Tuscaloosa, AL – The old Juvenile Detention Facility in Tuscaloosa County is to be used for a new ramped up rehabilitation program for sixteen of the state's female juvenile delinquents in most need of assistance.
The Tuscaloosa County Commission gave permission Wednesday to the Youth Services Institute, a joint operation by the University of Alabama and the state Department of Youth Services, to renovate and the facility.
The program, described as the first of its kind in Alabama, is designed to give the juveniles specialized rehabilitation to keep them out of the state's criminal system. Among these techniques will be group counseling and psychotherapy sessions.
Karen Singley, director of client and forensic services for the Youth Services Institute, hopes to have the facility open by fall 2009.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)