NJ could reopen historic school as it closes 2 youth prisons

TRENTON — New Jersey is trying to figure out what to do with the sites of two youth prisons that are set to close within the next few years.

Nearly seven years have passed since former Gov. Chris Christie announced plans to close the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility, or Hayes Building, in Bordentown and the New Jersey Training School in Monroe.

The state aims to build smaller facilities to replace the youth prisons, the first of which is set to open in 2027. Platkin said the goal is to have both the Hayes Building and Training School closed by 2028.

However, it's still not clear what comes next for the two juvenile justice facilities.

Figuring that out is the job of the new Youth Justice Working Group announced by Attorney General Matthew Platkin last week.

"It's going to consider multiple innovative uses for these facilities with a focus on designs that address the historic, racial, and structural inequalities and that support and lift up young people and communities. And I don't think we can look ahead without acknowledging the past of these facilities," said Platkin.

Bordentown School for Black children

Before the Hayes Building in Bordentown was a juvenile facility for girls, the grounds were the site of a once-famous boarding school for Black students.

Spanning 400 acres, the co-ed public school was founded in 1876 and was operated by the New Jersey Board of Education. It was closed in 1955 amid nationwide efforts to desegregate schools, according to state records.

The girl's prison opened decades later — and created a physical embodiment of the school-to-prison pipeline, according to Ryan Haygood, president and CEO of the NJ Institute for Social Justice.

Haygood, who is on the Youth Justice Working Group, said he wants to create a 21st-century version of the Bordentown School.

"We look forward to working... to establish a prison-to-school pipeline that builds strong children who become strong adults because they deserve no less," said Haygood.

Based in Newark, the NJ Institute for Social Justice pushed in 2017 for both the Hayes Building and Training School to close. The non-profit said the facilities had failed to rehabilitate New Jersey's youth.

NJ youth prison sex abuse accusations

According to its website, the New Jersey Training School first opened in 1867 for "troubled youth." These days it's a secure facility for around 200 male youth, some as young as 12 years old.

Earlier this year, 50 men who lived at the facility filed a lawsuit accusing the facility of having a "culture of abuse."

READ MORE: NJ youth detention center had 'culture of abuse' — new lawsuit

Staff sexually abused the boys while the state looked the other way, according to the lawsuit. Accusations stretch from the 1970s to the 2010s.