The Nevada County Civil Grand Jury on Monday recommended the closure of the Carl F. Bryan II Regional Juvenile Hall, a move it says could save the county over $2 million.
The grand jury, which periodically issues recommendations, states the Board of Supervisors and county probation department should close the facility and instead contract with other counties for their juvenile detention needs.
The recommendation also urges government agencies to find other, alternative uses for the local juvenile hall at 15434 Highway 49.
“We’re going to go over the recommendation, probably sometime this week,” said Supervisor Dan Miller, chairman of the board.
According to Miller, some grant funds were used in 2002 to construct the juvenile facility. That could impact any potential changes, which is one reason he’ll meet with CEO Rick Haffey and Michael Ertola, chief probation officer.
Sheriff Keith Royal said deputies’ time transporting detainees to another facility should be considered, as well as taking juveniles farther away from their families.
“We’re taking staff out of the field for a lengthy period of time,” Royal added.
The grand jury’s report cites the declining number of detainees and expected savings from outsourcing as arguments to close the facility.
Nevada County’s Juvenile Hall has never had more than 25 detainees between 2011 and 2015. Additionally, it must employee 26 people to meet staffing requirements.
“All of this comes at a substantial cost,” the report states.
Those costs are just under $3 million each fiscal year.
The juvenile facility does get some revenue from housing out-of-county detainees, though it has little impact, the report states. That impact is expected to decrease once a new juvenile facility opens for Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador counties later this year.
The report estimates that housing about 21 detainees for a year at an outside facility would cost around $703,000, compared to the $2.9 million it cost for fiscal year 2014-2015.
“Nevada County costs alone would have been reduced by over 65 percent,” the recommendation states.
June 6, 2016
The Union of Grass Valley
By Alan Riquelmy
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