Expert recommends county-only juvenile jail

by Carol Crump
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 12:51 PM MDT

Turning over the first shovel of dirt for construction of a new juvenile detention facility in Natrona County still may be a long way off.

The third in a series of expert opinions still leaves the Natrona County Commission with a choice between building a Natrona County-only or a regional facility.

Correctional consultant Gary Bowker of Allied Correctional Services of Lakewood, Colo., attended a commission work session on Oct. 2. He recommended focusing on building a facility that will meet capacity needs for at least the next 20 years.

"The magic is how to forecast the population," he said.

The juvenile facility in the space on the third floor of the downtown Hall of Justice was formerly the adult jail. It currently is run under contract to the County as a regional facility by Cornerstone Programs.

The Wyoming Department of Family Services has agreed to kick in $12,500 a month toward the $62,500 per month cost to run the facility.

That agreement to use a portion of the money that the Legislature approved in its last session to enhance county juvenile justice systems will be up for renegotiation in February.

Is regional reasonable?

Bowker suggested that a regional center in Casper makes sense if it can generate revenue.

Historically, 40 percent of the admissions to the facility from 2002-07 came from outside of Natrona County. Outside county placements also stayed longer in the juvenile jail than Natrona County residents.

Continuing that trend could generate out-of-county fees to offset construction and operational costs.

Before the County chose to go with a regional center that Bowker's research suggested could be as large as 46 beds, the consultant said commitments to use such a facility would have to be finalized with other counties in a defined service area, and with other potential users like the U.S. Marshal's Service.

Both Sweetwater and Campbell counties are ready to open their own juvenile detention facilities. Fremont County has had its own facility for several years.

Bowker said the commissioners also would have to decide who would manage and operate the new facility.

He outlined three scenarios: County owned and operated, privately operated or privately operated with a share of the revenue going to the County.

"If the County runs the program, you take a risk of adding beds," he said. "If someone else is running the program, the County wouldn't get the revenue."

The consultant's report concludes that finding a "best capacity fit" for a Natrona County-only facility is less complicated than for a regional facility.

Based on a historical review of juvenile admissions, population counts and Wyoming demographics that include the state's population growth and birth rate, a 24-bed facility could meet the County's needs for the next 20 years, and possibly still meet some regional needs for a few years.

"I'm confident on the bed need for Natrona County only," Bowker said. "On regional, I hedged some."

The consultant's recommendations did not include the recent changes at the Department of Family Services that focus on closer to home, less restrictive placement than the juvenile detention center in Casper.

What happens next?

Regardless of whether the County chooses a regional or a local approach, Bowker said his interviews indicated the County also should consider adding some special or conditional use beds for medical needs, such as alcohol and drug detox.

"There's a need for juvenile drunk hold," he said.

The County has $3 million to pay for a correctional facility that is estimated to cost approximately $290 a square foot at today's construction costs, according to consulting architect Ronald Shosh of Amundsen Associates.

Cost estimates that the commission received in December 2007 from consultants from the National Partnership for Juvenile Services put the cost of a 24-bed facility at $9.2 million.

Some additional funding may come from the $2 million in juvenile justice enhancement funds.

The legislation that DFS is using to help pay Cornerstone requires that the County have a community juvenile service joint powers board, a role that possibly could be filled by the present Juvenile Planning Commission.

Natrona County has the potential to get 17 percent of the $2 million, according to Assistant District Attorney Brian Christensen.

The new juvenile facility likely would be located next to the Natrona County Adult Detention Center. The next step in the process will be a design charette conducted by architects Amundsen Associates on Oct. 14-15.

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