Bennett County juvenile program gets renewed AmeriCorps site agreement approved

Todd Marder, who identified himself as representing Bennett County Juvenile Justice, asked the board to sign a site-agreement renewal with Idaho State University and the GEM State AmeriCorps program.

Marder said the program provides interns from Idaho State University who are reimbursed for service at "the village," and reported about 974 service hours from five AmeriCorps members since Oct. 1. He described recent contract changes that reduced the number of extended-hour contracts used in the past: "We had 8 1200 hour contracts, and they've cut it down to, like, 3 900 hour contracts and 1 450 hour contract," he said. Marder told the board the program supplies behavioral-tech, assessment-center specialist and community-engagement specialist roles that support assessments, case management, crisis triage and after-school activities.

Commissioner (Speaker 3) moved to approve signing the agreement with AmeriCorps; the board approved the motion by voice vote.

Next steps: staff will complete signatures on the site agreement and continue to monitor contract hours and funding availability; Marder said AmeriCorps typically notifies partners about contract changes in July.