Idaho juvenile corrections requests radios, treatment funding as youth mental‑health and facility census rise, director says

At a Feb. 18 Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee hearing, the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections asked lawmakers to approve one‑time and ongoing funding to upgrade staff safety radios and to cover higher costs for residential substance‑use treatment, while agency leaders described growing mental‑health needs among youth in custody.

Noah Peterson, budget policy analyst with the Legislative Budget Review, told the committee “this is a $380,000 one‑time request, from the state juvenile corrections endowment income fund” to replace and program radios at the Lewiston, Nampa and St. Anthony facilities, adding man‑down functionality and standardizing equipment across centers.

The request also included a $300,000 ongoing general‑fund appropriation to offset higher daily costs for residential SUD treatment. “The cost of daily residential treatment for this program has doubled since 2021,” Peterson said, noting the per‑day reimbursement rose from about $198 to $399 and average length of stay climbed from 31 days to 67 days, increasing annual program costs from roughly $1,260,000 in fiscal 2021 to about $2,700,000 in fiscal 2024.

Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections Director Ashley Dowell, who joined the agency recently, told the committee she is “very grateful” for staff and county partners and said the agency is seeing increased levels of mental‑health needs among youth, including rises in suicidal ideation and self‑harm. “We are seeing an increase in criminality as well and so want to work on how best to address that and make sure that we are properly policing and treating those kids and getting them the services that they need,” Dowell said.

Agency and committee discussion

Committee members pressed for data on facility populations, diversion and youth crisis centers. Representative Tanner asked for numbers on how many youth are served and whether the recent trend is a tapering of the population; Peterson said he has those data and can provide them to the committee.

Dowell reported the department’s custody census reached an all‑time low in May 2024 of 137 youth and had risen to 176 at the time of the hearing, an increase she characterized as a rebound from the low. She also said that many youths (the director said “about 95 percent”) remain on probation rather than in state custody, underlining reliance on county partners and community programs.

Members asked about the department’s youth crisis centers and whether they are diverting youth from secure custody. Dowell said she lacked comprehensive diversion statistics in the hearing but that crisis centers have “absolutely stepped up” in cases — including for children under 10 — and that the department would provide available data to the committee.

Other budget items and program changes

Peterson outlined additional requests and program shifts: a $232,500 IT hardware replacement request (recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services); a $350,000 net‑0 program transfer to move youth assessment center costs from administration into the community operations and program services (COPS) program; a net shift of $675,100 from personnel to operating to consolidate IT positions with the state Office of Information Technology Services and a proposed reduction of 7 FTP tied to that consolidation; and $145,100 for facility replacement items from dedicated funds. Peterson said many of the enhancement items were recommended by the governor.

On human‑trafficking screening, Dowell said implementation is complete: the department and county partners identified screening tools and provided training, and IDJC adopted the screening in its facilities to match county practice. She said the screening implementation had a January 2025 due date and thanked county partners for their work.

What the committee asked the agency to provide

Committee members sought follow‑up materials: historical and current population counts and trend data, the number and outcomes of crisis‑center referrals and diversion, and any available utilization or placement reviews for residential treatment providers. Senator Wintrow and Representative Tanner requested the agency return with analysis of drivers behind increased youth mental‑health needs and potential policy responses.

Why it matters

Lawmakers must decide whether to add one‑time and ongoing funding to address staff safety and rising treatment costs amid an uptick in facility census and growing behavioral‑health needs. The requests include a one‑time use of dedicated endowment income to improve radios and an ongoing general‑fund ask for SUD treatment previously subsidized by Department of Health and Welfare ARPA funds, which Peterson said are no longer available.

The department emphasized reliance on county partners and community service providers for most youth, while flagging increasing acuity among the smaller population in state custody. Committee members requested additional data to assess the scale, cost drivers and outcomes before funding final decisions.

A closing note

Dowell closed by thanking committee members and emphasizing the department’s dual aims: public safety and effective treatment to reduce recidivism and support successful family reunification and community reintegration.