Summit View gets funds to reopen

Friday, May 9, 2003 | 11:15 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Summit View, the youth prison in North Las Vegas that has been mothballed since March 2002, appears set to be reopened.

A Senate-Assembly budget committee voted today to accept the recommendation of Gov. Kenny Guinn for the state to operate the 96-bed center near Nellis Air Force Base, rather than having a private contractor run the facility.

Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said juvenile officers believe "the present situation we have is untenable." She said the "kids being sent out of state and to Rite of Passage is not working."

The center was opened in June 2000 and run by Youth Services International, a subsidiary of Correctional Services Corp. But a number of problems were reported, including escapes and female staff members having sex with male inmates.

The private company pulled out in March last year and the children were shipped to other programs. The state is paying Corrections Corporation of America $113 per day to handle Nevada inmates in Tennessee. Rite of Passage is charging $124 per day per inmate for the Nevada wards. The state Division of Child and Family Services estimated it could operate the facility at $152 per day per inmate. The private operator was charging the state $124 per inmate per day before it pulled out, saying the prison was not profitable because it was not at capacity.

Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said he would not support the re-opening which will have a nearly $10 million budget over the next two years. "At this time I think we should continue with what we're doing," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, has been a strong supporter of having a private company run Summit View. But he said he would support the state operation "reluctantly."

"Despite our experience previously, there should have been a more determined effort to obtain some RFPs (Request for Proposals) on this to see what could be done to operate Summit View privately."

But he said the juvenile delinquent centers at Elko and Caliente "are getting backed up" and there is a need for more beds.

Raggio said he would monitor the costs carefully to make sure they do not increase significantly during the coming two years. And he said the issue would be revisited in the 2005 Legislature.

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said she shared some of Raggio's concerns. But, she said, "We have the opportunity to fix a problem and make sure the kids incarcerated are well taken care."