Coconino juvenile services highlights Hope Receiving Center, high diversion rates and expansion plans for facility dogs

Juvenile court leaders told the Coconino County Board of Supervisors on May 7 that the Hope Receiving Center and other diversion programs have markedly limited youths’ deeper entry into the juvenile justice system, while detention alternatives and in‑county schooling have reduced days out of home.

The juvenile team summarized 2024 outcomes and ongoing plans as the board continued its multi‑day budget review of criminal justice departments. Casey, representing juvenile services, said the Hope Receiving Center served 282 youth in 2024 and that 92% of those youth did not “penetrate further into the system.” Since the program began in 2021, staff reported they served 510 children and families and that roughly 95–96% of those never required further court involvement.

Why it matters: Supervisors and juvenile staff framed the Hope Center and related work—school‑based prevention, wraparound services, and alternative education—as upstream efforts that reduce downstream incarceration and long‑term involvement in corrections, outcomes supervisors repeatedly cited as priorities when weighing budget tradeoffs.

Juvenile staff described the program mix and results. The department said its accessory programs include in‑house therapy (IOP, EMDR), family‑strengthening services, a…