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Council trims juvenile services food and training budgets amid questions about $100,000-per-youth cost
Summary
LaPorte County councilors approved juvenile services budgets after cutting food, travel and training line items. County officials and the interim juvenile-services director discussed facility capacity, staffing needs to open additional beds, and whether to accept placements from other counties to reduce per-child costs.
LaPorte County councilors on July 21 approved revised budget line items for the Dorothy S. Crowley Juvenile Services Center after a lengthy discussion about program costs and capacity. Anita Ross, the assistant director supervising the juvenile center, told the council the facility currently operates 12 secure beds and about nine residential beds and that some positions are unfilled following a recent management change.
Ross said the center’s food expenditures were higher this year because a Department of Education grant recently ran out and the program moved back to the county budget. She reported daily head counts including 12 in secure care; during the discussion council members said the overall annual facility cost works out to roughly $100,000 per youth when general-fund support and capital spending are included.
Council members questioned whether the county should keep beds in-house or contract placements with other counties that operate larger facilities. Ross said the county can accept out-of-county placements only on the residential side and that any out-of-county arrangement would rely on Department of Child Services coordination and additional staffing to open wings currently closed for lack of personnel.
After back-and-forth about food and training costs, the council agreed to reduce the juvenile services food line from the requested $63,000 to $50,000, lower employee education and training to $7,000 and set travel at $3,000. The motion to approve the 200s and 300s with those changes passed on a recorded voice vote.
The council asked staff to prepare a capital-assets plan and to follow up with details about potential revenue from housing out-of-county juveniles. The motion to approve the amended juvenile-services budget was made by Councilwoman Jennifer Heath and carried by the council. The council also asked for clearer accounting on grant-funded line items that were described as "other services and charges."
