Northeast Michigan’s Lack of Juvenile Placement

There is a shortage of juvenile beds in the northeast Michigan area, a problem that has plagued the area for a couple of years. Juvenile beds are the place where juvenile youth are held, and in the last three years, the number of available space has dropped by 75%.

“We’ve got a lot more kids coming through the system, and nowhere to really put them if we have those community violations and community risks, so I think this juvenile facility makes sense not only for the county, but for the larger regional counties need this too,” said Alpena County Juvenile Officer Janelle Mott.

If there is nowhere to put a juvenile, they’re housed at the County Annex. This is why Mott has formed a committee with county administrators and commissioners to hopefully build a new facility.

“I approached the board of commissioners with the prospect of, ‘maybe, would you consider it?’ I need the beds, we need them, everybody needs them, but I don’t know that you’re going to have the availability of money, non–local tax money any time soon that we have right now,” she said.

The committee has started the initial process of gathering that funding and planning out where this facility could be located. The end goal is having a facility that can not only house juveniles, but treat them as well.

“If we can do it without local taxpayer money, we should be able to make it profitable, but also improve community safety, and improve outcomes for kids,” Mott said.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is also looking to take action to provide services to juvenile youth in rural areas.