Last chance for youth: This detention center ain't no 'crib'
Staff reporter
It's supposed to make a lasting impression and hopefully be the last time the juvenile is in trouble with the law.
The concrete building is not inviting. The cinder block rooms are cold and impersonal.
This is no hotel or dormitory. This is juvenile intake and detention.
Since 1994, North Central Kansas Regional Juvenile Detention Facility in Junction City has been the safe refuge for those juveniles in need of care and "juvey jail" for those who break the law.
Director Shawn Brandmahl said the facility serves as a wake-up call for juveniles who break the law.
The stark intake area looks like a booking desk in any county jail in the state. There is a holding cell for those juveniles who are out-of-control.
"We can't have anything nice in here," Brandmahl explained. "The kids will destroy it."
After being admitted, authorities determine if the juvenile should be held or released to his or her parents. If the juvenile is detained, he or she is de-liced through a shower, given orange jumpsuits, and taken to a room, Brandmahl said.
To this observer, the room looked more like a cell with a metal bed and a thin mattress.
A high window lets in some daylight but the occupant cannot see the outdoors except for the sky.
"This is a maximum security center," Brandmahl said.
A security guard operates a command center in a glass-encased station. That person is responsible for opening and closing all 28 cell door, and doors to a day area and office corridor.
The day for the incarcerated juvenile begins at 6:30 a.m. The inmates have until 8:30 a.m. to eat breakfast and clean up. Following an exercise program, the juveniles attend classes — males in one room and females in another.
The local school district provides teachers to the facility.
Lunch is served in the day area from noon to 1 p.m. The juveniles then are in lock-down from 1 to 2 p.m. while there is a shift change.
The juveniles return to the classrooms for school. Dinner is served followed by an educational session from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Juveniles can watch a community television with approved programming in the day room until 8:30 p.m. when they are taken back to their rooms. Lights are out by 9 p.m., Brandmahl said.
"Most kids are in and out in less than a week," he said.
Officials can hold offenders up to 90 days. After that, an extension is needed.
The short-term detention facility has 19 full-time and two part-time employees. A 1:7 ratio (one juvenile to seven staff members) must be maintained, Brandmahl said.
The north central facility serves 14 counties including Marion County. In the past, each county pre-paid for the use of the facility. In recent years, the county is charged for each juvenile who is housed at a rate of $140 per day.
A sanction house, also located in Junction City, is available for $115 per day and is used as a short-term facility. Typically judges sentence juveniles to the sanction house when they disobey court orders, Brandmahl said. Their stays are four to seven days.
Marion County Attorney Susan Robson explained the process.
"When a juvenile is taken to Junction City, it's like a warrant or probable cause," she said. "If an officer sees an adult commit a crime, he can arrest the offender and take him/her to jail or we complete a long form complaint and issue a summons for a court date."
Juveniles who break the law are treated in a similar manner.
If a juvenile is suspected of committing a crime, law enforcement can file a long form complaint, issue a summons for a court date, or detain the youth.
The officer advises Robson of the charges and the county attorney makes the determination if the child should be sent to juvenile detention based on the situation and criteria.
If it is determined to take the youth to Junction City and admit to the detention center, something has to be decided within 24 hours.
"Either the juvenile has to be released to the parents or detained. A detention hearing is held to determine if further detention is warranted or if the child should be released," Robson said.
"Sometimes a child is out of control or the parents don't want them at home," she said.
The judge is contacted the next day to determine the next step — further detention or released to parents.
If the juvenile is a repeat offender, officials may consider placing the juvenile in JJA (Juvenile Justice Authority) custody.
If that occurs, JJA determines placement of the youth.
"The purpose is to get to the root of the problem," Robson said.
Children between the ages of 10 and 17 can be incarcerated at the detention facility.
"Some children are in need of protection," Robson said, "from themselves or someone else."
Typically the juvenile is released the next day or some kind of bond arrangement is made.
The county is responsible for detention costs but the costs can be assessed back to the parents.
"If a juvenile needs to be there, he/she needs to be there," Robson said, "regardless of the cost."
Robson said typical juvenile offenses are possession of marijuana or alcohol, and damage to property and do not result in a trip to juvenile detention.
"A lot of the time, there just isn't any adult supervision and the juveniles are left to their devices," Robson said.
It used to be that juvenile offenses, short of capital murder, were erased from the record by the time the offender became an adult or for sure, by the age of 25.
Not so now.
"Person felonies and DUIs committed by juveniles, stay with the person forever," Robson said. Other crimes go off the juvenile's record at the age of 25.
And that information is retro-activate for past juvenile offenses.
"This should be a wake-up all for adults and juveniles," Robson said, because now DUIs stay on adult records forever.
Through the juvenile intake and detention process, officials hope the experience will be a deterrent to youth — a sober reminder of a heartbreaking future if life-changing adjustments aren't made.
