Correctional facilities are receiving more attention for how they are being constructed and operated around the country, adopting an approach that includes more support for mental and physical health while rehabilitating inmates.
FacilitiesNet recently profiled a new correctional facility in Utah, spotlighting how lighting upgrades and more natural lighting throughout the building helps with comfort not only for inmates but for employees.
Another example of a change in philosophy is on display at a new youth justice and rehabilitation center in Scott County, Iowa, where the firm Wold Architects & Engineers designed the 33,700-square-foot facility.
According to a press release from Wold, the new Scott County Juvenile Detention Center offers a “stable environment with housing units that accommodate different levels of supervision, rooms where youth can access therapeutic services, flexible classrooms for continued education and indoor/outdoor recreation areas to encourage physical activity and social development.”
All improvements in the design are made with the hope of improving the opportunities for youth to re-enter the communities. The juvenile center has 40 beds as well as a youth assessment and referral center for non-detention community-based services, along with space for virtual court appearances and a future courtroom.
“The center represents the future of youth justice design,” says Roger Schroepfer, a Wold partner. “Rather than reinforcing confinement and punishment, this facility fosters accountability and personal growth through trauma-informed, narrative spaces along with diversionary access to community and services and counseling.”
Dave Lubach is the executive editor of the facilities market.
