Commissioners approve MOUs to shift juvenile placements as county closes 5C

Jefferson County commissioners on Feb. 23 approved intergovernmental agreements to place detained juveniles in regional facilities after the county’s 5C juvenile unit closes March 1. Probation director Tammy Adkins told the board the agreements must be in place before the closure and asked for clarification on record-sharing provisions.

Adkins flagged a clause that would require staff to obtain a court order each time a social-history report is requested, noting those reports are not prepared for pre-adjudicated juveniles and staff cannot release them without court approval. The board approved the MOU with 3B Juvenile Detention (Bonneville, Bingham and Butte counties) with a directive that section 2B be clarified and authorized Chairman Hancock to sign the final agreement. The motion was made by Commissioner Clark and seconded by Commissioner Young; the roll call vote was unanimous.

Separately, the board approved the MOU with Bannock County but explicitly excluded section D (Social History Reports) pending further clarification. Commissioner Clark moved the exclusion and authorized the chairman to sign after the language is revised; Commissioner Young seconded and the motion passed unanimously. The board’s actions leave the operational details unresolved until county legal staff and probation finalize the permitted records and procedures.

Next steps: probation staff will work with county legal counsel and partner counties to clarify how social-history requests will be handled and to finalize signature-ready MOUs prior to March 1.