Alabama county leaders say delays in the state’s juvenile justice system have become more expensive for them and they’d like the Legislature’s help in the upcoming session.
“The cost of housing (youths) in terms of the number of days that counties have paid for in the last 18 months has increased substantially,” Association of County Commissions of Alabama Executive Director Sonny Brasfield told Alabama Daily News.
Until a juvenile is officially in the custody of DYS, counties pay for at least part of the cost of their housing at regional detention centers, Brasfield explained. Sometimes, young people can be at regional centers for months.
Part of the issue has been a waiting list for beds at the Department of Youth Services, but officials there say the list is shrinking as the state contracts with outside providers and increases staff numbers. The current bed waitlist at the DYS Mt. Meigs facility is about 40 and should be reduced further in the next month, Shannon Weston, public information officer for DYS, said recently.
Weston said the waiting list was caused predominantly by a workforce shortage.
“(The department), detention centers and contracted residential providers have all struggled with hiring and retaining staff to work with juvenile delinquent youth,” she said. “The workforce shifted dramatically across the country and nearly every jurisdiction had difficulty hiring staff coming out of COVID. With aggressive hiring efforts and raising starting salaries three times in two years, we have begun to have greater success with hiring and retention of staff.”
Weston said following a complaint against a youth, he or she can be released back home or detained up to 72 hours before having a hearing with the judge. The court considers several factors related to the individual, family and offense committed and can order the youth to be detained until trial and disposition. If the disposition is commitment to DYS, they’re transported to a state facility or contracted facility based on their needs, risk levels and other factors, including age.
Only about 20% of juveniles initially detained go into DYS custody.
The other 80% are either released and placed on a type of probation by the court or ordered to attend a DYS diversion program in their communities, Weston said.
But before those decisions are made, they’re housed at one of 12 detention centers around the state. That’s the increasing cost to counties.
The ACCA told Alabama Daily News that several counties in fiscal 2024 planned for significant budget increases over 2023 for juvenile delinquent care, including:
- Jefferson County, a $693,346 increase;
- Houston County, a $450,000 increase;
- Dale County, a $90,000 increase;
- Lamar County, a $19,000 increase;
- Calhoun County, a $18,000 increase;
- Cullman County, a $14,748 increase.
Weston said the department has recognized the additional strain the waiting list may have caused some of the regional detention centers over the last two years. It has increased the state’s fiscal contribution to county detention centers by 60% over this period. Each of the 12 detention centers has slightly different local funding structures and support. The state’s funding support for detention centers is formula-driven by the Legislature and is budgeted by DYS.
Brasfield said the association may advocate for legislation to tweak that custodial process, including the amount of time a youth might spend in a regional detention center, but doesn’t have a specific bill ready.
“Is there a way to speed that process up?” Brasfield said. “If kids are going to be sent back home, or sent to another program to help them with the problems they’ve encountered, why do they need to sit for two or three months?”
He compared it to an adult sitting in county jail awaiting trial.
Getting children out of the regional facilities more quickly should be a goal, Brasfield said.
If only 20% go to state custody, that means most of the 14 year olds in the regional facilities didn’t do anything significant enough to warrant going to state custody, but in the meantime, they might be housed with the 20% who did.
Weston said the department has begun discussions with ACCA to review the utilization data and funding to see if there needs to be a change in the funding formula or if the concerns are specific to a few regional facilities.
Other ACCA priorities for the legislative session that starts Feb. 6 include:
- Increasing access to local mental health services, including increased in-patient care and a reliable funding source for the 988 suicide and crisis call lifeline.
- Amending the current board of registrars system to ensure appointments fairly reflect the racial demographics of the state and provide increased accountability, local notification and communication, state and local oversight and minimum qualifications for appointments;
- Granting emergency communication districts the ability to coordinate public safety answering points to provide 911 services to the public more efficiently.