Two workers at juvenile detention center in Mississippi County receive national honor

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Two local juvenile detention center workers have received national recognition for their efforts.

Kevin Hess, superintendent of the Mississippi County Juvenile Detention Center, and Linda Moore, one of the detention center's two shift supervisors, were selected for awards in their respective roles at the detention center.

The awards were announced during the 17th annual National Symposium on Juvenile Services conducted Oct. 16 in Indianapolis.

"We just received notification Thursday," Hess said. "We've had recognition from the state before, but this is national. It's a heck of a feeling being selected as one of the outstanding programs in the whole country."

Hess said these are the first national honors received by the juvenile detention center since its opening in 1999.

"It's great for the whole facility," Hess said. "While the people inside our state have recognized us and know we do a great job, it just feels good to have a program that is recognized outside of Missouri."

Moore received the Bob Rader Detention Services Worker Award which recognizes the "hands on, day-to-day operations of a shift worker in direct contact with the juveniles," Hess said.

Hess was honored with the Bob Rader Line Staff Award for innovative efforts in moving the operational concept of the detention facility from basic incarceration services to myriad services, including cognitive and life-skills programs and enhanced educational opportunities.

"Robert B. Rader was a pioneer in bringing a sense of humane care of youth into the juvenile detention setting by attempting under sometimes severe community and bureaucratic pressures to create an atmosphere that was less jail-like and truly in the best interests of youth," Hess said.

Fourteen people in each category are selected among the thousands in the United States for the Bob Rader awards which are presented each year by the National Partnership for Juvenile Services' Council for Juvenile Detention to recognize outstanding staff members in the juvenile detention field for their performances.

The council was formed in 2004 by the merger of four juvenile service agencies, according to Hess.

Last month, Cape Girardeau County began transporting juvenile offenders to the Mississippi County facility due to state cuts in funding.

Pertinent address:

Charleston, MO