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Panel: Scott County needs larger juvenile detention center, new diversion programs

Quad City Times - 5/28/2021

May 28—A new recommendation to address overcrowding and long-term capacity needs calls for the construction of a new 40-bed juvenile detention center in Scott County.

Such a facility should be connected to a proposed center focused on preventing juvenile crime through community-based services, according to recommendations by a group of community leaders and juvenile justice experts.

"I think we have a real opportunity here with a new facility to design it with the key components (of treatment, rehabilitation, therapy and trauma-informed care) in mind," said Jeremy Kaiser, director of Scott County Juvenile Detention and Diversion Programs. "The bottom line is we need to help youth before they reach the level of detention."

Scott County officials in February hired Wold Architect & Engineers to examine needs and deficiencies at the detention center and present a proposal to supervisors, and possibly the public, for approval later this year.

The consulting firm and Justice Planners convened a more than 20-member panel of local law enforcement, juvenile court, school, youth services, civil rights and Scott County government officials to study possible options.

Consultants and committee members this week presented Scott County supervisors with a preferred option of building a new 40-bed facility, with the ability to accommodate future expansion to up to 60 beds. The group also presented a secondary option for a new 24- to 28-bed facility, with plans for future expansion.

"We only use juvenile detention for community safety, and our goal is every youth who comes in that their first day is going to be their last day," said Scott Hobart, chief juvenile court officer for Iowa'sSeventh Judicial District.

"(T)his proposal gives us the tools and the environment — the space — for education, the space for interventions and, really, the opportunity for a transformative juvenile assessment that ... could mark a change in how we provide mental health services as well as other services to help stop recidivism," Hobart said.

Judge Cheryl Traum echoed Hobart, adding the proposal "is in the best interest of youth, their families and, certainly, the community."

"We do not want these young people in and out of jail or prison when they become adults, and the cost is too high," Traum. "We have an opportunity, and we need to turn the kids around."

Scott County Administrator Mahesh Sharma said county staff still was developing preliminary cost estimates and assessing financing options, including grant opportunities and a possible bond referendum. He said officials planned to bring those before supervisors for discussion at its June 8 meeting.

Cost estimates from 2019 to renovate or rebuild the detention center on 4th Street in Davenport ranged from roughly $16 million to $23 million.

The panel did not address where such a facility should be located, leaving that for the Scott County Board of Supervisors to determined.

Scott County officials early this year discussed the possibility of tearing down the county's Tremont Avenue warehouse to accommodate a new juvenile detention center, and either building a new, smaller county warehouse elsewhere or renting warehouse space.

Overcrowding

Over the past five years, the detention center and jail have housed an average of 22 juveniles per day, with peaks of up to nearly 40 juveniles housed per day, and a licensed capacity of 18 beds. Detention center staffing and operations, however, allow for the ability to use 14 beds, with two beds reserved for temporary holding.

When the JDC reaches capacity, the county must spend money to house youths in facilities in other counties, some three hours away, with the county paying $125 to $200 a day to rent bed space, Kaiser said. In 2019, the county spent $414,000 to house juveniles out of county, according to the most recent readily available data.

Transporting juveniles to other facilities also separates them from families and local support systems, as well as pulling sheriff's staff away from other duties, Kaiser said.

Additionally, county officials face a Dec. 18 deadline under a federal mandate that any youth awaiting trial as an adult be removed from jail, unless a court finds that they cannot be safely held in juvenile detention, necessitating further need for more space.

A former repurposed car dealership, the detention center has undergone three additions over its existence but has reached the end of its useful life and is no longer conducive to treatment, rehabilitation or providing therapeutic, trauma-informed care. Space limitations also limit the ability to properly classify and separate juveniles based on gender and the severity of their offense.

"We may have youth that are in on murder or robbery charge who are 17 (years old), and we may also have a youth who is on his first burglary-third charge who is 12 years old," Kaiser said.

Kaiser said expanding the facility no longer was practical as it would require removing needed parking space for the jail and courthouse. Doing so would also require shutting the facility to allow for renovations.

Prevention

The panel also recommended county officials continue conversations about partnering with the city of Davenport and others to create a juvenile crisis care and assessment center, stressing the community needs a holistic approach to juvenile justice and prevention.

Committee members also urged county officials to continue to support the development of alternative and diversion programs to reduce recidivism and to provide trauma-informed crisis care.

Existing diversion programs are a good start, but more can be done at the community, government and law enforcement level, Kaiser said.

"(U)ltimately, we want to want help create better citizens," while saving taxpayers money, Kaiser said.

Davenport city leaders have pledged seed funding from the sale of its downtown public housing property to kick start a long-talked about Juvenile Assessment Center that would provide early-intervention, screening and services for at-risk youth and families. The youth-crime reduction initiative seeks to provide an array of local services available under one roof offering counseling, diversion and restorative justice programs aimed at curbing youth violence and stopping them from re-committing crimes.

"To me the core issue ... is not build bigger facilities but to build adequate facilities that are also going to be centered around the core issues of having programs and services that can help rehabilitate our youth," panel and Davenport NAACP member Shirleen Martin said. "The fact is our streets are dangerous right now. We've got young people dying, and we need to have an effective change to these matters in order to address our issues. ... This is a priority in our community."

Scott County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ken Beck said the county had made a "soft commitment" to support a juvenile assessment center.

County supervisors spoke favorably of the recommendation and applauded the panel's work but did not make a decision.

"I'm pleased with the outcome of this, and I think we're moving in the right direction," Beck said. "I look forward to moving ahead to get some costs and some discussions on locations, and also further discussions on the youth assessment program and how that ties in with the law enforcement side."

David Farmer, the county's budget director, however, urged supervisors to provide direction quickly so county officials and consultants can begin designing plans for a new detention center to reduce the time juveniles are sent out of Scott County.

"We know we will not be able to make any sort of build scheduled (this year)," Farmer said. "But, we should be expedient to some to degree to help address this for the 2022 calendar year and going into 2023."

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