The Justice Department is launching an investigation into conditions at juvenile detention centers in Kentucky

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has launched a nationwide investigation into conditions at eight juvenile detention centers and a youth development center run by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice. The DOJ investigation will examine several aspects of the centers, including whether the state protects children from excessive use of force or violence by staff. The investigation will also look at state mental health services at the facility and requires special education services for children with disabilities. The Justice Department did not name the juvenile detention centers currently the focus of the investigation. “Placement in the Juvenile Justice System.” “The system should help children avoid future contact with law enforcement and grow into law-abiding, productive members of society. “Too often, juvenile detention centers break our children and subject them to dangerous and traumatic conditions,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department said the Civil Rights Division. The DOJ investigation is primarily focused on detention centers that hold children awaiting court dates. The investigation is being conducted pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.