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The head judge of the Cuyahoga County juvenile court announced new training and services for staff and detained youth on Wednesday, about three months after young people vandalized a unit in the detention center.

Administrative Judge Kristin Sweeney said the court has hired 10 new detention officers and is searching for a new director.

鈥淲e鈥檙e bringing in a new director of detention to change the culture,鈥� Sweeney said. 鈥淎nd these things will always, always be ongoing. Can I say that there will never be a problem in juvenile detention again? No I cannot.鈥�

on detention center operations identified workforce culture as one of the 鈥渞oot issues鈥� at the facility.

Sweeney said she wants the new director to change that, so staff can feel 鈥渢hey have the techniques to bring safety and order to the place, and that there is a culture of professionalism down there.鈥�

A court spokesperson said a staff disciplinary investigation is underway in connection with the January vandalism, but there's no resolution yet.

Applewood Centers, a local service agency, will provide mental health workers for the young people in the detention center, Sweeney said. The court will also expand programs to divert juveniles to foster care or other social service assistance rather than detention.

The moves won praise from policy groups that have been following developments at the Juvenile Justice Center.

Mike Brickner with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said he was 鈥渉eartened鈥� by the changes.

鈥淚t recognizes, first and foremost, that the role of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate these young people, and to treat them with dignity and with respect,鈥� Brickner said.

The ACLU recommended bringing in a national expert to assess the county鈥檚 juvenile justice system, he said. At the Wednesday news conference, Sweeney said she鈥檒l do that.

Erin Davies, the director of the Juvenile Justice Coalition, said the court was 鈥渙n the right track.鈥�

鈥淚 think this idea of the adults in the facility really taking responsibility for what鈥檚 going on there is really critically important,鈥� Davies said. 鈥淎nd I think the new training, I would hope it would focus on a lot of de-escalation techniques.鈥�