Mission Statement
Morehead Youth Development Center is a safe place for Kentucky’s female juveniles to feel safe as they learn to make smarter decisions that will build a stronger foundation for their future.
About Morehead Youth Development Center
Morehead Youth Development center is a 40-bed campus that serves female-only juveniles for the entire state of Kentucky. It is also the home of an alternative to detention program, which consists of eight beds, which allows juveniles who are awaiting trial conclusion to be held in a non-detention setting.
The building was constructed in 1956 to serve as a war orphanage. Females were always housed at the facility, and it transferred to the department in 1996. The facility offers a variety of programs for juveniles to gain important skills and tools to better equip themselves to become contributing members of their community in the future.
Bed Capacity: 40
Facility Construction Date: 1956
Visitation Info
Morehead has weekend visitation between the hours of 1pm to 4pm. If a youth's parents are unable to visit in person, we do weekly zoom calls on the YDC side as well as scheduled weekly phone calls. We will also accommodate to parents work schedule if their days off are through the week. We offer virtual to the youth in YDC that do not receive visits.
Shearl Burke, Facility Manager
Shearl Burke has been with the Department of Juvenile Justice since 2007 and has worked her way thought the ranks within Morehead Youth Development Center. Prior to her employment with the department, Burke worked for 15 years on right of way and utility line work, before being invited to apply for an open counselor position with Morehead YDC.
She says her main source of motivation is wanting to be the person she didn’t have when she was younger, supporting youth and helping uplift them to be able to make the best possible decision. She says she needed someone to set her in the right direction, and she wants to be that person for the juveniles in her custody.
95 Forest Hills Drive
Morehead, Kentucky 40351
Phone: (606) 783-8565