Mission Statement
Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center is committed to serving the juveniles in and surrounding Jefferson County, keeping them safe while in secure custody and helping to build a future where they can work towards their goals and aspirations. The staff provides a safe and secure environment for the juveniles to obtain a second chance upon return to their community, while also meeting their education, healthcare, and mental health needs.
About Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center
Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center is a state operated low-security correctional facility located in Jefferson County. The facility can accommodate a maximum of 34 juveniles, and only admits males who have committed a Class D felony or lower.
The facility has previously served as a day treatment center, a youth development center, and a boys group home, but in January 2020 it was retrofitted to a detention center. It is currently undergoing a remodel to enhance security, which is expected to be complete in 2026.
The facility offers a number of programs to the juveniles in its custody, including middle and high school educations, counseling through the support, teach empower, protect, serve, or STEPS program, and religious services.
Facility construction date: 2003
Number of beds: 34 detention beds, 3 intake beds
Visitation Info
Virtual visitations only, call or reach out to schedule.
Donty Lear, Facility Manager
Donty Lear is originally from Detroit, Michigan. He moved to Kentucky in 2008 and began attending Kentucky State University, where he later graduated with a bachelor’s in criminal justice. After college he pursued a career in the mental health field and worked for many years at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services at a day treatment facility for those with intellectual disabilities.
Lear began working for the Department of Juvenile Justice in 2021, serving as a counselor at Jefferson Regional Juvenile Detention Center. In 2022 he left to work in the Louisville metro area traffic center, before returning to the detention center in 2023, where he now serves as the Juvenile Facility Manager.
Lear says helping juveniles is a passion of his, and that he felt called to the work in the juvenile justice system. He says he hopes to encourage the juveniles to continue to better themselves, even after they have left the system.
8711 LaGrange Road, Bldg. D
Louisville, Kentucky 40242
Phone: 502-423-2171
Fax: 502-429-7295