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Idaho juvenile corrections director urges funding for radios, substance-use treatment amid rising mental-health needs
Summary
At a Feb. 18 Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee hearing, Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections officials requested one-time and ongoing budget increases for radios and substance-use residential treatment after officials described rising costs and worsening mental-health indicators among youth in custody.
The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18 that it is seeking both one-time and ongoing funding to upgrade safety equipment and to cover higher costs for residential substance-use treatment as the agency reports more severe mental-health needs among the youth it serves.
"I am concerned about just the level of mental health we're seeing in the youth with our facilities," Director Ashley Dowell told committee members, citing increases in self-harm and suicidal ideation among youth in custody. Dowell is director of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections.
The department's budget presentation, delivered by Noah Peterson, a legislative budget analyst, listed several requests for fiscal year 2026: a $380,000 one-time radio system upgrade from the Juvenile Corrections Endowment Income Fund to add "man down" functionality and programming across three state juvenile correction centers; a $300,000 ongoing general-fund request to…
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