Money for JDC Renovation is Appropriated
New Training for Employees to be Implemented

At the Wednesday, May 9th meeting of theNassau County Legislature, the long awaited decision to appropriate the money for improvements at the Nassau County Juvenile Detention Center was approved.

Since the CSEA press conference at the facility on March 28, 2006 there have been minor improvements to the facility, but this motion by the legislature will open the door for the planning stage as a company has been selected to come in and see exactly what has to be done as far as renovations are concerned. That walkthrough is scheduled to be soon, and then a contract will be drawn up from those findings.

“This is certainly a long process,” Tony Tafuro of the JDC said. “But this is a good sign, and a good step forward.” Any long-term timetable is difficult to figure at this time. According to Tafuro, who has 34 years of experience at the facility, half the funds for the project will be put up by the state, just as long as they follow state guidelines.

In addition to the potential improvements to the building, there is an impending improvement of the current staff as well. Tafuro has been working on implementing a new training program for JDC employees which would be the same training given to Nassau County Correction Officers. Some of the topics that will be taught include report writing, CPR, first aid, and learning how to cope with stressful situations.

“The staff is very happy with this new credible training,” Tafuro said. With this complete overhaul of the JDC, the future is bright for this over 50 year old facility. “You can fix the building all you want, but that’s just as good as the staff you have working inside of there,” Tafuro said in summation.

CSEA Local 830 President Jerry Laricchiuta added to that and said, “This is a major step forward to improve both the sanitary conditions in the facility, and to train our members to do their jobs more effectively than they ever have before.”