Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Juvenile Justice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bonner County commissioners receive juvenile justice report citing fewer arrests, diversion concerns and mental-health gaps
Summary
At a May 18 special meeting, Bonner County officials reviewed the 2025 juvenile justice report: arrests fell to 74 from 83, detention admissions rose to 121, diversion success dropped to 71%, and staff warned of limited residential mental-health treatment and data-quality questions about gender counts.
Bonner County commissioners on May 18 received the county's annual juvenile justice report, which showed 74 youth arrests in 2025 compared with 83 in 2024 and highlighted questions about diversion screening, mental-health access and state funding for treatment.
JD Skor, the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections liaison for Districts 1 and 2, presented the figures, saying, "You can see in 2025, for youth arrests, there were 74, compared to 83 in 2024." Skor also reported 121 detention admissions in 2025 and 65 juvenile petitions, and he described recidivism as "9 percent at six months, 12 percent at 12 months and 13 percent at 24 months." Skor noted probation success at 98% and diversion success at 71% for 2025.
A county justice-services official, Ron, explained that detention admissions include probation violations and other entries that are not new arrests, which can make the detention count higher than arrest figures: "Arrest would count as a new crime... detention admissions would include those folks, but it would also include kids coming in on probation violations." Ron and Skor said the county altered diversion screening to allow some marijuana and paraphernalia cases into diversion, and that change likely lowered the program's success rate because some of those cases were less compliant.
Commissioners asked about geographic patterns, noting Ponderay and nearby corridors as possible 'hot spots.' A commissioner said local dispensary openings might be encouraging paraphernalia possession among younger youth; Ron responded that cases appear to come from friends and parents across the county and that staff do not see a verified gang affiliation in recent cases.
Skor summarized demographic and program details: most youth on intake were 14–16 years old, 96% identified as White, and program gender figures in the report showed 75% male and 25% female. County staff flagged possible data inaccuracies and said local caseloads recently have included a higher share of girls; staff pledged to recheck database pulls.
The presentation also covered custody and placement: three Bonner County youth were in Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections custody in 2025, and Skor outlined the IDJC's state facilities in Lewiston, St. Anthony and Nampa where youth with greater risk are placed. Commissioners and staff discussed behavioral-health access; staff said outpatient counseling is generally available and that county funds can fill gaps for youth without Medicaid, but they identified a shortage of residential mental-health treatment for youths whose needs exceed community options.
On funding, Skor said $66,304 was passed to the county under the Juvenile Corrections Act and $105,244 via tobacco and cigarette taxes; he also reported $2,727,241 in state behavioral-health funds spent on substance-use treatment for nine juveniles in the county. Skor said state pass-through funds account for roughly 11% of the county juvenile-justice budget.
The meeting included no formal votes or motions. The commissioners thanked staff for the report; staff noted they will double-check demographic figures and follow up on scheduling for upcoming budget hearings. The board adjourned at 10:34 a.m.
