Civil Rights Division Moves to Dismiss Court-Ordered Agreement Regarding Leflore County Juvenile Detention Center

Today, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced that it has moved to dismiss a 2015 Court-Ordered Settlement Agreement regarding the Leflore County Juvenile Detention Center (the Center) in Greenwood, Mississippi because the Center has achieved sustained substantial compliance with all areas of the Settlement Agreement.  

The Center implemented reforms to ensure that children are not subjected to undue restraint use; children who feel suicidal or need to talk to mental health are connected to a mental health provider within hours; children are not punished with isolation and instead receive programs and activities that include cooking and robotics classes; sleeping rooms are clean and have appropriate beds. Additionally, the Center implemented an outstanding compliance review system and staff misconduct is taken seriously and handled professionally.

“All children deserve to be protected from harm,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “We thank the Center’s leadership and staff for their commitment over the years to ensuring safety for these children and for the community of Leflore County.”

“The counties and municipalities that this center serves can now move forward, knowing that when they make use of this facility to hold juveniles, that they can do so with the knowledge that these youths are held safely in a constitutionally compliant manner,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner for the Northern District of Mississippi.