By: Bryce Steiner
A boy named Sam was arrested after having a physical altercation with his father. It was obvious he was suffering from severe mental illness when he would crawl into the fetal position, suck his thumb, stop talking mid-sentence, and bang his head against the wall. He had multiple personalities, including a girl’s, a cowboy, and a wolf. His diagnoses also included OCD, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Gender Dysphoria, Insomnia, ODD, Personality Changes, Tourette Syndrome, Other Specified Schizophrenia Spectrum, and Psychosis.
Sam, ultimately, admitted to the Domestic Violence charge. Paulding County Juvenile Judge, Michael Wehrkamp, heard the case and knew that Sam had to get placement with Mental Health experts to get help that would not be available in a detention center. Dozens of hours were spent trying to get Sam in a Mental Health facility, but due to the nature of the crime, it was not possible and nobody would/could take him.
Outpatient treatment provided was trying to integrate him back in the community, but it failed, and so Sam sat in a detention center for months. While in detention Sam caused problems with peers, staff, and harmed himself. He required regular trips to the emergency room.
This continued for months with different options from the state and trying to get Sam the help he needed, but it did not work out, and Sam was put in the custody of DYS which is equivalent of adult prison for youth. Sam is now mixed with youth who have committed very serious crimes such as rape and murder.
“I think about Sam every day. It’s a heavy burden to bear when you’re the one who signed the order committing the child to DYS,” Judge Wehrkamp continued downtrodden, “knowing the system failed him and DYS is not the best place for him.”
Judges from the 10 county area were in attendance for this speech by Wehrkamp at the Juvenile Residential Center of Northwest Ohio for the Legislative Luncheon on March 8, 2019. Local legislators were there to get input on what problems are at the facility and what might be the solution. The meeting started at 11:30 a.m. with a lunch and proceeded immediately with remarks from Judge Michael Bumb of Fulton County.
Michael Bumb gave his message about how treatment has changed over the last 30 years since he has been judge. He’s seen a reduction in treatment due to spending cuts. He also stated that we are now dealing with more serious problem kids than previously. The focus is now less on the punishment and more on the cognitive behavior training. “Unfortunately, quality treatment costs money, lots of money. This is not just treating the child. It’s to treat the whole family.” stated Bumb.
“Federal laws, not just state, cause us to constantly have to change our treatments and funding, and staff.” Said Bumb. “The northwest Ohio facility is the lowest cost per day of any of the youth correctional facilities in Ohio. Even though it is costing tax payers less it’s still not adequate.” Judge Bumb, closed, “Everyone, no matter where they are, deserves a chance to succeed.”
Michael Wehrkamp, Paulding County Judge, gave the story of Sam, whose name has been changed for the purpose of his privacy. Sam’s story is not unique. There are kids falling through the cracks because of lack of a proper mental health system.
DYS Director Ryan Gies followed up the meeting. Gies has been the director for only 7 weeks, but he has been at the youth center for 26 years. Gies stated that the numbers are actually lower than in years past for the number needing treatment, but these numbers have changed in to multi-need kids. The concentration is much higher than in 1997. “It is important to evaluate and change the behavior by changing thinking.” stated Gies. The northwest Ohio 42 bed facility was the first in the state to start with the cognitive behavior mentality, which is now the standard for these types of facilities.
Many things have not changed at the facility over the years and one thing is program fidelity. What that means is that the design of the program is carried out with its original intentions.
In focusing on the cognitive behavior Gies stated, “It’s a lot hard to undo what has been done.”
Bridget Ansberg, JRC Director, asked if there were questions and one person asked, “What is the solution for ’Sam’ if DYS is not?” Judge Michael Bumb answered by saying that there must be mental health facilities brought back. That judges need to have options to put them where they can get the psychiatric treatment needed that they won’t get from other facilities.
Rep Craig Riedel, one of the legislators in attendance, wanted to know what had happened as Judge Bumb had stated that in the past there was mental health facilities in Ohio. Bumb replied, “There were two facilities in Ohio, but they had been shutdown due to funding cuts and the idea that the problem should be dealt with locally even if the area didn’t have a way to handle the person.” Wehrkamp said he would hand the bill over to the legislators right now for passage, but he said that the roundtable discussion has to happen first so we can get the right solution passed.
Following the healthy discussion of what needs to happen was a tour of the facility where attendees were able to see the operations and visit residents of the Juvenile Residential Center.
The judges are clearly looking for a better path for these people. They are certainly wanting input and would like to see the Ohio legislature act on this critical problem in Ohio.
