Lakeport >> Lake County Juvenile Hall will close its doors on Thursday, largely due the dwindling number of detainees who will be transferred to Mendocino County’s facility.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved cutting 20 staff positions allocated the for juvenile hall, finalizing the move. One chief probation officer — juvenile home superintendent position; four senior juvenile correctional officers; 14 juvenile correctional officers levels I, II,and III and one juvenile correctional aide position have been removed from the county’s budget.
Although the decision came less than two weeks before the hall’s final day of operations, when chief probation officer Rob Howe and county administrative officer Matt Perry first brought up the proposal to close at an Aug. 18 BOS meeting, they notified supervisors staff was already aware of the then forthcoming decision and at least half was actively seeking new employment.
Howe said Wednesday that the probation department has since been working with human resources to transfer staff to other county sectors including the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, currently in need of correctional officers.
Local and national realignment initiatives have shifted the juvenile justice system’s focus away from institutional custody. Statewide, the rapidly declining minor incarceration rate is based on studies that say time spent locked up only increases the chances of more jail time down the road. Instead, alternatives such as counseling are being recommended.
Lake County, Howe said, is pushing wraparound programs which combine efforts of family and group support outside of incarceration.
According to the California Department of Social Services, wraparound is a planning process that shifts from a problem-focused view to building on individual strengths to improve child and family well being.
The change in how juvenile offenders are dealt with is “absolutely the right thing to do,” Howe said. “Most of them would benefit far more from counseling rather than incarceration.”
At the Lake County Juvenile Hall’s current operating mode it costs $190,000 per minor annually, which comes out to $520 every day to provide all necessary services. That’s more than California’s annual cost to house a Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) ward at $179,400 — more than three times the per-inmate cost in the adult system, according to research by the Public Policy Institute of California. The state DJJ has in recent years also had to deal with drastic decline in inmates, shutting down four of its own institutions and one conservation camp to cut some of the expenses.
In Lake County, there’s also been an issue with a high staff turnover rate. Howe described the county as a training ground of “sorts for individuals seeking careers in juvenile corrections, adult corrections, probation, social work, and law enforcement.”
Like so many other Lake County departments, the salary and benefits packages are not always competitive, Howe said. Young employees often get their start here, but eventually find higher paying opportunities elsewhere.
The costs associated to train new staff were becoming increasingly burdensome for the Lake County probation department. But Mendocino County is not faced with the same staff retention problem, which will allow for more stability for minors detained, according to local staff.
With the move to Mendocino County, the cost of a Lake County juvenile detainee drops to $150 per day for the 12-bed minimum agreed upon between the two counties, cutting the annual average to less than a third at $54,750 per minor. Any additional beds will be billed at a reduced price of $120.
Officials estimate the county will save about $764,000 annually during the term of the two-year contract with a minimum yearly payment of $657,000.
And it’s not just the appeal of cutting cost that led to the decision to move to Mendocino County.
The physical layout of the Lake County Juvenile Hall has made it challenging for the corrections department to meet state and federal regulations. The neighboring county’s facility in Ukiah on the other hand has a more efficient and modern layout and offers services equal to or better than those offered in Lake County, according to Howe and Perry, such as better food and an additional full-time educator.
Mendocino County will handle most of the expenses associated with housing in accordance with local, state and federal regulations. Lake County will continue to provide medical, dental and pharmaceutical costs, as well as some transportation.
Mendocino County will not handle any kind of visitation transportation for legal, investigative case management or family maters.
Instead, its acquired video equipment to enable “Skyping” — online video conferencing — and allow families in Lake County to stay in touch with those in detention at facilities located at offices run by the probation department.
