lawsuit from Mountain State Justice alleging a number of problems. The deadline for compliance with the order was Monday, Sept. 30.
The 16 juveniles who were being treated at the Harriet B. Jones Treatment Center following sexual crimes were transferred to the Sam Perdue Juvenile Center in Mercer County on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, the juveniles requiring behavioral and mental health services moved to the James “Tiger” Morton Juvenile Center in Kanawha County.
There are eleven juvenile detention facilities in West Virginia.
The former Salem Industrial Home for Youth, which is located on the same site as the Harriet B. Jones Treatment Center, is already in the process of being converted into the Salem Correctional Center which will eventually house as many as 400 adult inmates.
State Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein said adults could start being moved into that site within the next few weeks.