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Juvenile probation chief asks St. Clair County Commission for electronic monitoring and staff help; $10,000 contract approved
Summary
Chief juvenile probation officer described rising caseloads and a shortage of local detention beds, requested $10,000 to expand use of Repath electronic monitoring and asked for an additional administrative position; commissioners approved the $10,000 Repath contract subject to county‑attorney review and agreed to study staffing options.
Annalie Klein, chief juvenile probation officer, told the St. Clair County Commission that juvenile arrests and intakes have increased and the county lacks local detention capacity, forcing staff to rely on a regional facility with limited beds.
Klein said the county handled 708 juvenile intakes in 2025 and that, at times, officers must release youths to families because no local bed is available. “We have a kid that has been there for over a year … 262 days,” Klein said, describing how bed shortages delay processing and court appearances.
To improve supervision of youths released to their homes, Klein requested the commission fund a one‑year contract with E‑HOP Solutions for the Repath electronic‑monitoring platform and asked the commission to enter a $10,000 contract so the probation office can enroll juveniles who are not in drug court. Klein said Repath gives location tracking, check‑in functions and one‑to‑one communication with probation staff; she added that probation officers are already trained on the system through the juvenile drug court.
Commissioners discussed whether the county needed a competitive bid and whether the contract should be subject to county‑attorney review. The commission voted to approve the $10,000 contract for Repath with the condition that the county attorney review the agreement before final execution.
Klein also asked for additional administrative support in the juvenile offices, proposing one full‑time secretary for the Asheville office and one for the Pell City office to ensure coverage while probation officers work in the field. She estimated a county‑paid position would cost about $36,000 annually with benefits; commissioners discussed alternatives including state hiring with county reimbursement and agreed to examine options and return with a proposal at a future work session.
The commission’s approval of the Repath contract is intended to give probation staff another tool to monitor high‑risk juveniles and improve court appearance rates while the wider staffing question is evaluated.
