Clarke sheriff forced to close detention center

Just nine months after opening, Clarke County Juvenile Detention Center closed Feb. 1, after referrals of delinquent juveniles trickled down to less than one a week, causing a revenue stream to dry up.

The closed center will cost eight local residents their jobs and means troubled youth will have to travel farther away from home to serve their detention sentence.

Clarke County Sheriff Bill Kerns and others in the criminal justice field have attributed the fewer juvenile referrals to the recent state budget cuts.

"With the budget crisis, I think magistrates are more lenient along with the court system as far as putting people in jail," Kerns said. "I guess there's nothing wrong with that because you can't put everybody in jail, but there are times when some people walk that I, for the life of me, can't understand."

The facility was financially strong until the budget cuts were announced in October, said Kerns. In the first six months that the center opened, it held over 70 juveniles and brought in over $99,000.

But since October, the facility has only housed eight juveniles, with several only staying 24 hours.

"We went from going to pick up kids all over, to now we aren't even getting calls," Kerns said.

With so few juveniles getting referred to the center, the cost of holding them outweighs the revenue it brings in.

"If I don't have kids in here, I can't keep operating," Kerns said. "Businesses don't do that if they see they're losing [revenue]."

Staffing the center costs $260 a day, and with counties paying only $150 to house a juvenile, the center is out $110.

"It's a bad deal because there was a lot of work put into it," Kerns said. "There were a lot of hoops we had to jump through and we had to convince the state that we could run a quality program, which we did."

The center in Clarke could re-open, but it would have to average holding three juveniles a day to make it worth while, Kerns said.

"It just can't work with just one child," Kerns said.

EFFECTS

Closing the facility meant the loss of eight jobs, but Kerns said the effects are widespread.

"I work with these people every day," he said. "Yeah, I laid off eight people but I've affected 24 to 25 when you stop to think about their spouses and children. It's something I lost a lot of sleep over."

The former full-time detention officers' hours were reduced, but then they were laid off and are now collecting unemployment.

Ultimately, the juveniles and their families will be affected the most.

"This will require us to place kids farther away to another facility like Des Moines or Council Bluffs," said Juvenile Court Officer Sue Stearns. "This will be a greater expense in time and travel to the county."

"The focus of juvenile court services is to maintain as many kids in the county without placing them away from their homes," she said. "If they are two or three hours from home, their parents can't be involved with them"

DETENTION SYSTEM CHANGING

Detention centers all over Iowa are experiencing the the same capacity issues as Clarke's center, with many of them operating with half their cells filled.

Numbers are also down for Polk County Detention Center, often referred to as Meyer Hall.

Polk's detention center expanded to a bigger facility because juvenile deliquences were expected to increase. The facility has 66 beds, but only 33 have been used since the move.

Community Family and Youth Services Director Brian Boyer said the fewer juvenile holdings should be viewed positively.

"In Polk County, we're working to find alternatives for detention," he said. "We're interested in finding another way to alter this behavior, while keeping the kids accountable. It seems to be working."

With one less detention center for counties to utilize, many have one question on their mind, "Where will the juveniles go?"

Kerns said he has been told by juvenile court officers that more delinquent youth will be punished with home arrest and a tracking system.

"According to the governor, he has a study that says by sending them home it's not a detriment to society," Kerns said.

But people who work in the criminal justice field have a different opinion. 

Clarke County Attorney Ron Wheeler said he thinks closing the facility could put the community at greater risk with criminal activity going nearly unpunished.

"All we have are hollow threats if we send them home, put an ankle bracelet on them and give them a stern letter," he said. "What can we do if they break the law again?"
 
Other facilities, like youth shelters, aren't the answer because they lack security, Wheeler said.

Stearns said now she won't have as many options for detaining troubled youth.

"Detaining someone will have to be the last resort," she said. "It will tie up the officers' time in transporting. But there still needs to be the availability of a secure setting to protect not only the community, but also the child from engaging in more delinquent activity."

Stearns said she will push for the re-opening of the detention center.

JAIL IS ALSO EFFECTED

For now, the empty facility will provide more room to house adults, something the jail doesn't need.

The number of adults being held in jail is also declining.

"We're averaging six adults a day," Kerns said. "So we're not making any money there, either."

The juvenile center was opened in the jail as a way to pick up some revenue and keep jobs. Now, the jail is down to a "skeleton staff" and has laid off two adult jailers, Kerns said.

The number of jailers on a shift has also been reduced by half.

"Hopefully it's temporary," Kerns said. "But I think the whole court system is changing. The courts are getting away from putting a burden on counties to hold people, but that's just my personal opinion."

One option to solve the capacity issues could be to merge jails. Kerns said that's one solution he would consider, but the ultimate decision is up to Clarke County Board of Supervisors.

"I leave that up to them, but I think that we need to start merging facilities," he said.

Kerns said the jail will come out ahead if the detention center closes now. The county will have a profit of nearly $31,000 and the sheriff's budget will be reduced by $95,000.

"I guess now is as good as any time to call it quits," Kerns said. "I don't accept defeat very well, I just don't like it. And I feel sorry for the people I had to lay off.