Officials: Detention facility at center of scandal is closed

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WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — State and county officials have confirmed the voluntary closure of a for-profit juvenile detention center in northeastern Pennsylvania to which prosecutors said juvenile offenders were improperly sent in a kickback scheme that led to the imprisonment of two judges. The (Wilkes-Barre) Citizens’ Voice reports that the 60-bed PA Child Care in Pittston shuttered in mid-November and neither the center nor its operator have responded to requests for comment. The paper says a sister facility in Butler County remains open. Officials said two juveniles placed there and three detained awaiting the outcomes of their cases were immediately transferred after the company said it planned to close.