Former Dozier school sees new management, again

It’s been slightly more than a year since the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, now the North Florida Youth Development Center, failed its annual evaluation.

The facility came close to closing. But after a major overhaul under new management, the facility got a rapid makeover.

Michael Cantrell was hired as the new superintendent by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to fix the long list of problems at the facility. After just 90 days on the job, Cantrell lead the center to pass its next evaluation.

Now, just more than a year after Cantrell saved the facility from closing, he is stepping down to take another job, according to Art Kimbrough, a member of the advisory board for the facility, and president of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

Kimbrough said Cantrell did an “extraordinary job” with the difficult task he was given just more than a year ago.

In December 2009, the center was failed in two categories – health care services, and safety and security. Due to the failing scores, the center was given six months to fix the problems before another review by the Bureau of Quality Assurance.

Cantrell promised immediate reform upon accepting the position as superintendent of the facility following the failed evaluation.

“Honestly, the department gave us six months to turn some things around, but I felt like that was too long for the staff to be constantly under pressure,” Cantrell said in April. “So we worked hard to put things in place so that we could see a turnaround right off the bat.”

In April 2010, about 90 days after Cantrell took over, the facility was reviewed again and passed.

“One of the reviewers even used the word ‘amazing’… They were amazed that we were able to accomplish what we did in 90 days,” Cantrell said after the review.

With the hiring of a full time, on-site physician, and the implementation of new protocols for security, the program was able to make a difference in its scores, Cantrell said in April.

But the transformation at the center didn’t stop there, or even within the gates of the facility. One of Cantrell’s goals from the beginning was to re-engage the community with the center, Kimbrough said.

Cantrell enlisted residents and community leaders to form a group called the North Florida Youth Development Center Advisory Board. The goal was to use the group to create a connection between the community and the facility.

Through the advisory board, and with the help of volunteers, the center was able to start a color guard program and offer chapel services, Cantrell said in August.

The facility went from being known around the state for having problems, to being one recognized for its level of improvement and change of strategy, Kimbrough said.

Even though the person who was responsible for most of the transformation at the center is leaving, Kimbrough said he is confident the center will stay the course and continue to improve.

Gavin Tucker, a Jackson County native and employee at the center for 12 years, has been named the acting operations and program manager. “Hopefully the Department (of Juvenile Justice) is wise enough to make it permanent,” Cantrell said in a letter to the advisory board announcing his departure.

The changes within the center in the last year, and support from the community and Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, helped save the facility from a “hostile Senate committee that was determined to see Dozier closed,” Kimbrough said.

The center is no longer on the chopping block because of its performance, but no one can predict the future in a year of budget cuts across the state, Kimbrough said.

North Florida Youth Development Center’s biggest weakness now is the aged facilities and cost of operating them. No state cuts have been aimed specifically at NFYDC, but uncertainty remains at all correctional institutions in Florida, Kimbrough said.

But one thing is certain, he said.

“The chamber and other organizations will continue to stand in front of Dozier as an advocate not just for what it means for the community, but for what it is doing to retrain at-risk youth for becoming productive citizens,” he said.