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China Spring Youth Camp director presses state to restore funding, warns of bed shortages
Summary
Director Jessica Stocking told Douglas County commissioners the camp seeks increased state funding to restore ARPA support and reach full capacity; camp serves 16 counties and aims to expand beds and staff to reduce youth detention waits.
Jessica Stocking, director of China Spring Youth Camp, told the board that the camp serves adjudicated youth (ages 12–18) from 16 Nevada counties and provides behavioral‑modification, mental‑health and substance‑use services as alternatives to state commitment. Stocking said China Spring functions as a step to avoid costlier state placements and detailed outcomes and operational metrics during the FY2026 budget presentation.
Stocking said average stay is progress‑based, not time‑based, and runs about 5½ months; the camp tracks individualized support plans, academic progress, emotional regulation and behavioral growth. "Our main focus is the behavioral modification component, their academic success, their emotional regulation, and their behavioral growth," she told commissioners. She said the camp also expanded reporting to courts so referring jurisdictions can track youth outcomes and intervene before program failure.
On funding, Stocking said the camp is in the governor’s biennial budget at $3,883,543, which would restore ARPA funds used in the last biennium but leave counties paying about $2.2 million of the total. Stocking said the camp requested a state increase of about $1.29 million and a county increase of about $798,778 to restore an approximate 50/50 split; together those requests would raise total funding toward roughly $5.1 million. She said the state placed the camp on a “special consideration” line in the governor’s budget, leaving final funding uncertain.
Stocking described operational impacts if the state does not restore funds: the camp may need to reduce programming or limit female placements and reevaluate staffing and bed use. She told the board China Spring currently has 22 youth (19 boys, 3 girls) with 36 full‑time staff; facility capacity is 56 beds (40 male, 16 female) and Aurora Pines (a second building) is largely unused because of staffing limits. Stocking said there is a wait list for boys and that delays force youth to remain in detention awaiting a bed.
Stocking also reported grant and program developments: an opioid‑grant award that funds three new positions for three years (licensed clinical social worker, alcohol and substance counselor, and a youth services case manager) and a focus on PREA compliance and staff retention. She asked counties and NACO to continue outreach to legislators to emphasize camp’s role in preventing state commitments.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the county allocation formula, the current tentative versus requested budgets and whether counties are asked for uniform increases; Stocking described the formula ties county shares to bed use and per‑pupil counts. Stocking said she is coordinating outreach with NACO and county chiefs to press the legislature for restored funding and keep camp at operational capacity.
