Countywide : County Seeks Funding for Juvenile ‘Boot Camp’
The Orange County Probation Department is applying for a $30,000 federal grant that it would use to develop a “boot camp” program for juvenile offenders.
The U.S. Department of Justice grant would help pay for consultant services to determine if the county’s juvenile population would warrant such a program.
Faced with an increase in the number of juveniles arrested in the past five years, the county needs a way to deal with the minors who present the greatest risk to the community, said Sue Collins, a senior research analyst for the Probation Department.
Collins said the county will find out by October whether it receives the grant. If it does, a 12-month study will be done on what kind of facility the county should build, how many beds it should have and where it should be located.
After the study, the county would apply for more federal funds to help pay for the actual construction, Collins said.
The county now has four institutions for juvenile offenders: Juvenile Hall Detention in Orange, the Youth Guidance Center in Santa Ana, Los Pinos conservation camp in South County and Joplin Youth Center in Trabuco Canyon.
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