The Juvenile Detention Center Oversight Board on Dec. 8 approved a motion to receive the detention-center activity report annually at the close of the fiscal year, shifting from prior discussion of monthly or quarterly updates.

Board member Doctor Herron moved for the change and the motion was seconded and adopted by voice vote. The board reached the decision after staff presented sample data reports and members weighed the value of operational detail against the workload required to produce it.

Miss Duke, who presented the reports, told the board, "As of this morning, there's a total of 8 young folks at the juvenile detention center," and said four of those youth were from Rutherford County, with one each from Cheatham, Franklin, Gibson and Madison. The board accepted the data report without objection.

Miss Duke also summarized educational programming for November, including classes in English, math, history and Spanish, enrollment in the Penn Foster program, character-building and anger-management sessions, one-on-one counseling and a voluntary Bible study with three male participants and one female participant. The board accepted the educational-services report.

Several members said they wanted to avoid the board slipping into day-to-day operational oversight. The chair cautioned, "I want to be very careful that the board doesn't stray away from its mission," noting the board's role is to provide vision and guardrails and that operational matters should follow the established standard operating procedures.

After discussion, Doctor Herron proposed receiving the two annual reports at the end of the fiscal year; the motion passed on a voice vote. The board also agreed that staff should notify members if producing more frequent reports proves unduly burdensome.

The board deferred more detailed consideration of what additional operational metrics, if any, should be routinely provided, saying members could review past meeting recordings or request specific information when needed. The board adjourned after handling remaining business.