A hallway winds through the NORCOR facility in The Dalles.
Conrad Wilson / OPB
Oregon’s human rights organizations are asking Governor Kate Brown to develop a new statewide system to oversee juvenile detention facilities.
Last year, a report by Disability Rights Oregon found kids held at the Northern Oregon Regional Corrections Facility's juvenile detention center in The Dalles were enduring psychologically harmful conditions.
The report prompted a half-dozen groups, representing everyone from children to immigrants, to write a letter to the governor asking for state oversight.
Bob Joondeph with Disability Rights Oregon said, so far, only local jurisdictions like counties are responsible for maintaining standards. "Even though perhaps lip-service is given to those standards. There isn't a way to enforce them," he said.
Governor Brown has already asked for a comprehensive review of Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
In a statement, she said she is concerned about the treatment of kids at NORCOR and has told the Oregon Youth Authority not to place anyone there until improvements are made.