James Bend and James Pheibush of the Marshall County Probation Department requested an additional appropriation in the amount of $50,000 to help sustain the care of juveniles in treatment centers.
Bend said it’s been an extraordinary year in this aspect.
“This year we’ve had an inordinate number of bed days that juveniles have been detained which is beyond our control to a point,” explained Bend. “We’re asking for an additional amount of $50,000 to cover us through the end of the year.”
The juveniles are housed in the St. Joseph Juvenile Detention Center. The probation department recently received a bill in the amount of $35,673 to cover the cost of their care. The fund is $4,000 short of the amount due.
Twenty-six juveniles have sought care at the facility at varied lengths of time.
It was noted that this is the first time the probation department has approached for this type of funding request in many years. Bend said there have been a couple of cases that have precipitated the large expenditure.
The council unanimously approved the request.
