DYRS Emergency Preparedness Enhancements

This program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. § 11131 and supports the development and improvement of state, tribal, county, and local juvenile residential facilities with particular focus on establishing an emergency plan that ensures the continuity of operations, reduction of risk to the physical plant, and the safety and well-being of youth and staff in juvenile justice residential facilities.

The Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) is responsible for the supervision, custody, and care of young people in the District of Columbia who are either (1) detained in a DYRS facility while awaiting adjudication or (2) committed to DYRS by a DC family court judge following adjudication. The agency provides comprehensive support services to youth who have been committed to its care – in secure facilities, at drop-in centers called achievement centers, and within the community.

As part of ongoing efforts to plan and guide facilities during emergency situations, such as COVID-19, DYRS has prepared and maintains a Continuation of Operations Plan that addresses emergencies from an all-hazards approach. The plan addresses how critical operations will continue under a broad range of circumstances. It also establishes policy and guidance ensuring that critical functions continue and that personnel and resources are relocated to an alternative facility or sheltered in place in case of emergencies.

DYRS intends to use funding to support the purchase and installation of additional storage units at the two residential facilities, Youth Services Center and New Beginnings Youth Development Center. DYRS will purchase two additional units per facility, for a total of four, serving as an alternative unit that will house dry and nonperishable food supplies. These alternative units will be used for perishable food supplies upon the occurrence of emergencies affecting the facilities’ power supply.

In addition to the food storage units, DYRS seeks to purchase and install emergency generator systems to support the storage units at each facility. Each facility will receive a generator solely designated to support the alternative storage units. Emergency generator systems provide critical power supplies to the food storage units at each facility in the event of an emergency. The generator systems allow the food storage units to maintain efficacy while ensuring that food supplies will not be compromised.
CA/NCF