ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Oakview Juvenile Residential Center in St. Clairsville is set to expand this summer.

“We were just recently informed by the Ohio Department of Youth Services, which is our funding agency, that we were the only juvenile facility in the state of Ohio that was awarded an expansion of eight youth to our program. That will take effect July 1 of this summer,” John Rowan, executive director at Oakview Juvenile Residential Center, said.

The facility can house 16 youth, and that number is set to rise to 24. The facility houses males ages 12-18 who have been charged with a felony offense.

“We are a community correctional facility. We are the last option for youth to receive treatment before going to the juvenile prison system. So all youth that come here will come here with a goal of completing our program and then being able to go back home and successfully reintegrate into the community,” Rowan said.

Rowan said the facility was built to accommodate 24 youth, so no physical expansion is needed.

“The facility was built with 24 in mind at the time, but we were never licensed or funded for that before,” Rowan explained.

Rowan said he and the staff are working to get the rooms ready for the youth.

“So all we’re going to be doing is making the living space accommodating, meaning getting mattresses, pillows, bedding, furniture, sheets, you know, so that the kids will have their daily needs ready when they come in here in July,” he said.

Rowan also said some renovations took place in preparation for the expansion including replacing flooring.

“We had the entire building resurfaced last summer because we thought that this could be a possibility,” he said.

Rowan also said the gymnasium floor was replaced last summer. He said the gymnasium gets a lot of use.

“The kids are down there about three times a day, morning, afternoon and evening, and so that’s kind of one of our most active areas of ability when they’re not in school,” he said.

Rowan said the facility has several classrooms for the youth.

“They’re in school just as if they would be in a traditional setting in their local area,” he said.

Rowan said in addition to traditional school subjects, the youth learn life skills such as how to do their own laundry.

“We are one of the 11 community correctional facilities in the state of Ohio. We service the entire state. …The average length of stay here is around six to seven months, and then we’re working their entire time with their local court to help transition them back when they’re about to complete the program to their local community wherever they come from,” Rowan said.

Rowan said the youth at the facility have a “very structured” schedule.

“The day is planned for them from wake up at 6 a.m. until bedtime, which is usually at 10 p.m. They participate in various programming activities,” he said.

Rowan said in addition to schooling, the youth also receive mental health counseling, drug and alcohol counseling if needed and participate in family counseling.

“They also do what’s called cognitive behavioral therapy, which is helping them learn about making proper decisions, developing goals and looking at things with the viewpoint of trying to be positive, and seeing how you can be an asset in your community as opposed to, you know, causing mayhem, chaos and discretion by breaking the law. So we’re trying to help them think better, think about their future and acquire skills that will travel wherever they want to successfully reintegrate,” he said.

Rowan said the youth participate in community service.

“We emphasize the restorative justice model, which is when you’ve done something wrong and try to do things to help other people to appreciate the impact that you can do with positive deeds and community,” he said.

Rowan said the youth have done community service projects at the Belmont County Senior Services Center, Belmont County Animal Shelter and several local parks. He said they have also picked up trash along local highways.

Rowan said the expansion in July is also going to create new job opportunities, and he would like to encourage people to apply for the open positions.

“We’re going to be hiring 10 to 12 people in various capacities, including youth leaders that work directly with the kids, supervisors that will oversee daily operations, a case manager that will help do correspondence and communication with courts and a full-time nurse that will help facilitate these medical needs. Any interested party can start applying immediately,” he said.

Rowan said all applicants must be 21 or older and have a valid driver’s license.

“We’re hopeful that when adding these new staff members we’ll be able to offer good programming and give mentorship to the kids that are coming here to complete their stay with us,” Rowan said.

He said anyone interested can call the office at 740-695-3500 or apply online at oakviewrc.org.