Racine supervisors view new Jonathan Delagrave Youth Development and Care Center; officials outline funding and timeline

County supervisors on the Racine County Board received a video walkthrough and timeline Thursday for the long-planned Jonathan Delagrave Youth Development and Care Center (YDCC) and a connected Behavioral Health building, with staff saying the projects are largely funded and expected to be operational in early 2025.

Director Hope Otto summarized the multi-year effort that began after statewide changes in juvenile justice and a targeted state award. She told the board the county secured an initial $40,000,000 state SIRC award (accepted in 2020) and later added roughly $10,000,000 to reach an estimated project cost of $52,000,000, with groundbreaking in June 2023 and an operational target of February 2025. Otto said ARPA funds were authorized in July 2024 to cover about 40% of the Behavioral Health building's costs, and the county hopes to apply roughly $10,000,000 from opioid-settlement dollars plus a possible $5,000,000 appropriation from Senator Baldwin to minimize the local taxpayer share.

A video tour presented by Scott (project lead) showed day-lit, normative environments for youth programming: a public lobby and 1,000-square-foot community meeting room; a 1,200-square-foot courtroom and surrounding consultation spaces; dining commons and six secure housing pods with day rooms, sleeping rooms and outdoor courtyard access; a 7,500-square-foot central outdoor courtyard and an enlarged 8,500-square-foot gymnasium. Scott said the education block includes four classrooms, a life-skills room, a small recording studio and family visiting suites designed for supervised visits.

The Behavioral Health building will house three primary program areas, staff said: a 15‑bed stabilization center (SAIL), a 15‑bed substance-use disorder residential wing (SUD), and roughly 25,000 square feet of supportive offices and services, for about 55,000 square feet total. Scott said SAIL stands for Stabilization, Assessment, Information and Linkage and that statutory parameters keep each of the stabilization and residential wings at the 15‑bed threshold.

Supervisors pressed for additional details. Supervisor Caprallian asked about exterior landscaping and how the building’s outward appearance would fit the neighborhood; Scott and staff said the design uses residential massing and peaked roofs, inward-facing courtyards, obscured lower-level windows for privacy and perimeter fencing where necessary, and that landscape renderings would be provided to the board. On parking, staff said roughly 70 spaces will be provided across the campus and that most trips will be staff or law-enforcement drop-off.

Board members also asked how services will shift from two existing locations. Staff said the vast majority of programming currently at the Dominic facility will move to the new building; a portion of services from the Taylor site (notably a Community Support Program with six employees) will also move across the street, and county leaders plan an overall facility strategy to reassign vacated space. Finance and operations staff said rent at Dominic will end and the county will begin paying costs associated with owning and operating the new facility instead of rental expense.

Several supervisors raised staffing and classification questions in light of broader human-resources work underway: the HR director told the board county staff reviewed positions against a duties test related to federal overtime guidance and adjusted some pay grades; that analysis and related communications to affected employees are separate from the capital project but affect operational staffing planning.

The presentation concluded with staff noting continued partnership with state and federal funders and outside consultants for project management and operations. The board did not take an action on the capital project at the meeting; staff said construction funds are in place and detailed design/landscaping materials will be circulated to supervisors for review.