Population Capacity: 140
Population Served: Detained, committed and “shock sentenced” male and female juveniles 11-21 years of age.
Number of Staff: 179, plus over 30 contract and grant positions
The mission of the Division of Juvenile Services is “ to promote public safety by ensuring that juvenile offenders are provided with education, treatment, and other services that teach skills and competencies, strengthen pro-social behaviors and require accountability to victims and communities.”
The Mountain View Youth Development Center, located in Charleston, Maine, is a 140 bed, secure juvenile facility that detains and incarcerates male and female juvenile offenders 11 to 21, serving the northern, eastern and central regions of the State of Maine, including the ten counties of Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington. The majority of the residents are males, 14-17 years old; approximately 10 percent are female with an average age of 16.
Construction of a detention facility (Northern Maine Juvenile Detention Facility) began in 1996 adjacent to the Charleston Correctional Facility . Opening on January 5, 1998 , with a 40-bed capacity, this facility replaced the use of county jails within the ten counties as the primary detention location for juveniles pending court action prior to sentencing, and for brief periods known as “shock sentences”.
In February 2002, the programs, services, and physical plant were expanded and reorganized into the current modern facility called the Mountain View Youth Development Center . The expanded capacity now accommodates 140 beds, which include detention, shock sentences, and long-term committed residents sentenced to indeterminate periods of confinement.