DC Union of Youth Rehab Workers Call for Resignation of Agency Director

The Department of Youth Rehabilitation Service (DYRS) employees in the largest labor union of District of Columbia has publicly called for the resignation of the Agency's director, Vincent Sheraldi. The Chairman of the District of Columbia Fraternal Order of Police DYRS Labor Committee disclosed a litany of problems which included safety and security issues, particularly at the Oak Hill facility in Laurel, Maryland and the Mt.
Olive facility in Washington, D.C. The agency is charged with the care and
rehabilitation of the Districts' youth offenders, who have been referred to
the agency through the Districts' court system.
Citing internal union projections, Adams stated, "that each year
approximately twenty-five percent of the members at Oak Hill and Mt. Olive
facilities are injured on the job as a result of assaults." Within the two last weeks DYRS workers were assaulted, with one employees requiring hospitalization. That employee, a female worker, was choked by a resident.
"We have no comprehensive safety program for DYRS employees, and it was
not until our union filed a lawsuit in 2003 that we were able to secure,
through court order, even the most basic protections against bloodborne
pathogens such as HIV and HBV," said Adams.