Report reveals widespread disparities, shocking conditions in some JDCs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2026
Disability Rights North Carolina (DRNC) today issued a public report finding that youth in NC’s Juvenile Detention Centers (JDCs) receive dramatically different treatment, education services, and other rehabilitative opportunities depending on the facility in which they are detained. Most of the facilities violate state policies regarding their operations, and multiple facilities even use solitary confinement – including as a punitive measure.
The report, “Behind Locked Doors: Inside North Carolina’s Juvenile Detention Centers,” follows a 13-month monitoring initiative from July 2024 through August 2025 that included multiple visits to the state’s then 14 existing JDCs and nearly 400 in-person interviews with youth confined in the facilities.
DRNC staff initiated this project to assess conditions in these facilities based on concerning reports about conditions in particular JDCs. DRNC’s project uncovered appalling conditions in some JDCs, including heavy reliance on solitary confinement-like conditions, little to no educational services, and descriptions of being treated like animals.
‘Paul’, a teenager who was previously held within a state-operated JDC that used solitary confinement, described his experience as “pure torture.” He added, “If I could change anything, it would be to not be locked up in a small space with nothing to do for over 23 and a half hours out of the day, be allowed to go outside, for them to teach us something or have sessions of counseling services.”
“I have truly seen animals treated better,” said ‘Ms. Angela Daniels’, ‘Paul’’s mother.
“The conditions that the state has allowed to exist for a significant number of children in JDCs are shocking,” said Elijah Moffe, staff attorney at DRNC, who was part of the monitoring initiative.
At the same time, DRNC’s project also discovered facilities that engaged in best practices allowing kids to feel safe and supported, with educational services and other opportunities for rehabilitation to promote community safety and youth well-being. For kids in the facilities between those two bookends of experiences, the services and treatment vary widely.
“The humanity with which a young person is treated, and the opportunities they are given, should not depend on the facility to which they are assigned,” said Cari Carson, Education Team Supervising Attorney, who led this project.
The State swiftly closed one facility – a detention center operated by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and contracted by the State – after DRNC staff reported, and child protection authorities investigated and substantiated, dangerous and abusive practices against the 21 youth who were living there. Currently, the state Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP) contracts with three other county-operated JDCs in Brunswick, Durham, and Guilford counties.
The State’s juvenile justice system operates through the NC Department of Public Safety. The juvenile justice system was created with the understanding that young people require rehabilitative support and services because their brains are still developing, and they are more acutely vulnerable in a carceral setting. JDCs were built to house youth who are awaiting resolution of their charge(s). This includes youth who have been adjudicated and are awaiting placement in another setting, such as a Youth Development Center (YDC), group home, or psychiatric residential treatment center.
While JDCs were originally developed to be temporary settings, youth now stay much longer. This creates complex issues for facility leaders and state juvenile justice administrators.
Each of DRNC’s monitoring visits concluded with reports to facility and state leadership about the conditions our staff learned about and witnessed. In some instances, such as the Madison County facility, the response was immediate. Others resulted in some improvements in conditions. Still, as the report details, much work remains to improve the conditions in JDCs.
Nationally, up to 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have a disability. In NC, 97.7% of youth in YDCs have at least one mental health diagnosis. Since youth in YDCs have been transferred there from JDCs, it is highly likely that many, if not most, of the youth in JDCs have at least one mental health diagnosis. How NC treats these youth has a tremendous impact on what their futures will look like.
“Having conversations with the young people, hearing about their hopes, goals, and dreams for their lives, was uplifting. So many wanted an opportunity to become successful, but that hope often stood in stark contrast to some of the horrifying conditions they reported to us as DRNC monitors,” said Glynnis Hagins, a DRNC attorney. Debbie Thome, senior advocate at DRNC affirmed this, adding: “JDCs must be places where children can feel supported to make positive changes that will help them achieve their goals.”
Key Findings:
- The majority of DJJDP JDCs and the county-operated JDCs violate DJJDP policies regarding conditions of confinement, discipline, education, and/or recreation, significantly reducing opportunities for young people to engage in services that will enable them to be successful in their lives and communities.
- There are significant special education identification and implementation problems at multiple JDCs that require intensive investigation, training, and resourcing by DJJDP and the NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI).
- A county-operated JDC in Durham County uses a room youth called “the Hole,” a draconian and dehumanizing small room where kids reported they are given only a mattress and must urinate and defecate into a hole in the floor.
- The JDCs, both state and county-operated, vary widely in providing a rehabilitative environment, ranging from those that stand out positively to those with highly concerning practices detrimental to youth well-being and outcomes.
Key recommendations:
- DJJDP must ensure all state and county-operated JDCs uniformly follow its policies by developing an accountability process that will monitor compliance.
- DJJDP must eliminate the use of solitary confinement in all state and county-operated facilities.
- DJJDP and DPI must ensure state and federal laws and DJJDP policies regarding educational services are implemented and practiced in all state and county operated JDCs.
- DJJDP and Durham County must prohibit Durham County Youth Home’s use of the Hole under any circumstances.
For parents/legal guardians of youth in a North Carolina JDC, this tip sheet offers suggestions for advocating for your youth.
###
About Disability Rights North Carolina
Disability Rights North Carolina is the federally mandated protection and advocacy (P&A) system in North Carolina, dedicated to advancing the rights of all people with disabilities, of all ages, statewide. DRNC is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and a member of the National Disability Rights Network. Learn more about Disability Rights North Carolina at disabilityrightsnc.org.
Contact:
Cari Carson, Supervising Attorney, Education Team
Cari.carson@disabilityrightsnc.org