Dr. Kyshun Webster, embattled but still standing tall
7th November 2022 · 0 Comments
By Joseph D. Bryant
Contributing Writer
The release last week of the New Orleans Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) report on Dr. Kyshun Webster triggered a mainstream media firestorm. One prominent New Orleans media platform with an African-American perspective has classified the report as hot air and an attack on Webster, known in the community as a man of integrity who strives for excellence.
Think504.com’s blistering editorial about the OIG report follows the headline, “Taking a black man down NOLA style.” The commentary points out that no charges will be filed against Dr. Webster because he has done nothing illegal.
Kyshun Webster earned a Ph.D. in Comprehensive Work, Family, and Community Education, and he vowed to use his training to help New Orleans, his hometown, and the city he has loved his whole life.
“I never saw it as a title obtained for me or just to make more money, but really I got it for my community, and I wanted to put it to use for my community,” said Dr. Webster, who was raised first in public housing and later in the Lower 9th Ward.
Armed with his doctoral degree, the New Orleans native built a career based on community empowerment and re-engaging some of his city’s most troubled and challenged youth. That included a three-and-a-half-year tenure as director of the New Orleans Juvenile Justice Intervention Center (JJIC).
However, on January 12, Dr. Webster found himself in a controversy that threatened to tarnish his name, career, and future.
Circumstances unraveled when four juveniles escaped from the JJIC, and two of them carjacked a woman. The incident prompted intense public scrutiny of JJIC and unleashed sharp criticism of Webster.
Webster remained silent through months of intense media coverage, innuendo, and rumors about his leadership, qualifications, and temperament.
He said his silence was a part of city protocol. As a staff member of Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s administration, designated city officials had to do the talking. Yet, they said nothing.
Webster said the silence hid critical details from the public regarding the escape, which were known only by a handful of city officials.
But in the wake of the OIG report, Webster feels compelled to reveal the information.
The truth is a staff member on duty violated written protocols that the leadership team had in place the day of the escape, he says, adding, “I did not throw that person under the bus, I took responsibility for the escape.”
The former JJIC director knows the truth and refuses to concede to any wrongdoing, even in the face of unrelenting public scorn.
“Maybe I should have spoken out sooner,” he adds. “At first, I was following the protocols of the city of New Orleans in not speaking out. But what I’m not going to do is have my name dragged through the mud with false accusations.”
Dr. Webster admits he can be a demanding supervisor, explaining that the work environment requires that attitude, but he refutes charges that he was abusive. He described his style as “firm yet fair” but understands why some may have interpreted his demand for excellence as “unfriendly.”
“I would always tell my staff that I am an imperfect person that you can meet. I never required the perfection of anybody on my staff. I told them we would be in this together, that we would always examine ourselves and stretch ourselves to be better versions of ourselves in the work we bring to our community. “But I have unrelenting values about doing quality and excellent work.”
While denouncers compiled a list of criticisms of the facility’s operations and Webster’s leadership, he knew the facility lacked some essential tools. For example, staffing shortages are common in the industry. Webster said he pleaded with the administration for help but help never arrived.
Throughout his tenure, Webster wrote several memos to the Mayor’s Chief Administrative Office asking for increased staffing, but his request went unanswered.
“The escape happened in the new side of the building, which was not fully staffed nor properly funded. Since our juvenile numbers were increasing, we were forced to use that area to house the kids,” Webster said, emphasizing that the increase in juveniles happened with no commensurate increase in guards, counselors, or other personnel.
Dr. Webster took a leave of absence on March 18 and resigned on April 29. What was not known was that he had offered Mayor Cantrell his resignation during a meeting of the city’s public safety team during a debriefing a few days after the escape. It was an offer that the administration refused to accept, he said.
“Mayor Cantrell didn’t terminate me and turned down my resignation. That was the only conversation we e had about me leaving the job. I initiated the conversation about resigning and was told that was not necessary.”
Webster eventually resigned. He called the job exhausting and said he had not planned to stay for a second term in the administration.
“I felt I had done what I was asked,” he said.
Media revelations of a non-delivered termination letter from Mayor Cantrell’s office to Dr. Webster were news to him, he said, adding if the mayor wanted him to leave, she should have accepted his resignation.
“At the end of the day, I prefer that everyone focus on the data from a third-party agency that said we met all the indicators that determine whether we implemented effective reforms at the facility,” Webster said.
“I was hired by the mayor to make sweeping changes, and some weren’t pleased with necessary reforms. My detractors are those who were not a good fit, culturally, and unwilling to participate in successful progressive changes that put the agency on a national and state map; comparable to other juvenile facilities across the county.”
While mainstream media headlines highlighted issues and alleged deficiencies during Dr. Webster’s leadership, underlying problems are more common than most people may be aware of, according to Dr. John Penny, a retired criminal justice professor.
Dr. Penny said a detention center filled with challenged youth in a stressful and unpredictable environment makes it hard to recruit and retain committed staff.
Dr. Penny described juvenile youth workers as traditionally overburdened and overlooked. When dramatic issues occur, juvenile justice leaders and staff are called into account. But Dr. Penny said those employees are without the support they need.
“You are dealing with human beings that have great deficiencies and many things can and do change at any time. Sometimes, it’s out of hand before you can get it back in the boat,” Penny explained.
“When things are quiet and you have no problems, people will support you and think well of you, but when things get out of hand quickly and all of the hands come out after you, then people will do whatever they can to make themselves look good. They will disavow any responsibility that they may have placed in your not being able to live up to expectations.”
Dr. Penny underscored Dr. Webster’s point that staffing remains a perennial challenge. It is hard to recruit and retain committed staff that can endure the harsh conditions endemic to the job.
“Normally you’re looking to bring the best staff you can, but how can you find enough qualified people who are willing to sacrifice and do what needs to be done and take care of some very troubled young people? It’s a tough task that people don’t understand,” said Dr. Penny, who specializes in mental health, juvenile justice, and criminal justice.
“You are taking on people who have a history of behavior that has been detrimental to themselves, and they bring that to you. If you don’t have the appropriate staff, then you’re going to have turmoil. That’s industry-wide.”
Even as the headlines continue, Dr. Webster remains proud of his record. He has no regrets.
“Oftentimes, when you have progressives that are bringing about change or have risen to some level of being a newsmaker you have a target on your back,” he said. “I’ve been a catalytic change agent in my community and that brings attention, sometimes good and bad.”
Dr. Webster also remains concerned about the JJIC. He wonders whether his reforms will be maintained by new leadership and taken to new levels.
He cites a report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, which suggests confinement and isolation in juvenile detention centers “undermines the rehabilitative goals of youth corrections.”
Before that report was released, Webster had already assessed the damaging effects of that practice and had modified juvenile confinement at JJIC. After a review by the Performance Based Standards organization, the New Orleans-based juvenile facility, under Webster, was credited for significant improvements such as enhanced security, reduced contraband, increased school attendance, and improved mental health and rehabilitative services through a partnership with Children’s Hospital.
Webster says the media’s depiction of him is a distortion that ignores his innovative and visionary approach to juvenile detention reforms. He draws strength from his faith that “This too shall pass,” and his history of overcoming adversity.
Responding to the OIG report, Webster says, “it’s just one more thing that didn’t make me and didn’t break me.”
This article originally published in the November 7, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
