Blunder Handcuffs Juvenile Hall Plan

Crime: County’s Medicare fraud settlement may severely impact three area projects, the largest a youth justice complex that’s seen as a critical need.

Judge Melinda Johnson and others who have spent five years crusading for a new juvenile justice center in Ventura County react with disbelief that a county funding scandal may delay the project.

“The need for the hall is just desperate,” Johnson said. “We got major money to work on this project and I can’t believe they would risk that.”

Just two months ago the state kicked in $40.5 million to build three juvenile detention buildings, with the county agreeing to finance the remaining $23 million. A courthouse, counseling and substance-abuse programs and an administrative office were to follow, all at one site.

But now the county must decide from where to carve out dollars for a $15.3-million Medicare fraud settlement reached last week. And it appears the funding crunch may delay later phases of the project. For longtime advocates of the juvenile center it has felt like a kick in the gut.

“This is obviously a setback,” said Judge Steven Z. Perren, another longtime advocate of the juvenile center. “But we have a mandate and a duty to the youth and the community to put this facility into use.”

On the streets, police officers across the county see firsthand the need for more Juvenile Hall beds, Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks said.

“It’s critically important for us,” Brooks said. “We have seen violent offenders released time and time again because there is nowhere to house them.”

Two pending reviews in the Health Care Agency could result in other revenue losses. But advocates of the center say county supervisors must do all they can to ensure a new Juvenile Hall is built on schedule.

The juvenile center is one of three major building projects that could be delayed. The others are a $15-million cafeteria and laboratory at the Ventura County Medical Center, and a $5-million social services and employment center in Santa Paula.

The juvenile justice complex is the largest. A first phase includes an expanded Juvenile Hall and two other detention wards. Those buildings must be built by May 2003 or the county will lose its multimillion-dollar grant, Probation Agency Director Cal Remington said.

Remington and other advocates feel certain the Board of Supervisors will continue its stated support of the project. The board has already promised to come up with as much as $23 million for its share of costs, though it has not yet identified sources for that money.

But later phases, including a juvenile courthouse, counseling offices and an administration building, face greater jeopardy. Officials agree the county must find ways to pay the settlement--to be paid in $5.1-million installments over three years--in a way that does not deplete reserves and hurt its credit rating.

*

The precise number of dollars at risk is not clear and that uncertainty is making everyone jumpy, Remington said.

“People don’t know exactly what’s going to happen,” he said.

Supervisors Kathy Long and Judy Mikels, who sit on a steering committee that oversees the project, agree the board remains committed to building the new Juvenile Hall. But both also agree the later phases may be put off a few years.

“We are going to have to carefully weigh every spending decision,” Long said. “We’re between a rock and hard place on this one.”

County officials have been planning a juvenile justice complex since 1995. It would replace aging and overcrowded detention facilities, some of which date from the 1940s.

But the complex would not just offer modern detention buildings and more space. It would bring all of the elements of the juvenile rehabilitation system--detention halls, classrooms, courtrooms and administrative offices--to one site, Remington said.

The new detention facility is designed to hold up to 420 offenders, more than twice the number now housed in four facilities. Additional space and staff members would enable the county to reform and rehabilitate youth offenders more effectively, advocates say.

*

For instance, the county plans to expand its substance-abuse and mental-health counseling programs at the new center. An expansion of programs tailored for female offenders is also on the drawing board. Perren said the need for more space is evident every day in his crowded courtroom. Perren says he often decides where to send young criminals based on crowding and sometimes places them under house arrest.

Although Juvenile Hall has only 84 beds, it houses an average of 109 youths daily. The highest number of youths in the hall on a single day was 132. In 1997, Juvenile Hall was over capacity all but one day of the year.

“The kids just sit in the hall until they can get a space at Colston [Youth Center] or in boot camp,” Perren said.

Although the county’s financial future could be precarious, Perren remains certain the county will follow through with its plan to build the center.

“I’d have to be a stone to say it didn’t concern me,” the judge said. “But I do have faith in the board and the leadership of the board that has been behind this project from the very beginning.”

Last month the county received top marks for its credit standing from finance-rating firms in New York. Raters were aware the county could lose at least $15.3 million in federal repayments, but noted the county has the option of using its $25 million in reserves to cover the cost, said Parry Young, an analyst for Standard & Poor’s Corp. in New York.

*

If the dollar figures climb much higher, however, the county could see its credit marks downgraded, Young said.

“We still don’t know what the final disposition of this is yet,” Young said. “How much will it end up costing the county and how will it be paid out? Will it be paid tomorrow or over several years? That will be a big factor.”

A 40-acre flower field in Saticoy is the favored site for the juvenile complex. The county is conducting environmental studies to make sure the site is compatible with nearby residential neighborhoods and to address some geologic concerns.

Studies are expected to be completed this fall, with final approval on a site in January. The process has been moving along smoothly, Remington said. And he hopes it remains that way.

“It’s almost like it’s going along too well,” he said. “We don’t want anything bad to happen.”