Juvenile Corrections requests radio upgrades and $300,000 for substance-use treatment as youth mental-health concerns rise

The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18 that it is seeking one-time and ongoing funding to upgrade safety equipment and cover rising treatment costs while agency leaders described increased mental-health needs among youth in its care.

Budget analyst Noah Peterson told JFAC the department’s fiscal 2026 requests include a one-time $380,000 purchase from the Juvenile Corrections Endowment Income Fund to replace and program radios at the Lewiston, Nampa and St. Anthony juvenile correction centers, and an ongoing $300,000 general-fund request to cover increased costs for a residential substance-use treatment program.

The radio purchase would buy equipment with a “man down” function that, according to Peterson, alerts staff to the location of an employee who needs assistance and would bring all three facilities to the same level of capability.

Why it matters: agency leaders said mental-health needs and…