Shuman reopening delayed as operator countersues Allegheny County

Allegheny County’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center sits shuttered on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource) Adelphoi Western alleges that County Council’s legal maneuvers amount to improper government interference. by Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource The nonprofit company hired to run the Shuman Juvenile Detention Center has yet to reopen the facility despite a targeted April launch. The nonprofit, Adelphoi Western, has already received $1.2 million from Allegheny County and is seeking more in a Court of Common Pleas filing this week. Adelphoi Western is taking legal action against the county, seeking damages for operational and reputational harm it says County Council has inflicted on it in trying to halt the contract. Meanwhile,& about 20 minors& are incarcerated in the adult-oriented Allegheny County Jail.& Adelphoi said in the legal filing that council acted on “biased, discriminatory and improper motives” when it voted to sue the county administration to void a contract that former County Executive Rich Fitzgerald awarded to Adelphoi in 2023.& Abigail Gardner, the county communications director, declined to comment on the lawsuit but said the facility is expected to open in “a matter of weeks.” Council members voted to sue Fitzgerald in September, alleging that the contract...