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Berks joins four‑county plan to re‑establish regional youth detention center
Summary
Commissioners reviewed and moved forward on an intergovernmental agreement with Dauphin, Lackawanna, Lehigh and Delaware counties to re‑establish a regional youth detention center at the former county juvenile detention site; officials said several counties have already signed and Lehigh is expected to sign in August.
County Chief Operations Officer Kevin Barnhart updated the board on progress toward a regional youth detention center involving five counties. Barnhart said Dolphin, Lackawanna and Delaware have already signed and "Lehigh will be signing August 12," subject to that county’s second reading, and described monthly coordination among counties and counsel.
Barnhart said the cooperative approach aims to address a shortage of beds and to provide local programming for minors charged with violent offenses, adding that "there's a tremendous shortage of beds in this area of the Commonwealth, and nationwide." Commissioners described the agreement as an important early step; Speaker 2 emphasized the effort is still in early stages and that more work remains before operations begin.
The board considered a resolution authorizing the county to enter the intergovernmental cooperation agreement; the item was presented as part of the consent/agenda packet and commissioners discussed next procedural steps.
