Rhode Island Youth Assessment and Development Centers

We served as the prime architect for the design and construction of the Rhode Island Youth Assessment and Development Centers, which include a 33,000-square-foot, 52-bed detention facility and a 96,000-SF, 98-bed treatment facility for male youth.

The 52-bed Roosevelt Benton Center (formerly known as the ‘Rhode Island Youth Assessment Center’) is a 33,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art detention center for male youth awaiting court proceedings.

The 96-bed Rhode Island Youth Development Center is a 96,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art center for adjudicated boys and serves as a treatment facility for the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). The facility operation is focused on comprehensive services for juveniles that fully engage the local community and its resources.

The Rhode Island Youth Development Center campus is comprised of a boarding school-type facility located within a unique building and site configuration. The site is organized to provide expansion growth for each building as well as segregated service, public and private parking and access to the building. The facility contains educational space adjacent to the housing units and full-size gym, dining room, visitation, administration, medical and dental suites as well as a full scale soccer field.

Housing accommodations include four 24-bed detention units, including a high security unit for special needs population, in addition to secure and non-secure zones to accommodate the staff, juvenile program, and public related functions. Each housing pod is designed with a direct supervision philosophy that incorporates an open sunny day space and private outdoor recreation yard. The units are designed with a normative environment in order to cue appropriate cooperative behavior.

Our innovative design approach to the complex site and the population served, provides the optimal physical and operation environment for housing troubled youth.