THE PLANTATION IS DUE TO CLOSE IN MAY 2018, RESIDENTS AND EMPLOYEES CAST TO THE WINDS

The word about Connecticut Juvenile Training School is that it is due to close May 2018. It has been determined by those people in positions of power, that CJTS must close due to ineffectiveness in treating male residents. For years Key Stone Cops administrators at CJTS were unable to effectively steer that facility through crisis with employees, nor with other issues. Finally in desperation -in order to get the heat off them- management blamed ALL of CJTS woes on Youth Service Officers harsh restraint of residents. What makes this story so sad is how YSO's could have banded together and held management accountable for all the dysfunctional antics at that facility. Instead many YSO's chose to place blame on several courageous employees, who filed a lawsuit of racial discrimination against CJTS in 2010. The YSOs and staff blamed former employees Cornell Lewis, Scott Beck, and current employees  YSO Kevin Strachan, supervisor Linette Gaunichaux and YSO Veronica Rogers for the lawsuit. Fear, cowardice, and ignorance were causes for YSOs et al. not standing up to management before and after filing of this lawsuit.

Now the chickens have come home to roost. A former employee who secretly worked for management became a whistleblower. This person provided documents to legislators et al. about so called abuse of residents by staff. Enemies of CJTS jumped on this news like a chicken on a June Bug. Politicians visited CJTS, held press conferences about possible resident abuse. When things really got hot and publicity focused on plantation management, then a black male YSO named Dupree was sacrificed as the prime example of negative client restraints. Yeah you got it, the youthful, muscle bound black man as King Kong. Dupree got ALL the blame for CJTS woes People overlooked white male management i.e. how they ran that facility into the ground.

Now the final curtain is about to fall. The fat lady is singing behind stage curtains and YSOs are soon to be cast to the winds. Rumor has it some YSOs will go to Correctional facilities, Whiting Forensic facility, or another detention institution. White administrators will be placed in other state facilities where no one will know about how CJTS was managed badly. All of this sad scenario could have been avoided if YSOs organized behind activists at that facility and called management out.

However fear, cowardice, and ignorance caused employees to remain silent. Now in May 2018 a facility will close. Residents are scheduled to be sent to other facilities.