County staff warn juvenile services will lose program time as detention moves to Marathon County

Portage County Health & Human Services staff told the committee that the county’s juvenile detention center will remain in operation until the new jail opens, after which the county plans to contract with Marathon County for juvenile beds.

Staff (S3) said the change will extend travel time for staff, families and service providers and diminish on-site contact time with youth. “So you're gonna lose a lot of staff time, service time for those youth that are interested,” S3 said, describing the additional hours staff or family members would have to spend traveling when the facility relocates. S3 noted the drive could add substantial round-trip time and described the practical impact on therapists, mentors and teachers who currently visit youth in the local center.

Committee members discussed financial trade-offs. One staff comment referenced that building new local capacity carried a much larger upfront cost (a figure of about $20,000,000 was mentioned in the discussion as a comparative reference), and that from a purely monetary perspective contracting for beds may be more economical. S3 also said numerous state statutes and regulations shape how juveniles are detained and that the county is currently “grandfathered in,” but compliance changes will raise operating costs.

The committee also discussed that current youth detention populations have declined in recent years (staff estimated the local average population at about 1.5 youth), which affects whether local capacity is justifiable versus contracting for external beds.

The committee did not take a formal vote on a relocation plan in this meeting; members framed the issue as an operational and budgetary trade-off and emphasized preserving program services where possible if youth are housed outside the county.