Idaho Juvenile Corrections asks for $300,000 to cover rising substance‑use treatment costs, seeks radio upgrades amid rising mental‑health needs

At a Feb. 18 hearing of the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee in Boise, the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections requested $300,000 in ongoing general‑fund support for residential substance‑use treatment and a $380,000 one‑time purchase from the Juvenile Corrections Endowment Income Fund to upgrade radios at the state’s three juvenile correction centers.

The request reflects what agency officials described as higher per‑day treatment costs, longer average lengths of stay and increasing mental‑health needs among youth in custody. Noah Peterson, the Legislative Services Office analyst presenting the budget, told the committee: “This $300,000 request is to make up the difference from what was previously covered by health and welfare.”

Why it matters: The department said the cost of daily residential treatment has roughly doubled since 2021 and the average length of stay has more than doubled, driving program costs from about $1,260,000 in fiscal 2021 to about $2,700,000 in fiscal 2024. Department officials said those increases were partly offset by one‑time ARPA funding from the Department of Health and Welfare that is no longer available, creating an ongoing shortfall the department now asks the legislature to cover.

Noah Peterson, budget policy analyst for the…