Department of Juvenile Corrections requests radio upgrades, funding for rising substance-use treatment costs

The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on Feb. 18 that it seeks targeted funding to address equipment and rising treatment costs while lawmakers pressed agency officials for more data on youth mental‑health needs and population trends.

Noah Peterson, a legislative budget policy analyst with the Legislative Budget Office, reviewed the department’s request and said the agency is asking for a $380,000 one‑time purchase from the Juvenile Corrections Endowment Income Fund to replace and program radios at the three state juvenile correction centers in Lewiston, Nampa and St. Anthony. Peterson said the radios would include “man down” functionality to alert staff to the location of an employee in need of assistance and that St. Anthony currently lacks radios with that capability.

The department also seeks $300,000 in ongoing general‑fund support to cover increased costs for a residential substance‑use disorder (SUD) treatment program. According to Peterson, the daily cost for that residential program rose from about $198 per day in 2021 to $399 per day in August 2021, and the average length of stay increased from 31 days to 67 days; the combined effect raised the program’s cost from about $1,260,000 in fiscal 2021 to $2,700,000 in fiscal 2024. Peterson said the Department of Health and Welfare provided short‑term ARPA funding to help cover earlier increases but is no longer able to do so.

Director Ashley Dowell, who introduced herself as director of the Department of Juvenile Corrections, described staff and county partnerships as strengths and told the committee she is “very grateful” for the department’s workforce. She said she is concerned about “the level of mental health we’re seeing in the youth” and reported increases in suicidal ideation and self‑harm among youth in custody. Dowell also said the department has implemented a human‑trafficking screening tool consistent with a recent legislative requirement and county partners, and that the department adopted the same screening for its facilities.

Lawmakers asked for additional information. Representative Tanner pressed for historical population and flow data to determine whether recent increases represent a continuing trend or a short‑term uptick; Peterson said he would supply committee members with the department’s population and trend data. Director Dowell said the department’s in‑custody census hit an all‑time low of 137 in May 2024 and stood at 176 at the time of the hearing, an increase she described as about 19 percent from the low point.

Committee members also questioned the length of stay and per‑day cost increases for residential treatment. Director Dowell and the cochair explained that community treatment providers set placement and length‑of‑stay decisions using national placement criteria — identified in the hearing as the American Society for Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria — and that those providers are independent of the Department of Juvenile Corrections. The department agreed to follow up with additional information and said the fiscal impact team would examine the cost changes and funding sources.

Other budget items the department flagged included: a $232,500 request for IT hardware recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services; $145,100 in replacement items to be funded from dedicated funds; a net‑zero $350,000 program transfer moving youth assessment center costs into the Community Operations and Program Services (COPS) program; and a proposed net‑zero shift moving about $675,100 from personnel to operating expenditures accompanied by a requested reduction of seven full‑time positions tied to consolidation of some IT work with the state Office of Information Technology Services.

Committee members asked for more data about the youth crisis centers and diversion efforts. Director Dowell said she could provide figures showing how the crisis centers are used and noted anecdotal instances where crisis centers have diverted children under age 10 from detention settings. On the question of minimum detention age, Dowell said Idaho law is “a little bit split”: county juvenile detention centers have no statutory minimum age for detention, while the Department of Juvenile Corrections does not place children under age 10 in its custody; she said a diversion subcommittee of the Idaho Behavioral Health Council is working on potential policy recommendations and that the agency would collaborate with the legislature on any statutory changes.

No formal votes occurred at the hearing. Committee members directed staff to obtain and share population and cost trend data, and the fiscal impact team to review the residential treatment cost increases and funding shifts.

The agency’s budget materials and slide deck were posted to SharePoint and referenced repeatedly by the department’s analyst during the hearing. The department’s enhancement requests noted that some items were recommended by the governor.