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Millennium Fund committee asks for one‑time help for youth assessment centers, recommends targeted youth prevention funding
Summary
The Millennium Fund Committee presented recommendations to JFAC including one‑time funds for youth assessment centers, additional funding for school vape detectors and after‑school programs, and continued cautious preservation of fund balance for future prioritization.
Senator Van Burtonshaw and Representative Jordan Redmond, co‑chairs of the legislative Millennium Fund Committee, briefed JFAC Feb. 28 on the committee’s recommendations for uses of Millennium Fund money that originates from the state’s tobacco settlement.
The committee prioritized prevention, cessation and treatment programs that largely focus on Idaho residents under 18. Representative Redmond said the committee recommended $2,000,000 to support the Department of Education’s second cohort of programs—vape detectors, school resource officers, after‑school programs and youth assessment surveys—and recommended one‑time funds to support 12 youth assessment centers administered through the Department of Juvenile Corrections.
Redmond told the committee the assessment centers initially received funding in recent years but, "by the time they got started and going there, they've got behind a little bit and the funds have been used up." The committee recommended a one‑time supplemental (committee discussion referenced approximately $1,290,000) to keep centers operational into 2026 while centers pursue sustainability.
Other recommendations included one‑time personnel funds for Idaho Public Television (to align with committee priorities) and an appropriation from the opioid settlement fund for Idaho State Police educational programming. The committee recommended rolling any remaining Millennium Fund balance forward to preserve options for 2027.
The committee motion to accept the Millennium Fund Committee report was presented by the co‑chair and accepted by unanimous consent with no recorded objections.
Why it matters The Millennium Fund is statutorily tied to settlement proceeds and committees have directed spending toward youth prevention, treatment and education. The one‑time support to youth assessment centers is intended to avoid program closures while centers work on local sustainability. The committee emphasized the short‑term nature of the supplemental funding and asked program operators to plan for future self‑sufficiency.
Speakers quoted in this article are listed below; the committee accepted the report by unanimous consent, and the recommendation will be considered in later budget work groups.
