Douglas County juvenile detention report shows downward admissions but racial disparities and placement backlogs prompt questions

Dr. Abby Carba, Douglas County juvenile justice administrator, told the county commissioners that the Douglas County Youth Center (DCYC) had 68 youth in detention as of March 5 and 54 admissions in February, continuing a downward admissions trend dating to 2023. "As of last Thursday, March 5th, our population was 68," Dr. Carba said during the board presentation.

The presentation included capacity and utilization figures: DCYC has a bed capacity of 144 and an operational capacity typically counted as 96; the Youth and Family Services Center has a capacity of 64 and an operational capacity of 52 and had no youth on the report date. Dr. Carba said February’s average daily population was 64 and the month’s average time to release across all youth was 74 days, with a subset charged as adults averaging substantially longer stays.

The board received detailed offense and demographic breakdowns. Dr. Carba reported that in February black youth accounted for 44% of DCYC admissions, Hispanic youth 26% and white youth 16%, and that boys remain the majority of admissions though girls’ share has risen (18 of 54 admissions in February).…