Waukesha County to review options for sheltering troubled juveniles
Waukesha - A potential change in how Waukesha County provides shelter care for troubled boys and girls isn't going to be proposed in County Executive Dan Vrakas' 2013 budget, but a study of potential agencies that could provide the service is ongoing and could still come before the County Board next year.
Director of Administration Norman A. Cummings said that six viable proposals are under study after the county solicited requests for information from 195 agencies last month. Some of the responses came from agencies that already operate other residential facilities in Waukesha County under contract with the Department of Health and Human Services.
Waukesha County closed its locked unit for court-judged delinquent juvenile girls this year as a way to save money, paying Washington County to house them instead. Cummings said the county expects to continue to keep its locked wing for delinquent boys in operation for now. The Juvenile Court is not part of the search for alternatives.
In surveying other counties, Cummings said Kenosha County, for example, has 20% fewer juveniles in shelter care than Waukesha County yet spends less than half on the service, for which Kenosha County contracts.
"It tells us its worth looking at," he said.