NEWS RELEASE
7/21/98
Patton announces site for maximum juvenile facility
FRANKFORT - Gov. Paul Patton will officially announce the site for the new Adair County Department of Juvenile Justice maximum-security facility at 3 p.m. (CST) Tuesday, July 21 in the Cranmer Dining Hall at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia.
"Constructing a juvenile facility in this area of the state is essential for it will provide juvenile services, and employment and business opportunities," Patton said. "This project is a major step in the right direction toward changing the face of juvenile crime in Kentucky and assuring safe communities."
The new facility fits into Patton’s commitment to strengthening Kentucky’s juvenile justice system by becoming a replacement for Central Kentucky Youth Development Center in Louisville - the state’s current maximum-security juvenile facility.
"The Governor and I are very excited about this new, state-of-the-art, 80-bed secure facility," Juvenile Justice Commissioner Dr. Ralph E. Kelly said. "The new facility will assist us in our goal of providing quality services for juvenile offenders, and I thank Gov. Patton and the Legislature in their efforts to continue progress in juvenile care."
The Adair County facility will house male and female serious offenders. Structured programs will be an essential part of the facility’s components, and juveniles will attend educational instructions that will include vocational training. Group, individual, and family counseling will be a part of the treatment plan, along with psychological and medical services.
Juveniles will participate in daily fitness and recreational programs and will be required to perform in a work-performance program within the institutional grounds.
The cost of the project is $8.4 million, and the facility will employ approximately 75 persons. Completion of the project is scheduled for the spring of 2000.
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NOTE: Directions to Lindsey Wilson College: Take the Bluegrass Parkway to Springfield exit towards Lebanon. Take Highway 55 South to Columbia, at the 1st stop light take a left for ½ mile, and Lindsey Wilson is on the right.