Allegheny County Council set to vote on settlement in Shuman Center contract dispute

Allegheny County Council appears poised to settle a lawsuit that it filed last year challenging the county executive office’s decision to outsource operations at the former Shuman Detention Center. The move could end a year-long dispute over the future of juvenile detention in the county.

However, the proposed agreement, which appears on the Sept. 10 council agenda, does little to address the underlying dispute about the respective powers of the county’s executive and legislative branch.

Under the settlement, Adelphoi, the Latrobe-based nonprofit which operates the recently reopened facility, will be required to share monthly “anonymized statistical data” about detainees with the county Department of Human Services. It also outlines requirements for the facility’s Juvenile Detention Board of Advisors, a body mandated by state law, and gives council some power over the future of the contract.

Council filed the lawsuit late last year against then-County Executive Rich Fitzgerald after his administration and the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas contracted with Adelphoi. Lawyers for council argued that the $73 million, five-year deal illegally bypassed the legislative branch. Council members said they should’ve had the chance to weigh in on the use of county property, because the Home Rule Charter gives council the power to “lease, convey, vacate or abandon, or permit the use of County land, buildings or other real or personal property.”

The consent order, which has yet to be signed by a judge, notes that the settlement is “not to be construed as an admission of liability by any party.”

The settlement would also close a countersuit filed by Adelphoi in May seeking damages for “operational and reputational harm” it said County Council inflicted.

Current county executive Sara Innamorato inherited the suit when she took office earlier this year. But Innamorato “has said since day one that the administration will work with County Council, which is why this consent order represents a mutually agreed upon settlement by the principals of each party and aligns with the constraints of state law,” said spokesperson Abigail Gardner. “We look forward to focusing on keeping young people out of the juvenile justice system, and moving them out of the Allegheny County Jail to a facility designed to address their specific needs with the best rehabilitative care possible by passing a Board of Advisors and developing a world-class facility.”

A Court of Common Pleas spokesperson declined to comment.

The details

The data that Adelphoi must submit under the settlement include staffing numbers, health and mental health care visits, education and family visitation statistics, and admissions and discharges, as well as demographics and length of stay. All that information must also be reported to the state Department of Human Services, which has oversight of the facility.

Adelphoi “will fully comply with the requirement … if enacted,” said spokesperson Karyn Pratt in a statement. “Adelphoi routinely captures and shares universal data related to youth in its programs, including program completion rates, remain-out-of-care rates, and other performance metrics relevant to our programming.”

State law requires the center to have a 10-member Juvenile Detention Board of Advisors. Though the statute allows the county executive to choose five appointees, the settlement reduces the office’s picks to just four. Council will submit three names for the last spot, a list from which Innamorato will choose one candidate. All five nominees must be approved by council, as previously required.

The county Common Pleas Court President Judge, currently Susan Evashavik, will appoint another three members, while Innamorato and County Controller Corey O’Connor will round out the 10-person board.

The county’s oversight board has been moribund for years, but Pratt said Adelphoi would have little difficulty working with it once it’s established. “We also have experience working with various oversight bodies in Pennsylvania through all of our service areas, which has helped us maintain rigorous standards across all of our programs,” she said.

Innamorato attempted to fill the Juvenile Detention Board of Advisors in July, but council rejected her nominations. The rebuke was meant to send the message that the administration should collaborate more closely with council.

The board has no legal right to intervene should the facility violate its license to operate. The Court of Common Pleas and state Department of Human Services are currently the only bodies with the authority to manage the facility. The board is meant to offer an additional level of community input, and is responsible for compiling an annual report that recommends a budget for maintenance.

A separate council bill, which would create a new “board of managers” with statutory oversight of the facility, remains in committee.

Adelphoi’s initial contract with the county and the Court of Common Pleas barred officials from ending the contract unless the county runs out of funds or Adelphoi violates terms of the agreement. The new settlement offers Innamorato the opportunity to “terminate for convenience” in 2028. If the county executive chooses not to exercise that option and continue the arrangement, council could compel the executive branch to terminate the contract with a majority vote.

County Council member Bethany Hallam supported the lawsuit and said she expects council will approve the settlement. But she said it remains unclear to her how council, county taxpayers, and those held at Shuman will benefit from the agreement.

Other than the ability to pick a list of three names for the board of advisors, she said, “All of the things in this settlement are things that already were required by state law.”

Council President Pat Catena did not respond to a call for comment Monday. But Hallam plans to vote against the settlement.

“We wasted time, money, leverage in getting something good in settling for nothing. I don't know how anyone can read this settlement and say that we are in any different position — any materially different position — than we were whenever we first filed this lawsuit.”