The Johnson County juvenile services department will begin taking in youths from other Kansas counties as a way of recouping some of the costs of running the detention center at 915 W. Spruce St. in Olathe when it is not at full capacity.
Commissioners were told last Thursday that officials from several Kansas counties that are overcrowded or don’t have facilities have expressed interest in bringing juvenile detainees to Johnson County for temporary housing while they await court proceedings.
By charging $150 per day for each detainee, Johnson County can recoup at least some of the cost of the staffing it requires, said Robert Sullivan, director of county corrections.
The other counties would also be responsible for medication and other medical costs, he said.
Sullivan said the idea is possible because the staffing levels have stabilized enough to maintain the 40-bed capacity of the detention center. That’s due in part to recent adjustments to staff compensation, he said.
The youth center has four pods with ten beds in each but usually is not completely full, Sullivan said. In the past four years, admissions to the detention center have leveled off while the average length of stay has trended downward, he reported.
Sullivan told commissioners that the population in the center was nine youths recently. The center maximum has been 31.
Commissioner Janeé Hanzlick asked whether corrections officers had ever considered shutting down a pod. But Sullivan explained that the center must maintain a certain amount of space to be flexible enough to accommodate court orders that restrict contact among the juveniles. It also prepares the county with enough staff to handle sudden increases in occupancy, he said.
The $150 daily fee will help offset some costs
Commissioners also asked about the $150 daily fee. Sullivan said that is the customary amount other counties charge, except for Shawnee County, which charges $300 a day.
The $150 charge won’t come close to covering all of the cost of staffing for an otherwise empty bed, he said. In fact, that cost is closer to $430 a day. But Sullivan said it would help cover some of the marginal costs the county wouldn’t be getting otherwise.
Commission Chair Mike Kelly likened it to the electrical power grid where infrastructure is maintained to produce power for peak times but is not used all the time.
Accepting out-of-county youths would help the justice system statewide, Sullivan said. It would require no additional spending, and the county could stop accepting them if it sees an increase in Johnson County detainees.
Commissioners voted 6-0 in favor of the concept. Commissioner Julie Brewer was absent.
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