Youth in care of Oregon’s largest juvenile correctional facility are too often introduced into gangs, subjected to sexual assault and don’t receive adequate mental health treatment or rehabilitation while in custody, a Marion County grand jury found. The grand jury finished its investigation into MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility last week and identified 25 concerns at the facility, including contraband weapons and drugs, staff training and decreasing compliance with facility rules. The lack of resources contributes to an environment that puts staff at risk of injury and burnout, the review found. “In sum, the grand jury investigation revealed systemic challenges creating what is best described as ‘cascading failures,’” the report said. “These challenges affect the safety of youth and staff, youth rehabilitation, facility staffing levels and organizational stability.” The 63-page report on the jury’s findings was made public Monday.  It included 17 recommendations for improvements. Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson convened the grand jury in June, after her office received more than 100 investigations into sexual assaults, escapes and other possible criminal conduct at the facility. READ IT: Grand jury MacLaren report “Youth being served at Oregon’s closed custody facilities deserve to have the opportunity for rehabilitation in a safe and stable environment,” Clarkson said in a Monday statement. “This is only a starting point and should serve as a catalyst for policy makers, state leaders and experts to address these concerns and do better for both our youth and our communities.” The grand jury also issued 10 indictments for criminal conduct at MacLaren it reviewed during its examination of evidence for the report. Details about who was indicted or the alleged crimes were not included in the report, and were not immediately available from the district attorney’s office. “OYA embraces transparency as the cornerstone of public confidence. We were grateful for the opportunity to support Marion County’s grand jury process, and we thank the jurors and staff for their work,” Oregon Youth Authority spokesman Will Howell said in an emailed statement. “The report confirms our internal assessments, and the public can have full confidence that work is well underway to address the concerns within OYA’s control and budget.” The facility, which is in Woodburn, is run by the Oregon Youth Authority, the state juvenile justice agency. At the time of the report, MacLaren housed around 154 boys and young men. Though intended as a youth correctional facility, about 60% of MacLaren’s population is over 18. That’s because state law says youth up to age 25 convicted of crimes as juveniles can remain in a youth facility. The grand jury concluded MacLaren’s struggles are in part due to the facility being asked to fill so many roles. “How can MacLaren be both a normative environment for juveniles and adults, while still maintaining its role as a correctional facility for adults, many of whom committed violent conduct?” the report asks. MacLaren has been under statewide scrutiny after dozens of lawsuits were filed this year alleging sexual abuse and misconduct by staff. Gov. Tina Kotek fired Joe O’Leary, the agency’s former director, in March following an investigation that found the agency mishandled around 3,000 abuse complaints since 2018, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported earlier this year. That prompted Clarkson to open a more detailed review of the facility. Youth correctional facilities regularly get reviewed by grand juries, but previous reports have been brief, with only several pages of notes. “Unfortunately, the more we learn regarding what occurred under OYA’s former leadership, the more that I believe that I should use every tool I have to ensure that both youth and the staff who serve them are safe,” Clarkson said in June. Her office said it planned to work on the inquiry with an attorney from the Oregon Department of Justice due to the volume of cases it would need to review. The findings released Monday are the product of reviewing hundreds of pages of documents, listening to over 40 hours of testimony and holding 13 inquiry sessions, according to the report. The report’s key findings focus on the physical safety and wellbeing of MacLaren youth, staff responsibilities and training and the facility’s security.  Juvenile safety The report calls for more action and investigation into sexual misconduct and abuse of youth at MacLaren, who range in age from 12 to 25. The grand jury provided no specific recommendation for the facility. “The issue of sexual abuse in a closed custody facility is expansive in scope and complexity. It needs further and deeper investigation than this grand jury can meaningfully address,” the report said. “However, to ensure the safety of youth in MacLaren, allegations of sexual abuse must be promptly and thoroughly investigated, and resolved in a timely manner.” The Oregon Youth Authority’s office responsible for investigating abuse and misconduct suffered from an extreme backlog of complaints at the start of 2025. Along with the backlog, the office failed to conduct timely investigations and provide care for youth who reported harm, the report said. The Marion County District Attorney’s Office is currently prosecuting two cases of sexual abuse and misconduct by MacLaren staff, according to Brendan Murphy, Marion County chief deputy district attorney. Another key finding was increasing gang activity at MacLaren, made worse by a lack of resources for staff to intervene. Youth who enter MacLaren unaffiliated with a gang will likely become gang-affiliated while in custody, according to grand jury testimony. MacLaren youth and staff, family members and community members described increasing gang activity at the facility, including physical assaults and threats, contraband and graffiti, the report said. Some contraband makes its way to youth by being thrown over the chain link fence surrounding the facility, according to the report. Despite the increase in gang activity, MacLaren does not currently have a program intended to intervene with youth affiliated with gangs, the grand jury concluded. Staff also reported they were either unaware of systems to document youth’s gang affiliations or told not to document them internally. “This creates a situation where youth would be placed in living units with rival, potentially competing gang members without staff being aware of and prepared for the risks of such placement,” the report said. The grand jury recommended the agency “focus on common sense, targeted focus of treatment for gang affected youth.” Mental health treatment Youth in the juvenile justice system who need ongoing or serious mental health treatment get sent to MacLaren, but the facility lacks the staffing to adequately address their problems, the report concluded. The Oregon Youth Authority, both to the grand jury and to Salem Reporter on a recent tour of the facility, maintained that MacLaren is not a mental health facility. Yet, it is tasked with providing such care for youth around the state. Almost one in five youth, 18%, at MacLaren are housed in specialized mental health units, the grand jury reported. MacLaren has “limited” staff for psychiatric care, which is done through referrals with outside providers. Of the facility’s 16 positions for mental health professionals, 11 are filled and only one is bilingual, the report said. The grand jury recommended video appointments to meet the immediate need for care, and also further investigation into the facility’s treatment options by youth rehabilitation and mental health providers. Staff safety Safety and support were key issues also identified within MacLaren’s staff. One of the biggest issues is staffing, which has sometimes dipped to “disastrously low” levels after the Covid pandemic, the report said. Several years before the pandemic, most MacLaren staff had 15 to 20 years of experience in juvenile justice, Billy Montgomery, who works with youth at MacLaren, told Salem Reporter during a recent interview. Now half of the staff have less than five years of experience, according to the report. As more staff leave the facility, employees pick up overtime work and additional shifts, which often leads to burnout followed by more turnover, according to the report. The grand jury also found there is a “vicious cycle” of staff who take sick time to recover from burnout. “High turnover, vacancies and mandatory overtime have created a cycle that reduces morale, supervision capacity and program delivery,” the report said. “Insufficient ongoing training, mentorship and volunteer engagement further weaken facility operations.” While struggling with low staffing and overtime, MacLaren employees also lack de-escalation and conflict resolution training. Following their initial training to start the job, employees receive training once per year, according to the jury’s findings. Another issue for staff is assaults and other incidents with youth. The jury heard a range of experiences from staff, but one person testified that “Youth are in total control and staff are afraid.” Injuries to staff and youth have remained stable, according to data the Oregon Youth Authority provided to the jury. But testimony by staff and facility leadership conflicted with the data and showed a “concerning picture of incidents increasing in frequency and seriousness,” the report said. The jury’s inquiry found that MacLaren has seen a recent change in youth behavior following a decrease in older youth in custody. A state law change in 2019 allows for the earlier release of some youth which removed an older part of MacLaren’s population that provided stability, mentorship and encouraged compliance with facility policy among the younger population, the report said. “Overall, MacLaren staff described how the current population has shorter commitments with fewer incentives to comply with rules, adding to the volatility for both youth and staff,” the report said. To address rising behavioral incidents with youth, the jury recommended increased security staff, more transparency on consequences for youth who break MacLaren rules and increased staff training. Although its focus was on issues within MacLaren, the jury found that the facility has many “hardworking, dedicated staff that work diligently” with youth who are “working hard at (becoming) better versions of themselves,” the report said. Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected]. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post Grand jury finds “cascading failures” put MacLaren youth, staff at risk appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less