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By VICKI URBANIK The Porter County Juvenile Detention Center is experiencing its highest population ever of youthful offenders, mainly because of efforts to keep juveniles who otherwise would be sent to downstate institutions. JDC Superintendent Kenneth Perkins said the average length of stay for a juvenile in detention so far this year has been 12.3 days, up from a previous average of eight days. For four consecutive months, the average daily population at the JDC has exceeded 20 juveniles, a rate that’s not happened before. In each of the previous three years, the JDC averaged more than 20 kids on a daily basis for only two months out of the year. The JDC has 24 beds, but not all juveniles at the center stay for a full day or overnight. Perkins said the JDC tries to limit the juveniles to the number of beds available, but sometimes this hasn’t been possible. When the number of kids exceeds the number of beds, the JDC converts a few other rooms into temporary sleeping quarters. Porter County juvenile officials have been making a concerted effort in recent years to reduce referrals of juveniles to out-of-county facilities, in part because it’s more affordable to keeping them at the JDC. But Perkins said in addition to cost savings, there are other benefits to keep juveniles in their home county, namely, that they remain close to their family and community. JDC officials can also do a better job of educating the youth about the programs and services in the community that they could participate in once they are released, he said. The higher population levels have increased the food expenses at the center. Accordingly, the JDC is on the agenda for this Monday’s Porter County Council meeting seeking a total of $3,500 in budget transfers to cover food and groceries. Monday’s meeting will be the county council’s last scheduled meeting of the year, and numerous county departments are on the agenda seeking additional appropriations or budget transfers before the new budget year begins in January. Those requests include additional appropriations totaling more than $4.7 million to cover expenses at the Department of Child Services, a state agency funded by county tax dollars that provides services for abused and neglected children; a $23,914 appropriation from grant funds to cover costs for immunizations and clinics at the county health department; additional appropriations totaling $13,000 for hourly and overtime for the treasurer’s office for processing the upcoming tax bills; an additional appropriation totaling $33,892 for hourly and overtime expenses for the recent election; an additional appropriation of $165,883 to cover the sheriff department’s pension expenses through the end of the year; budget transfers totaling $25,000 to cover expenses for the new maintenance building at Sunset Hill Farm County Park; and a $10,000 budget transfer to cover fuel costs at the Porter County Airport. Budget Correction Also Monday, the council is expected to approve a measure that would correct an error with the current year’s budget. The recent 2008 budget order issued by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance includes budget approvals for nearly all taxing units in Porter County, except for the county government’s and the town of Hebron’s. The county government’s 2008 budget was not properly appropriated, while Hebron’s was not properly advertised, according to the budget order. A DLGF spokesperson recently said that the state is legally unable to approve budgets when such technical errors are made. To remedy the matter, the council will need to approve additional appropriations for the original budget amounts. Accordingly, the agenda includes re-adoption of the 56 individual budgets approved by the council. The largest one is the county’s general fund, which this year was set at $32.2 million.
Posted 12/5/2008
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