Concord youth detention center worker tests positive for COVID-19

CONCORD, N.C. — A staff member at the Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center in Concord self-reported a positive test for coronavirus on Friday. The Cabarrus Health Alliance has recommended that all residents at the Juvenile Justice section be tested for COVID-19 over the next few days.

The employee told their managers of the possible exposure on May 10 and did not return to work after that date. They became symptomatic on Wednesday, the day they were tested for coronavirus.

There have been no confirmed COVID-19 infections of children in North Carolina’s Juvenile Justice facilities.

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All staff members thought to be in close contact with the individual will be tested and quarantined.

“When we learned of our staff member’s potential exposure earlier this week, we placed on quarantine two juvenile living units where potential contact could have occurred as a standard precaution,” said Peter Brown, director of Stonewall Jackson YDC. “We are monitoring the children on these units twice a day for fever and/or symptoms. Though to date no juveniles have displayed any symptoms associated with COVID-19, we are taking the step of testing all children out of an abundance of caution.”

The facility is practicing social distancing within its individual living units and common areas.

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“We appreciate the quick and proactive assistance of the Cabarrus Health Alliance in this testing initiative at Stonewall Jackson YDC,” said William Lassiter, deputy secretary for Juvenile Justice. “Through implementation of operational changes during this pandemic, Juvenile Justice has been following strict policies and procedures to reduce the opportunities for the potential spread of the virus in all our facilities, and to protect the health and well-being of our staff and the children who are in our care.”

Some of these operational changes include:

Suspending visitation and volunteer activities at all juvenile justice facilities, until conditions are deemed safe.
Placing all juvenile detention center/crisis and assessment center admissions in medical room confinement for up to 14 days or until cleared by a medical provider to join the general population.
Screening all juveniles prior to transportation.
Placing into medical room confinement all juveniles in secure custody with symptoms while investigating the source of their medical issues.
Rescheduling all non-critical off-site medical appointments.
Presenting specific educational information and training at facilities for staff members and youths around COVID-19 safety precautions
Posting informational literature in all facilities to stress the washing of hands and other preventive measures juveniles, staff and visitors can take to reduce the spread of diseases.
Decreasing the number of youths in detention through the utilization of electronic monitoring.
Suspending home visits for youth committed to a youth development center and deferring the requirement that a juvenile complete all pre‐release home visits before being released from a youth development center.
Increasing the number of phone calls permitted between juveniles and their families.
Increasing the use of telehealth services, to include the provision of mental health services.
Handling necessary court hearings via video conference.

A full list of these changes is included here: DPS Actions in Juvenile Justice.