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Lawrence County prison board reviews juvenile housing costs, concludes continued housing is viable
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Summary
Board reviewed audit of juvenile pod costs and revenues, heard that housing juveniles costs about $500,000 a year but generated a net surplus last year; board agreed to continue housing absent changes in state restrictions or liability exposure.
At the Lawrence County Prison Board meeting on Jan. 22, 2025, board members examined an audit of the county jail's juvenile housing and concluded, absent changes in state restrictions or major liability exposure, the county should continue to house out-of-area juveniles.
The discussion centered on cost, capacity and revenue. Jail staff and the deputy warden presented figures showing the juvenile pod's identifiable, measurable cost to the county is approximately $500,000 annually, driven principally by staffing (salary and benefits). The deputy warden said that figure assumes an average of 4.2 officers assigned to juvenile housing across shifts and uses 8,760 annual work hours as the denominator.
The audit also showed revenue from housing out-of-area juveniles. Board members were told the jail generated $656,200 in juvenile housing revenue last year and $258,045 from adult out-of-area housing, for a combined $914,245. After accounting for the juvenile pod's costs, staff said the juvenile program produced a roughly $156,000 surplus for the county in the prior year. The deputy warden reported the board currently is housing nine juveniles (eight from Westmoreland County and one from Mercer County) and that the facility comfortably accommodates about 10 juveniles; staff said they believe capacity could be increased to the range of "20 to 30" if necessary.
Staff detailed the per-day rates charged to other counties: $600 per juvenile per day from Westmoreland County and $400 per day from Mercer County (the lower rate reflects a training-related discount Mercer provides to Lawrence County staff). The deputy warden said food and utilities add minimal per-person cost but administrative workload and potential liability are intangible costs to factor into any policy change.
Board members and the district attorney emphasized that the economics could change if the state imposes new restrictions on housing juveniles in adult facilities or if liability exposure increases. The district attorney said the break-even calculation on current figures translates to needing roughly 2.7 juveniles per day, every day of the year, to cover the juvenile pod's identifiable costs.
After discussion, a board member said, "Absent any dissent, we will continue to just operate, you know, business as usual," and no board member objected. The board did not formalize a new policy vote at the meeting; members said they would revisit the issue if the state imposes operational restrictions or if liability concerns arise.
The meeting also noted that some counties' billing and payments were still outstanding for November and December; staff said they did not expect defaults from other counties that use Lawrence County for out-of-area housing but would present updated revenue figures at the next meeting.
