When the Robert E. DeNier Youth Services Center abruptly closed in summer 2018, it left La Plata County without a youth detention center, but in the years since, that hasn’t proved to be too much of an issue, said Sheriff Sean Smith.
Before DeNier closed, Smith said the inmate population numbers at DeNier were low.
In 2017, for instance, DeNier had about five juveniles a day – 2.4 from the 6th Judicial District (Archuleta, La Plata, San Juan counties) and about 2.6 from the 22nd Judicial District (Dolores, Montezuma counties).
The state of Colorado, which spent about $1.7 million a year to operate DeNier, decided to send more juveniles from the Front Range to justify the cost.
The state, however, was sending high-level offenders, potentially dangerous juveniles, who were not a good mix with the local juveniles being held in DeNier, Smith said.
Ultimately, the Colorado Department of Human Services in August 2018 suspended the license of Rite of Passage, the contractor that ran the detention center, on suspicion of inappropriate treatment of youth detainees, including possible child abuse involving two physical encounters between staff members and youth detainees.
When DeNier was operational, officers who took juveniles into custody would take them to DeNier for a screening, where it would be determined whether they needed to be held at the center until their court date.
Now, screenings take place over the phone with counselors at the Grand Mesa Youth Services Center in Grand Junction. If it is determined a youth needs to be detained, the Sheriff’s Office will transport the child, about seven hours round-trip.
Smith said Grand Mesa Youth Services Center has enough beds to meet demand, and it is not much of a financial burden for his office. In the past, the state of Colorado has provided cost reimbursements.
“So long as those numbers stay low, it’s not a tremendous burden for our office,” Smith said.
Smith said detention numbers for juveniles across the state have continued to drop during the past 20 years as other measures, such as diversion programs and youth services, have continued success.
And simply not detaining youths has its proven benefits, Smith said.
Research has shown that the chances of a youth recommitting crimes as an adult directly correlates with how much time they’ve spent in detention: The more time locked up as a kid, the greater likelihood to commit a crime as an adult.
“The more we can do to keep kids out of custody, unless they present a danger to themselves or others, the better chance we have of helping those kids not become adult offenders,” Smith said.
As a result of La Plata County’s low juvenile detention rate, and the shifting preference to not keep youths in custody, there hasn’t been any effort to secure a new youth detention facility in Durango, Smith said.
There have been some talks, however, of a navigation center for youths, similar to places on the Front Range, but nothing has developed as of yet, Smith said.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
