Shelby County Juvenile Court closed until asbestos, mold, lead remediation completed

The Shelby County Juvenile Court building will be closed while it undergoes remediation for asbestos, mold and lead in the building.

The building closed April 27, and does not yet have a timeline for re-opening, but court cases will be conducted virtually until the Shelby County Health Department gives court officials the all-clear to return to the building, Judith Black, a spokesperson for juvenile court, said in an email.

"This process began Thursday of last week and at that time we were of the understanding that we could reopen on Monday but later learned that we will need to be closed longer," Black wrote in a separate press release. "Anticipating the potential for prolonged maintenance, the court proactively  developed a contingency plan to ensure continuity of operations during this period of closure."

Any case that is not able to be done virtually has been rescheduled, Black said.

It was not clear at the time of publication whether kids detained by juvenile court were in the building at the time maintenance began, or if there were any as of this story's publication.

A new detention facility, the Shelby County Youth Justice & Education Center, opened last November after months of renovation. Kids were subsequently moved to the new space, but Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner has since said the new facility was nearing capacity.

More: Shelby County's new juvenile detention center is about to open. Here's what is new

"We currently have 118 children detained at the Youth Justice and Education Center, and we are nearing our capacity," Bonner said in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter. "It is disheartening to see such a high number of children in our facility, with the youngest being only 13 years old."

The new facility was touted as being able to house up to 146 kids, with classrooms, recreation areas and other utilities for the center. Bonner said in an interview with WMC Action News 5 that SCSO had expected between 40 and 60 kids to be held there at any given time.

In early April, Chalkbeat Tennessee reported that kids detained at the facility were not receiving an adequate education. In later interviews, Bonner said his office would be handing oversight of the facility back to juvenile court.

In an April 7 letter, Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon said the handoff between SCSO and juvenile court could have a transition period that stretches beyond 2024.

"A successful transition in the operational support for YJEC will entail a multifaceted approach, including the recruitment and hiring of qualified staff, budget allocation for facility upgrades and the development of comprehensive operational plans communicated to stakeholders such as residents, families and service providers, including medical, food and education services," Sugarmon wrote in the letter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Juvenile Court closed for asbestos, mold, lead remediation