Gov. Tina Kotek has appointed a new director of the Oregon Youth Authority who will oversee the agency as it faces heightened scrutiny for mistreatment of children in its care.
Michael Tessean will serve as the agency’s next director effective Aug. 18, pending confirmation by the state Senate. Tessean was most recently the director of the Colorado State Board of Parole and before that worked at the Colorado Department of Human Services in the office of behavioral health and the division of youth services. He will make $236,400 a year.
Michael Tessean will be the next leader of the Oregon Youth Authority.
Submitted / Submitted
In a press statement, Kotek said Tessean’s leadership “centers on creating healthy organizational culture, elevating staff development, and using data and implementation science to drive sustainable outcomes.”
In March, the governor fired the longtime director of the Oregon Youth Authority, Joe O’Leary, as the agency came under scrutiny for a backlog of mishandled abuse reports. Jana McLellan has been acting as interim director while the governor’s office leads a search for a permanent director.
The agency is being sued by many former youth who have accused former Oregon Youth Authority staff members of sexually abusing them while they were in the state’s custody. The series of lawsuits follow revelations that there was a backlog of complaints that were not followed up on by agency leaders.
Lawsuits filed on Thursday accuse three more former Oregon Youth Authority staff members of sexually abusing juvenile prisoners. It is the latest in a series of lawsuits that assert there was a culture of indifference toward child sexual abuse within the state’s youth detention centers.
The administration building at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, seen in this undated provided photo.
Courtesy of Oregon Youth Authority
OYA is part of the state’s juvenile justice system. It oversees and operates five youth correctional facilities and four transitional facilities, including MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn.
Children convicted of serious crimes before they are 18-years-old serve sentences at Oregon Youth Authority facilities. Children as young as 12 can be incarcerated, and they can be held in state custody until they turn 24. Some are later transferred to the state’s adult prison system.
The state recently hired a youth and family advocate who is expected to be independent of the agency to help families bring complaints.
