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Show i . I- ' x '' ' : , , V 1 - V ' 3 hi k - , . i. I i is: - - - . I Hr'.W in lroub'e- f8,' nighl.he w arrested and charged with burglary and forgery. Because of hi age he was 3-, Iroifbl lo Moweda instead of taken to jail Although Moweda can't be mistaken for jail the stark life of its residents make r ,. one keenly aware that they're here for serious reasons. The rooms are bare with nothing more than a bed. small table, toilet, a window covered with steel mesh, designed to keep someone in and a door ci which cannot be opened from the inside. L .,T.; -... - -1 pS-i ' ImtL - All personal belongings are taken when someone is admitted to Moweda, including clothes. J r : i n n n """I .! . .-( .,,..,..,,,4-, . Vw!r ""I vr::,' Tin- "ilav nwm" i wh.-re residents spi-nd most of their time. Here is when- meals are eaten anil parents runic In visit. O ' , r ) V,' t , ' 1 t : -.''-- -i - - : .pe, iiiursa .n rUiw M((s an. wa l,el,i,l .heir age in s. h,.ol so ,he Hasses are geared to try and help them in baslf education. Moweda: Place For Youths In Trouble By ROSELYN KIRK ROY - When a child or teenager in Davis County is in a crisis situation with the law and is determined to be a threat to the community, he is placed in custody at the Moweda Youth Home at Roy. Last year 15086 children between the ages of nine and 17 were booked into the center, some for as short a time as one hour. They stayed there until a determination was made whether the child should be placed in the custody of parents, sent to a shelter home or remain there until the court determined their guilt or innocence. TONY HASSELL, director of the center, says that the funding of the youth home is unique. One-half of the cost of the center is paid by the Division of Family Services, while the remainder is picked up by the three counties which the center services. The name of the center is coined from parts of the names of the three counties -Morgan, Weber and Davis Counties. The center at Roy is one of three juvenile detention centers in the state. The largest is in Salt Lake County and the other in Utah County. The Moweda Center also has contracts with Cache, Box Elder, Summit, Carbon, San Juan, Juab, Emery, Grand and Moab counties to provide incarceration in-carceration if necessary, prior to a hearing. hear-ing. ALL OF the youth are in crisis or they wouldn't be placed here, Mr. Hassell said. Since the center opened in 1971, five youths held at the center have been charged with murder. After the arresting officer makes the .choice of booking the youth at Moweda rather than taking him home, the .rehabilitation process begins immediately. immedia-tely. The average length of time the youth will stay is four to six days, although some stay several months. THE NAME is first punched into the state computer system, which prints back information on previous arrests if there are any. He is then stripped of his clothing and given levis and a shirt. This eliminates the possibility of drugs or contraband being smuggled into the center. Parents are immediately notified when a child is arrested. When it is determined by the authorities that a child should stay, he is placed in isolation for a 24-hour cooling off period in a small room with a bed and toilet facilities and is locked in. He can come out to eat and to see parents, but the isolation period is enforced to let '. the youth cool down. . , AFTER THE 24 hour period, the child is given a personality inventory and Us$achievement test. Certified teachers evaluate and administer the test and begin instruction on his individual academic level. Mr. Hassell said since most students are behind academically, most instructors instruc-tors concentrate on the basics-reading, writing and arithmetic. All instruction is individualized, with no more than 12 students in the classroom at once. TEACHERS must work quickly with students since the time is short. A hearing process is conducted on Mondays, Wednesdays Wed-nesdays and Fridays where the child, parent, probation officers, often the attorney, at-torney, and Moweda staff member meet witha court referee to determine whether the child should remain at the center or be released prior to his arraignment. He could be released prior to the arraignment either to a shelter home or to the Utah State Industrial School. In some cases if the youth is determined not to be a threat to the community, he can be released to his parents if they will accept custody. For example, Mr. Hassell said that a youth detained on a shoplifting case would not be determined a threat and could be released to his parents. PRIOR to the passage of House Bill 340, runaways and ungovernable youth were also sent to the center. Now these cases are placed under the jurisdiction of the Division of Family Services. The change in jurisdiction has changed the number of girls held in the center. During the period from 1971 to 1976 the ratio was one girl to every four boys. During 1977, after the passage of the bill, the ratio is one girl to every 10 boys. Even after the 24 isolation period if a youth should get out of control in either the classroom or in the gymnasium, he is placed immediately in isolation. This eliminates the risk that the youth along with the therapist, counselor or teacher will make judgments during a confrontation confronta-tion period. It allows each an opportunity to cool down. Intensive therapy is provided provid-ed to each youth during his stay at Moweda with psychologists from both Davis and Weber County Mental Health providing therapy. 'DOORS start opening fast," Mr. Hassell said when youth are provided intense therapy and educational opportunities. "We see a marked improvement in academic ability from day to day." Students go to school for five and one-half hours. Recreational therapy is also available where the youth play volleyball, basketball, in the gymnasium or workout on the trampoline. This is an excellent way to eliminate hostility, Mr. Hassell said. The two teams playing basketball in the gymnasium that day appeared to be normal nor-mal kids, but the rules on the gym door listed, along with the other directions, "No chaotic behavior in the gym." None are allowed in the gym without super-vision. super-vision. ONE BOY playing basketball in the gym that day was much smaller than the Photos by Kim Morris others. He looked even smaller since the golf-type shirt issued to all the boys was much too large. Mr. Hassell said the 11 year old boy had failed in five foster homes. He was now undergoing extensive testing with psychologists. The child is a habitual liar. Mr. Hassell said his future at the home was uncertain. In some cases youth have stayed as long as 165 days at Moweda. Youths brought to the center on a drug charge present a different kind of problem. If the center can't deal with the physical side effects that may result from the drug the youth is on, he is sent immediately im-mediately to St. Benedict's Hospital, Og-den. Og-den. This was the case last weekend when a youth was accepted after a drug arrest. Moweda therapists determined almost immediately that the youth was hallucinating and was losing contact with reality. THESE are the symptoms of angel dust, a dangerous drug which is becoming more widely used. The drug acts quickly and has serious side effects which can result in a coma from which the user never recovers. Mr. Hassell said the boy was taken immediately to St. Benedict's where he is presently in critical condition. Therapists can deal with the psychological effects of drugs, but not the physical at Moweda. In many cases drug users are handled by Mental Health associations as-sociations in the county. Others are taken to the hospital for care, Mr. Hassell said. THE STAFF at the center have been trained in drug workshops. The staff includes three teachers, six in-take officers, of-ficers, and five counselors, in addition to Mr. Hassell and the secretary. Eight additional staff members are on call if needed. ALTHOUGH over 15,000 youth were booked in at the center in 1977, the average occupancy during that time was 21.4. Records are kept on every phase of that incarceration but all records are destroyed when the youth reaches 18. "We don't want to label him," Mr. Hassell said. While at the center the discipline is i4 stantaneous. The incarcerated youth musl learn quickly what the rules are. If he tries to escape, he immediately loses his privileges and is locked in his room: Punishment is fast. INFRACTION of the rules against smoking result in one to six hours of punishment or for contraband one to 24 hours. "We are working at a very intense level," he said. All janitorial services are taken care of by the inmates themselves. "The kids look at it as a privilege. It is a way of getting out of their rooms and away from the other kids." Authorities feel the worst punishment is isolation in private rooms and use that to control behavior. ljtJttljlllJfmt(flt!rfs--- ' - i-yt r - -TSJ I " : K: ' I 5 , "L J 'r-'rci'-, i rr-1" STV- J : - ?T infflfriffltni,'lT : X Tlit' oiih pliirt' Mt'uin an 1h Hi.rki'il nff ir in itw pin. ami t i thai U umlrr t rii t rtilr .mil IIHT IMiHI. - r- n r i I 1 f,y .tr I - J . J Time pics sluwlv with little t" il" Iml read a few iliijr-eared books, watch lelevisi.in. or play games. , : ! i -' ' "sr "' --- - .. 4 Aiixtin uv. a iyi holuiM from Davix uu j Di'Kinnnnl of Menial Health, talks to yoiiii man during I hi fnt day at I hf renter. j |