Statement:
Investigations into the tragic death of the youth on Jan. 11 at Lincoln Village Regional Detention Center in Hardin County are ongoing. The Kentucky State Police is in charge of the death investigation and the Justice Cabinet’s Internal Investigations Branch is also investigating.
The Department of Juvenile Justice is reviewing video and personnel conduct to ensure policies and procedures were followed. The youth was under constant supervision through video surveillance of her room throughout the night and morning hours of January 11. The video footage of the youth’s room was under continuous monitoring by staff in the control room. Additionally, the youth had direct visual monitoring by staff at various intervals throughout the night and morning hours where staff looked in her room to see that she was sleeping and in no apparent distress.
As a result of DJJ’s internal review the agency discovered that an employee failed to make all of the 15-minute visual bed checks required by policy and this employee has been placed on special investigative leave with pay. Any further disciplinary action will depend on the outcome of internal reviews or the findings of any of the external investigations.