TITLE
Title
LETTER OF INTENT TO THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY REGARDING THE EXPANSION OF THE COUNTY JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Marty K. Lawing, County Manager
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BACKGROUND
Background
The Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act of 2017 increases the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to include crimes committed by 16 and 17 year olds, except for motor vehicle offenses, and expedites transfer to adult court for 16 and 17 year olds who commit felonies. Based on the new law, the Department of Public Safety estimates that an additional 182 juvenile detention beds will be needed across the state of North Carolina. The Department has asked Guilford County to consider expanding its current 44 bed juvenile detention center by either 32 or 48 beds.
Preliminary construction estimates for a 32 bed expansion (19,759 sq. ft. addition) is $7.5 million. The estimate for a 48 bed expansion (24,455 sq. ft. addition) is $9.5 million.
If the center is expanded an additional 32 to 40 additional officers will be need to staff the facility appropriately taking into consideration that the officer to juvenile ration will need to be higher than the current ratio in the 16 and 17 year-old confinement areas.
Currently, the county receives $244 per day for housing out of county juveniles. The originating county pays $122 and the state pays $122. Depending on the occupancy rate, this per diem rate could cover all of the additional operating costs of approximately $2 million.
The Deputy Secretary of the Department of Public Safety has requested that the county submit a request for funding assistance for the expansion of the Juvenile Detention Center. The county’s request will be weighed against the cost for the state to renovate existing facilities currently not in use.
Based on previous discussions with the Board of Commissioners at the annual retreat in February, staff is recommending that a Letter of Intent be sent to the Department of Pu...
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