Washington County switches youth detention centers

WASHINGTON — Public officials say juveniles arrested in Washington County will now be sent to Lee County, ending years of policy that saw youths sent to another facility in Eldora.

At a supervisor meeting earlier this month, Washington County Attorney Nathan Repp said the change would keep detained save local tax dollars. That’s because the South Iowa Area Detention Agency charges local governments $190 per day per inmate, compared to the Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center, which charged $250 per day, with fluctuating additional costs for detainees who are “more difficult to handle.”

“There is a big expense involved, monthly bills from $1,600 to $10,000-plus,” Repp said of the monthly cost to house inmates in Eldora’s facility. “Some of these placements can be short-term, a month, two months. Some of them can be up to a year or more, so that’s an incredible expense.”

Repp added that Washington County also covered medication, medical treatment and evaluation expenses for detained youth, and faced twice the mileage charge for transporting them to Eldora compared to Montrose.

The County Attorney also added that facilities closer to home would be beneficial for families in contact with the juvenile justice system.

“There’s also a human element in this, it’s a whole lot closer for families of these juveniles to visit,” Repp said. “When we’re talking about a five-hour round-trip, it’s just not feasible to go visit a child that may be in detention … what we’re looking to do is have somewhere a little bit closer.”

Washington County Supervisor Stan Stoops said Washington County would likely be “treated like a member” of the southern Iowa facility, but wouldn’t pay membership fees, and wouldn’t be entitled to any of the center’s assets if it shuts down.

While the supervisor, who is a former jailer, said he endorsed the change, he said the facility to the south “needs attention,” but had good leadership.

Asked for details about the attention needed, Stoops said he was referring to non-critical maintenance on door hinges and worn-down floors.

Supervisor Jack Seward Jr., a member of the Southeast Iowa Area Crime Commission, said he’d heard few complaints about the detention center.

“Since 2013, to my knowledge, that detention center has operated successfully, efficiently and without significant problems, that I know of,” he said. “I don’t have any trouble at all signing onto this.”

The change isn’t expected to impact a huge number of residents. Repp said Washington County had anywhere from seven to 14 minors detained per year in 2019-2023, each for varying lengths of time.

At the meeting, he told supervisors that courts typically used juvenile detention as an option of last resort.

“We’re talking about either some of the more serious offenses, or repeated criminal activity,” he said. “The court always uses a ‘least-restrictive placement’ analysis (for) a juvenile, so these aren’t your bottom-tier, first-time offenses. These are offenders who have been in the system for a little bit.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com