State to shut down troubled youth prison Jan. 31

Friday, Dec. 7, 2001 | 10:16 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Summit View, the troubled center for serious juvenile offenders, will be closed Jan. 31 and mothballed for several months as the state searches for a new private contractor.

State Human Resources Director Mike Willden said Thursday there are 38 delinquents at the North Las Vegas facility, and the staff is in the process of determining whether they will be eligible for parole before it closes or whether they should be sent to another detention center run by a private company.

The present contractor, Correctional Services Corp., canceled its contract to run the $14 million center, effective the first week of March 2002. The company said the state did not commit enough delinquents to make it profitable.

Correctional Services was hired last year but encountered problems, including attempted escapes and staff members having sex with inmates.

The state paid Correctional Services about $122 a day per inmate. Willden, with the backing of Gov. Kenny Guinn, prepared a proposal for the state to run the center for $155 per day.

The Legislative Interim Finance Committee, led by Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, rejected the state's proposal and told the Guinn administration to find another private contractor or seek other alternatives. Raggio said the state could send these delinquents to other programs for $113 a day.

Willden and Guinn Chief of Staff Marybel Batjer met with Raggio Wednesday in Reno. But Willden said the majority leader has not changed his mind.

Willden said Correctional Services will remain on the property after the $14 million center is closed. It will be required to repair and rehabilitate the facility, as the roof was damaged when inmates were involved in an uprising. Also, windows and mirrors were broken, and there was graffiti on the walls.

Correctional Services will not be paid for making these repairs, he said.

A committee has already been formed to draft another "request for proposals" for a private company to bid to take over the operation. Willden said this contract will be more stringent than the last.

He hopes to solicit the bids in the first or second week of January and select a new contractor in late March.

It would then take the private company some time to contract for food, medical services and laundry, hire employees and set up a plan with the school district to teach inmates.

It will be June or July before the center can be reopened, Willden said. In the meantime, a caretaker staff will be on-site to protect against vandalism, and the state will begin paying the utility bills.

Willden said the Jan. 31 closure date will allow the delinquents who are enrolled in school programs to complete their semester.

And those who are not paroled could be sent to Rite of Passage, which runs programs in Nevada, or to a Texas delinquent center operated by Correctional Corporation of America. The state has a contract with this firm.