Freeholders Say ‘See Ya’ to Delinquents

The Board of Freeholders has voted to shut down the Youth Detention Center on Dutch Road in Freehold Township, according to today's APP.

http://www.app.com/article/20100128/NEWS/1280376/1004/NEWS01/Monmouth-County-freeholders-vote-to-close-youth-detention-center

In a party-line vote, the majority Republicans voted to close the facility by July and begin to share services with Middlesex County instead.

From the report:

Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry said Middlesex has a modern facility with superior educational and recreation programs.

"This is not a cash for kids measure," Burry said. "While it is true there are substantial savings which we cannot discount, especially in this economy, our focus should be, and is, on the many benefits this shared service provides for our troubled youth."

The plan, however, was not without its faults, according to Democratic Freeholder John D'Amico, who cited the limited number of beds at the Middlesex facility as a potential problem for any cost-savings. The Middlesex detention center will supply 37 beds for Monmouth County, which averages 25 juvenile inmates a day.

"We had a couple of days last summer when we had over 40 detainees. If we don't have an overflow plan in place, we'll have to keep our detention center open at the same time we're paying Middlesex County under this agreement," D'Amico said.

Read the full story at  APP.com .