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Under contract to the Department of Public Welfare, Office of Children, Youth, and Families, the Justice Resource Institute (JRI) operates the Cresson Secure Treatment Unit. CSTU is a 52-bed state-of-the-art maximum-security juvenile facility that houses serious juvenile offenders from across the state of Pennsylvania. These offenders are transferred to CSTU after failing to adjust at less secure facilities in the PA Juvenile Corrections System.
The Appalachia Intermediate Unit 08 provides educational services for the facility. An education team consisting of a principal, guidance counselor, special education teacher, six regular-education teachers, an Americorps Representative, and an education secretary work together to provide exceptional educational opportunities for residents of the Cresson Secure Treatment Unit.
Students in the CSTU education program range in age from 12-21 and are typically listed as secondary school students. Due to the extreme range of academic ability and achievement, a significant number of students are performing on a grade level that is typically below their age expectation. Students are drawn from the school age population of the CSTU at large. By definition, this translates to all or nearly all of the juvenile population of the CSTU. CSTU has been constructed to meet the needs of juveniles who have posed a safety or security risk in other juvenile facilities throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In addition, CSTU devotes 25% of its housing space to juveniles with serious emotional disturbances. While transfer of knowledge and providing students with assistance in attaining a high school degree are priority concerns, safety and security must take precedence.
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