Nation assumes control of Western Juvenile facility

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation assumed the operation of the Western Navajo Juvenile facility on Friday after being notified Feb. 14 by Navajo Business Regulatory Department that the corporate status of Western Navajo Juvenile Services Coordinating Council Inc. was revoked and that WNJSCC had failed to maintain insurance.

In a presentation Monday to Public Safety Committee, Public Safety Executive Director Samson Cowboy and Department of Corrections Director Delores Greyeyes explained the actions leading up to the event.

Cowboy said they met with the Department of Justice and Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. on Feb. 27 to explain what was going on.

“We all came to one position, which was to revert Western Juvenile back under Navajo Nation because they weren’t insured and they weren’t incorporated.

“On the 28th we went over there to serve the memo and to talk to the people. There were a lot of rumors that came out of this.” The WNJSCC contract expired on the 29th.

“There really wasn’t a corporation, so we could just take it back,” Cowboy told the committee. “We didn’t just go in and try to take over. We did what needed to be done.”

After the juvenile center reverted to the Nation, “during that whole day, there were some heated words exchanged,” he said. “Nonetheless, the transition was done smoothly.”

Cowboy also met with chapter officials on the 29th and later, staff from the juvenile center. “They all went away with the understanding that there are some serious violations,” he said.

“One of the things I found out, too, the public benefits — the tax, the Medicaid, Social Security — they’re behind.

They haven’t paid out to the state, so there’s an issue there.”

In a Feb. 27 notice of non-renewal to Richard Grey of WNJSCC, Cowboy stated that the subcontract agreement would not be renewed because its corporate status was revoked Feb. 14, meaning that WNJSCC was no longer a legal entity as of that date.

“The Navajo Nation cannot be a party to a contractual relationship with a non-entity. In addition, such a status places both the Navajo Nation and WNJSCC at considerable risk of liability should any mishap occur at the Tuba City detention facility,” the letter states.

The Navajo Nation Corporation Code has several requirements that must be complied with in order for a corporation to remain in good standing. WNJSCC has not filed an annual report with Business Regulatory since about 2000, he said, and though the entity must maintain insurance, the policy period for the last Certificate of Insurance submitted by Western Juvenile expired Jan. 31, 2007.

Corrections’ Greyeyes said that when she assumed the directorship nearly five years ago, one of the things she did was initiate subcontract reviews with the department’s sole subcontractor, WNJSCC. Over the last three years, the reviews turned up a number of findings, which were presented to PSC.

“We’ve been following these reviews for Western Juvenile to develop a corrective action plan. But each year that we went in, those same findings resurfaced,” she said.

“Last year in January 2007 and again on Jan. 30, 2008, we did make a special trip to Tuba City to meet with the organization to make an effort to address these problems.

Out of the Jan. 30, 2008, meeting, we had anticipated that we were going to do a six-month plan in which we would work with the organization.

“In the interim, there was a Feb. 14 memo sent by Frank Nez of the Business Regulatory Office informing us that the Western Navajo Juvenile Coordinating Committee Inc. was no longer incorporated. So with that came an emergency situation where we had to address that immediately,” Greyeyes said.

The letter from Cowboy to Grey stated that annual audits have been conducted since 2005 and that Navajo Department of Public Safety has requested corrective action plans after each audit.

“Since 2005, NDPS has yet to receive a corrective action plan from WNJSCC.”

Decrease in funding
Because Public Law 638 funding continues to decrease, Cowboy said, the Navajo Nation Office of the President maintains a stringent policy that all Navajo Nation programs must correct and zero out all audit findings in order to prevent an unnecessary risk of reduction in 638 funds.

“Thus, since WNJSCC has not completely complied with all its subcontract agreement provisions, NDPS cannot continue in a contractual relationship with WNJSCC,” he stated.

PSC’s Elmer Begay questioned the transition, telling Cowboy, “I’m not attacking you, but what makes you and the Navajo Nation think you would do a lot better?”

Cowboy responded, “I have confidence in my staff. We need to fix what was broken.”

Committee member Raymond Joe said, “I think what was done had to be done.” To Greyeyes, who during her presentation touched on some of the verbal abuse she endured while delivering the news to juvenile center staff, Joe said, “I know it’s hard doing that.”

Hope MacDonald-LoneTree commended Greyeyes for doing the best that she could in the situation and continuing to conduct herself in a professional manner.

“Nobody expects to hear harsh words when they’re doing their job.”

“I realize that some people may think that this is something that Mr. Cowboy and Ms. Greyeyes wanted to do on their own — that they wanted to run the facility — but I don’t believe that’s the case. The reason why we’re in a situation across Navajo because of our lack of jail facilities is because of lack of funds ... and the lack of funds for these detention facilities is directly related to accountability,” she said.