The Mission of the Chester County Youth Center is to provide secure, safe custody, to promote the health and well being of youths committed to its care, and to create an environment that fosters social, emotional, intellectual and physical development.

 

In 1903, Chester County began operating a juvenile detention center. At that time, the facility was located at 228 West Gay Street in West Chester, and had a capacity of approximately 10 beds.

 

In 1971, the Juvenile Center was moved to Embreeville State Hospital, where it was located for six years. Using existing buildings that were retrofitted to meet the Center’s needs, up to six (6) females and twenty (20) males could be accommodated at any one time, with approximately sixteen (16) full-time staff.

 

In 1977, the Chester County Commissioners entered into a contract with the Delaware County Commissioners to use a wing of the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center (built in 1971) in Lima, Pennsylvania. Chester County Staff provided services for the Chester County residents, paying a per diem rate to Delaware County. The Center was a co-educational facility that was licensed by the Department of Public Welfare to house twenty residents. Although both Counties used areas such as dining and recreation, time-sharing schedules were arranged so that the Chester and Delaware County residents were kept apart.

 

In 2006, the Chester County Juvenile Detention Center moved from Lima, Pa, to a newly built facility at 505 S. Wawaset Rd, West Chester, in Pocopson Township, Chester County.  At this time, the facility was renamed The Chester County Youth Center to reflect the addition of a new Shelter Program for dependent juvenile females.  With a total bed capacity of 60, the new Youth Center now provides 36 secure detention beds for alleged and adjudicated delinquent males, 12 secure beds for alleged and adjudicated delinquent females, and 12 non-secure beds for dependent females. The Detention and Shelter Residents are provided the same professional services but through scheduling and separate living quarters, do not have contact with each other as mandated by State Law. All Detention Residents are committed and released by authorization of the Chester County Juvenile Probation Office and the Chester County Court of Common Pleas

 

Juvenile Delinquency Court. All of the residents of the Shelter are placed and released by authorization of the Department of Children Youth & Family Services and the Chester County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile Dependency Court.

Under the direction of Gary L. Blair, appointed in 2002, the Chester County Youth Center operates as a twenty-four hour facility, three hundred sixty five days a year.

 

Additionally, as a less restrictive alternative to secure detention, the Youth Center also provides community based Electronic Monitoring Services for alleged and adjudicated male and female delinquents when so ordered by the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.