Need for new juvenile detention facility outlined

There have been some questions that continue to resurface and I am hoping that the following explanation will help answer those questions.

Why do we need a new facility?

The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections establishes minimum standards for detention, care and certification of approved detention centers.

Further, the Idaho Administrative Procedures Act gives the department the authority to visit and inspect all juvenile detention facilities to assess the facilities’ compliance with the rules and standards.

The following is a list of deficiencies that were noted in a recent review of Bonner County’s facility:

• The hallway to the living area is very narrow, which is a safety concern and a code violation for a detention facility. When doors are opened, they block hallway access.

• The facility does not meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

• There is no egress from the sleeping rooms.

• The building is made out of combustible materials.

• A water line and data wiring are exposed.

• The roof is leaking and IDAPA requires the facility to have backup emergency power.

As you can see, these are not deficiencies that can be easily fixed.

The other deficiency involves the International Fire Code. Because of the building’s use as a secure detention facility, the fire code requires there to be sufficient clearance where doors open into a path of egress.

The fire code also requires two exit doorways and forbids egress from a room that requires passage through an intervening room.

The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections conducted a review of the existing facility in December 2009 and concluded it could no longer certify the building.

Why can’t we put the juvenile offenders in tents, a newer residential home, or existing commercial building?

Any time there is major remodeling required, you must meet all ADA, fire codes and IDAPA rules, which govern the design and construction of facilities.

We are looking at building a basic detention center that meets all of the state and federal requirements — nothing more. The detention center will be designed to hold juveniles that are a risk to the community, for accountability for the crimes they have committed and to build competency for success in the future.

Why doesn’t the county do anything to steer kids away from detention?

In the last three years, there have been a total of 103,412 days of detention ordered by the courts. Of those 103,412 days, only 11,028 have been actually served.

We do use alternatives to detention for low risk offenders, such as:

n Work In Lieu of Detention — WILD is a program that requires juveniles to work a supervised eight-hour day. These hours are spent in the community doing everything from highway cleanup to helping the elderly. Thousands of hours have been put into this community by juveniles, rather than placing them into detention.

In the past three years, 1,138 days of work has been performed by juveniles. If those juveniles did not do WILD, they would have served time in detention. The cost of incarceration for those days of work would have cost $202,564 if they were served at Region 1 in Kootenai County or $143,880 if they were served in Bonner County.

n Electronic monitoring (ankle bracelet) — In the past two years, 333 days were not served in detention due to use of the ankle bracelet. This equals a cost savings of $59,274 if those days had been served at Region 1 or $41,958 if those days had been served in Bonner County.

The combined use of the WILD and electronic monitoring programs has saved Bonner County the cost of $261,838 (if detention had been served at Region 1) or $185,346 (if detention had been served in Bonner County).

There are many other programs that juveniles are placed in to help them be successful. They include community service, work-to-learn projects, Life Skills Northwest, drug and alcohol abuse counseling, Project No Drug Use, PAWSitive Works, Plant House Work Program, victim empathy, school/GED, Parent Project and dialectical behavioral treatment.

I sincerely hope this answers some of the questions that have been asked about why we need a new juvenile detention center.  If anyone would like to meet and talk about suggestions they may have and take a tour of our current facility, please do not hesitate to call.

Debbie Stallcup, M.Ed., is director of Bonner County Justice Services. She can be reached at 263-1602 or at dstallcup@co.bonner.id.us. Her mailing address is P.O. Box 2016, Sandpoint, ID. 83864.