State must ease juvenile detention load

Friday, April 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Judges in Las Vegas and Reno have ordered the state to start reducing the number of juvenile inmates in overcrowded local detention centers.

Overcrowding has been causing problems and costing the counties millions of dollars.

Kirby Burgess, director of Clark County Youth and Family Services, applauded the judges for "being willing to step up to the plate," and force the state to take action.

Burgess said today he has 71 young delinquents in his detention center in Las Vegas that the state is supposed to accept at its reformatories.

The overcrowding is resulting in an "increased number of incidents" such as fights and other disturbances, he said.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Human Resources said it will approach the Legislature for an emergency appropriation of $547,500 next week to relieve the local centers in Las Vegas and Reno.

Deputy Administrator Steve Shaw said when the agency was building its budget last year, it was not a severe problem. "After the budget was submitted (in January) the real crisis came up," he said.

"Gov. (Bob) Miller asked us to look into it before the legislative session started," Shaw said. The reformatories are already overcrowded.

The order in Clark County was signed by Judges Robert Gaston, Terrance Marren and Myron Leavitt. Marren, quoted in a Reno newspaper, said there is a serious constitutional problem.

"I don't think we can just sort of violate the constitutional rights of these kids," he said. "Quite frankly, I think we all understand that the counties especially have been hurt financially, but the compelling issue is the kids."

Burgess said there are 220 youths at his facility, which has 112 beds. And 70 of these are kids who have been adjudged delinquent are waiting for space at the Elko or Caliente state facilities. He said they are staying in the county facility for up to 90 days when the state should be accepting them within two weeks to a month.

He estimated it costs $120 a day to maintain these youth offenders. And the county, not the state, picks up the tab, running into millions of dollars "the county and Clark County taxpayers are having to eat."

Unlike the adult system, these juveniles do not get any credit for time served in the county facilities, he said. "It's 'dead time' and these kids have nothing to lose while they are in my care. They are more likely to cause disruptions and fights. They are putting the kids and staff in jeopardy."

The problem is complicated because the state facilities are at capacity. Burgess noted the state has not built anything new for at least 20 or 30 years despite the population growth.

The state has a 22-bed facility at Elko where a youngster is evaluated and classified. Shaw said the plan is for money to be supplied to Clark and Washoe counties to have the assessments done locally, freeing up the 22 beds.

Shaw said there is money for the counties to use to send these kids to the Rite of Passage juvenile program operating in Northern Nevada. That should relieve the immediate problem. He noted that the governor's budget includes money for building a 60-bed center for the chronic juvenile offender in Clark County but that's still two years away.

Shaw said an additional $1 million will be included in the budget for the next two years to handle this.