Juveniles may be housed in Bonner Co.
BONNERS FERRY — Significant money could be saved if Boundary County Commissioners decide to send delinquent juveniles to the Bonner County Juvenile Detention Center rather than the Kootenai County facility.
Open since last spring, the Bonner County center houses 10 juveniles in its 27-bed facility.
Unlike Kootenai County, which charges by percentage of use, Bonner County would charge per person, per night.
“We would charge per use, $110 per day per person,” said Bonner County Justice Services Director Debbie Stallcup when she met with commissioners on March 25. “It is not based on our budget.”
Boundary County pays $188 per night to house juveniles in Kootenai County based on the percentage of use from the budget. For 2011, the county spent nearly $14,000 to house 12 juveniles in Kootenai County.
Nationwide, the rate per night for juvenile detention centers ranges from $726 in Connecticut to $24 in Wyoming.
Deciding to send juveniles to Bonner County would impact the other counties sending juveniles to Kootenai County juvenile detention center, which serves Benewah, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone
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counties. Since cost is decided by percentage of use, pulling out would increase the cost for other counties.
When Bonner County pulled out of the contract, the cost increased roughly $36 per night for the other counties, said Stacy Brown, Boundary County chief probation officer.
“We don’t want to blind-side the other counties,” said Commissioner Dan Dinning. “We want to inform them.”
“We want to help you the best we can,” said Stallcup. “No complaints against Kootenai County. It is a great facility.”
Stallcup said Bonner County built the new detention center because it was more cost effective for them.
Besides the direct cost, benefits of sending juveniles to Bonner County would include a reduction in transportation time and mileage, and coordination with Boundary County School District for school work.
“The time for a deputy is significant,” said Commissioner Walt Kirby. “Everything is cut in half. It has to be better to go closer from a money standpoint.”
Juveniles need to be transported to and from the center to be booked in and out, and to attend court if they don’t video conference.
Both Kootenai County and Bonner County juvenile detention offer comparable services, including educational programs and a clinician.
“We come to you for logistics. It is shorter than Kootenai County,” said Stallcup. “We would not require you to pull out of the Kootenai County contract.”
Boundary County cannot pull out of its contract with Kootenai County juvenile detention center until next year, as a contract was signed March 1 for a year of service. However, there is no cost associated with being in the contract. The cost is only for usage.
Only one juvenile from Boundary County is at Kootenai County juvenile detention center, but Boundary County has had between 10 and 16 juveniles there each year for the last three years.
“What is going to be best for rehabilitating the kids?” said Commissioner LeAlan Pinkerton. “That’s the goal.”
“We will analyze use,” said Dinning. “See where we are and go from there.”