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DJJ asks for $18M in capital, $4.5M recurring operating funds as detention costs climb
Summary
Department of Juvenile Justice Director Hendrick told lawmakers the agency has nearly doubled detention space through repurposing but is seeking $18 million in nonrecurring capital and $4.5 million recurring to cover operating costs, staff pay, and community programs to reduce expensive detention stays.
Director Hendrick of the Department of Juvenile Justice told the legislative committee that the agency has finished construction on two projects and repurposed facilities that nearly doubled detention capacity, easing an overcrowding problem driven by COVID, 'raise the age' and a 2022–23 crime uptick.
Hendrick said DJJ is requesting $18,000,000 in nonrecurring capital for the last phase of a master plan to address deferred maintenance, security improvements (sally ports, gate houses), a new infirmary and laundry, and $4,500,000 in recurring operating funds to cover inflationary costs, IT refresh cycles and rising workers' compensation. “We actually have repurposed our buildings, which has allowed us to completely expand our, detention space,” Hendrick said.
Why it matters: Lawmakers pressed Hendrick on the fiscal and public-safety tradeoffs of detaining low-risk youth. Hendrick gave an agency cost estimate for detention of about $656 per youth per day, and cited a broader national average she said is roughly $740 per day, noting that expensive stays are driven in part by long pretrial waits and by housing higher-risk youth who require more resources.
Hendrick urged more funding for diversion and community-based programs. DJJ asked the committee to increase annual support for 42 Teen After School centers from $20,000 per site toward $35,000, citing preventive benefits for up to about 3,000 youth statewide, and to expand Youth Arbitration Program funding after YAP diverted more than 3,600 cases in FY25. She also described a day-reporting center pilot (the Pines) and a specialized psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) funded with a $20,000,000 General Assembly appropriation and supported operationally by the Department of Mental Health; Hendrick said DJJ supports recurring OMH budget requests to avoid covering costs Medicaid will not.
Lawmakers’ concerns and responses: Senators questioned who is at the table when case-level decisions are made. The Senator from Georgetown pressed whether solicitors, judges and public defenders are effectively engaged in efforts to shorten detention stays; Hendrick said DJJ has reached out to solicitors and public defenders but acknowledged court processes and waiver hearings contribute to prolonged detention and must be part of stakeholder discussions to reduce days in custody.
Budget specifics and next steps: Hendrick described salary requests aimed at bringing Pine day-center staff, licensed community social workers, training/quality-improvement staff and Class 1 officers/communications personnel up to state averages, and outlined the $18 million nonrecurring capital request for phase 4 of the agency master plan. She said the agency supports H 4151 as written in committee and will continue legislative engagement on S 374 and related provisos. The committee indicated it will have staff and the attorney-general’s office review the details.
The hearing moved on after lawmakers and Hendrick agreed to continue stakeholder outreach; no formal vote occurred in this session.
