Fairbanks Youth Facility
1502 Wilbur Street
Fairbanks, AK 99701
Phone: 907 451-2150
Fax: 907 451-5152
The Fairbanks Youth Facility is the second largest of Alaska’s juvenile correctional facilities, with a design capacity for 20 residents in detention and 20 in treatment. In FY 01 the facility typically operated at capacity, with an average monthly population of 34 residents and a decreased number of referrals from the previous year.
Staff at the facility noted that a disconcerting number of youth who were detained demonstrated behaviors indicative of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and mental health issues. Discussions on services to these youth and their families culminated in casework improvements and trainings, one of them in conjunction with the DHSS Office of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. More attention will be paid to this area in the coming year.
Community partnerships developed with organizations ranging from the Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption Center to the Denali Foundation, a wilderness research and education program. The local Habitat for Humanity chapter provided residents with the opportunity to participate in a home-building project for a needy family, learning valuable construction skills in the process. Youth at the Fairbanks Youth Facility who exhibited good behavior got to help with the Facility’s garden. Vegetables from the garden were shared with the local food bank; and the Facility continued its longtime winning streak at the Tanana Valley Fair, with roses, vegetables, and berries from the garden again earning ribbons.
Physical improvements for the Fairbanks Youth Facility are one of the last remaining tasks to be completed from the Division’s 1997 Master Plan for Facilities. These improvements are sorely needed. Thanks to clear expressions of need from the community and support from the Legislature, funding to build a gymnasium and add classroom space have been secured this year; these renovations are expected to begin in FY 2002.