Juvenile detention project deserves support

Times are tough, no doubt about it.

It is hard, when we are all struggling, to advocate paying $3.3 million each of the next two years to fund a new juvenile detention center, but that’s what the editorial board of the Daily Bee is doing.

Have the kids who find themselves in juvenile detention made mistakes? No doubt about it. A bad choice, or series of them, is what brought them to that facility.

That doesn’t mean we give up on them, throw away the key and pretend they don’t exist. They continue their education, and learn life skills as well as how to make better choices.

Worried about the bottom line? We all are. We keep the kids here, they count toward our average daily attendance for our school districts. They head south to Coeur d’Alene, that money ends up with one of Kootenai County’s school districts.

Looked at the price of gas lately? It’s gone up lately and just because we’d ship the kids south doesn’t mean they don’t need to come back up for visits with their probation officers, doctor and dentist visits and court appearances — at $2.60 or more a gallon, 70 miles round trip adds up pretty quick.

Some critics discount the importance of family visits, saying these kids messed up and don’t deserve that bond. I figure, it’s one more hook to keep them on track to being a productive member of society.

Which would you prefer? Educated, well-adjusted and answering for their mistakes or sullen, angry and repeating the same bad choices?

All that said, regardless of how you vote, the important thing is to turn out on Tuesday and vote.

Caroline Lobsinger is the managing editor of the Daily Bee.