Bi-county juvenile breakup is official. What Pasco families should know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Franklin County has taken over juvenile court, detention and probation
- Franklin County estimates operating its own juvenile court will save about $1.3 million.
- Juvenile offenders from Pasco and Franklin Co. will now to go Martin Hall in Medical Lake
After a lawsuit and months of negotiations, the bi-county juvenile services breakup is complete.
As of June 1, Franklin County’s juvenile services department will fully take over court, detention and probation programs for youth offenders in Pasco and the county.
Benton County recently made the name change official and updated contracts with the Washington state Department of Children, Youth and Families.
Benton Franklin Superior Court also has separated where hearings will take place, with Franklin County carving out space for juvenile courts and probation services in its courthouse. New signs should be in place soon directing families where to go.
Initial processing will take place in a newly siloed off portion of the Franklin County jail, before the offenders are taken more than 120 miles away to Martin Hall for detention. The center is on the Eastern State Hospital campus in Medical Lake.
Benton County hearings will still take place at the Benton County Juvenile Center at 5606 W. Canal Dr. in Kennewick.
The decision happened at the county level, which means that despite being more than 80% of the county’s population the city of Pasco did not get a say.
Why did the counties separate?
Franklin County leaders initially believed separating juvenile services would save $2.5 million a year, but Superior Court costs weren’t taken into account.
They initially wanted to separate Jan. 1, but Benton County sued, and eventually the counties reached a settlement that would allow both time to plan for the transition.
More than half of the $2.9 million they were paying for juvenile services through Benton County actually paid for court administration, probation services, counseling and other programs.
The county has since hired seven employees and will pay for other services at an estimated cost of about $1.13 million to operate their own juvenile court. They estimate contracting with Martin Hall will cost roughly $500,000 per year.
Still the county will save $1.3 million annually, according to comments from Commissioner Clint Didier at a meeting earlier this year.
Franklin County Administrator Brian Dansel has said the numbers used during their public discussions are not fully accurate, but has declined to provide corrections or clarifications for those figures.
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While Franklin County would still achieve significant savings even after meeting the court’s funding request, it could put a damper on plans to save for eventually building their own detention facility for juveniles.
In a plan sent to the Superior Court earlier this year, Franklin County leaders proposed setting aside the savings to begin planning for their own center within five years.
As of February, they did not appear to be setting that money aside though, as Didier said that the monthly $215,000 payments to Benton County were leaving them with a hole in their general budget, and Dansel previously told commissioners that paying it for the full year could mean layoffs in other departments.
While juvenile service funding largely comes from a single-purpose .01 cent sales tax, by running their own department the county can shift parts of salaries for corrections officers and other employees whose jobs entail serving youth offenders into that pool and out of the general fund. That would then free up that general fund money to be used elsewhere.
Martin Hall costs
The cost estimate for Martin Hall is based on reserving five beds per day for Franklin County youth offenders. Benton County estimated that Franklin averages six offenders per day. Additional beds would cost $260 per day.
The costs for transport, which will be arranged by Martin Hall, come out to $125 per trip every time the facility either picks up or returns a teen. At an average stay of 14 days in the current joint facility, that could mean a trip to the facility or back around roughly once per day.
Martin Hall is used by more than 10 other Washington counties. Most use it as their primary holding facility for juveniles, but Spokane County has a contract for extra bed space.
Community members have also expressed concerns over the difficulty families will face getting to Medical Lake to visit their children.
Commissioner Stephen Bauman said at a February meeting that Martin Hall officials told him that they allow, but don’t get visits from families. It’s unclear whether they allow virtual visitations.
That’s in stark contrast to the bi-county facility, which uses visits as incentives for good behavior.
About 850 family members visited the Benton County Juvenile Justice Center last year, not accounting for court visits, according to Benton County Deputy Administrator Matt Rasmussen.
Of the 87 teens who received a visitor, each averaged more than five visits during their stay.
It’s still unclear where juvenile offenders accused of crimes in both counties will be housed.
Of those 87 teens who had visits last year, 16 of them faced charges in both counties. The Superior Court judges will have to make those decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Franklin County also has to indemnify Martin Hall, which was a major point of contention with Benton County. That would mean if there is a lawsuit over the treatment of a youth offender, Franklin County would be on the hook.
