County Boosts Probation Budget

Supervisors approved a $7-million expansion Tuesday of the county probation department -- a move they said may appear ill-timed but is necessary to begin operating the newly built Juvenile Justice Center.

The center will replace antiquated juvenile detention buildings scattered across Ventura County. Courts, classrooms and treatment facilities that are also available at the 45-acre El Rio center will help incarcerated youths return to productive lives, county officials say.

But getting the sprawling campus up and running this summer will add significant cost to a county budget already threatened by looming state funding cuts, acknowledged probation chief Cal Remington.

In coming months, he must furnish the new offices and courtrooms, fill them with supplies and equipment, and hire additional staff, including dozens of probation officers, Remington told supervisors. All told, the additional annual expense to the county will be about $7 million.

“This complex is expensive. The staff I am asking for is expensive,” Remington said. “But what will we get from this? Truly a juvenile justice center, not just a juvenile hall.”

Remington and other county officials say the $65-million center is long overdue. The dilapidated juvenile hall in Ventura is overcrowded and does not include enough space to offer counseling and other services to help rehabilitate wayward youths.

The extra space in El Rio will allow the county to relocate youths who have been moved to other programs, the probation chief said. About 20 offenders in the Tri-Counties Boot Camp in Santa Barbara County, for instance, will be returned to Ventura County, allowing the county to cancel that contract, he said.

Though the county currently houses 210 juvenile offenders, the population is expected to rise by 100 in the next year as youths sent to facilities in other counties return. That is why additional staff is necessary, Remington said.

Brian J. Back, one of two Juvenile Court judges, urged supervisors to approve the additional staffing. Most of the 1,000 kids who show up in his courtroom each year manage to turn their lives around with a little help, Back said.

“I see five or fewer kids a year who are evil incarnate....A huge proportion are in there because they have absolutely no guidance,” the judge said. “These kids can be rehabilitated.”

Much of the $2.4 million needed right away has already been set aside in anticipation of the center’s opening late this summer, officials said.

County officials said they are obligated to hire new staff under terms of a $40-million grant awarded by the state to build the center. The remainder of the construction cost, about $25 million, is being financed by the county.

“If we don’t follow through on our contract, we are liable for the $40 million,” Supervisor Steve Bennett said. “But our direction has been to be very aggressive to save revenue in other places.”

Although the county’s budget is balanced for the current fiscal year, projections show a $15-million shortfall for 2003-04.

Funding could get even tighter if the state follows through on a threat to cut $36 million in vehicle license funds that flow to Ventura County, officials have said.