MI- Young sex offenders put strain on budget

8-23-2009 Michigan:

Cost of treatment programs, number of juveniles who need them both rise

ST. JOSEPH - The high cost of placing juvenile sex offenders in effective treatment programs is expected to take a big bite out of the Berrien County Trial Court budget next year.

Although the county is a long way from making final the 2010 budget, the cost of housing such high risk youths could push overall court expenses $677,000 above the targeted amount, officials said.

Court officials outlined the proposed budget Thursday in a meeting with the county board's Administration Committee. A hearing before the Finance Committee is scheduled for Sept. 8.

Overall court spending is estimated at $22.2 million. The target for the budget is $21.54 million.

The court was under target limits for general fund and special fund expenditures, but over for the juvenile center and foster care spending, which includes out-of-county program placements.

Foster care expenses next year are projected to be $2.55 million.

Elvin Gonzalez, administrator of the trial court's Family Division, said the number of juveniles that require expensive out-of-home placement increased from 24 in September 2007 to 33 currently.

Among the 33 are 12 sexual offenders who require placement in specialized treatment programs. The cost can run $100,000 a year, which is the average stay required to get a good outcome, Gonzalez said.

"These are kids the court has determined cannot be safely managed in community placement," he said.

The court system has eight foster care homes. One will accept sexual offenders, he said, and only for relatively minor offenses.

The Family Division over the past eight years has greatly reduced the number of youths in out-of-county placement. A range of new services and programs have been put in place to allow many more youths to stay in the community.

In September 2001, the county was paying for 147 youths placed in programs outside their homes. The state reimburses the county for half of the cost of such placements.

Commissioner Gloria Gillespie asked about the possibility of providing more, less expensive foster care for juvenile sex offenders. Gonzalez said such kids often can't live in the community.

"Of all the kids we deal with in the court system, they present the most significant challenge," he said.

Juvenile center costs are projected to rise 16.4 percent in 2010. The increase was attributed to the growing number of youths who need anti-psychotic drugs, and higher food costs.

About 35 percent of the youths who go to the juvenile center are prescribed psychotropic drugs, medicines that control behavior or emotions.

Chief Trial Court Judge Alfred Butzbaugh told the committee that the magistrate's office in Three Oaks will be closed to reduce costs. The two staff members will be transferred to court offices in St. Joseph and Niles.

Butzbaugh said the magistrate would continue to hold hearings but the office will not have regular hours.

The office gets light walk-in traffic, the judge said, an average of 4-5 people a day.

The office is a time saver for police officers in the southwestern part of the county, who use it to drop off traffic tickets, other paperwork and bond payments.

So that officers don't have to waste time driving to the courthouse in St. Joseph, the sheriff's department has agreed to make daily pickups of paperwork from a drop box to be set up.

Court officials said no layoffs will be required next year. Six positions will be cut, all vacancies that were not filled when people left.

Eliminating those positions will cut costs $209,260.

County Administrator Bill Wolf said the staff reductions, which have gone on for several years as the result of slow growth in revenue, have an effect.

"There's a cost," Wolf said. "People will have to work harder. People will have to work faster."

Although the court system appears to have avoided layoffs, other departments will probably have to make staff cuts as the budget process goes forward.

County departments were provided with target figures to aim for when developing budgets for the 2010 fiscal year, which starts Jan. 1. The county board usually approves the general fund budget in October. ..Source.. by SCOTT AIKEN - H-P Staff Writer