Juvenile Work Center Hits Roadblock Nampa Facility Schedule Delays North Idaho Project Up To 6 Months

After some spirited competition for a North Idaho juvenile work center, construction may be at least a year away, and the size may be different than expected.

Brent Reinke, the new head of the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections, told the Lewiston City Council on Monday that ground has just been broken on a new assessment center in Nampa.

Construction there is expected to take 300 days, and the Lewiston center another 180 days.

When the number of employees needed for the two was added up, Lewiston was set back about six months, Reinke said, adding that the money is still there.

After a hard-fought battle by Kootenai County representatives, Lewiston won out as the site for the northern 10 counties. The city council approved annexation of the land and a conditional-use permit after stipulating only low-risk youths be housed there.

Reinke added some of the intervening time will be spent on a needs assessment and inventory of services.

That was not done at the beginning because the department was new and the Legislature mandated a center be put in the Panhandle, he said.

Now, a judicial task force for juvenile offenders wants it done before construction. The studies could mean a change in the number of beds or in programming, but not in location, he said.

Reinke said he does not expect the site of the North Idaho work camp to be reconsidered during the studies. The center was to have 50 beds and employ about 40 people.

His department will address the limitations on types of offenders, possibly by starting some at the St. Anthony detention center and then moving them to Lewiston after they have gone through the initial program, Reinke said.

Reinke said he also was informed the state Division of Environmental Quality will be looking at the project, although he was not sure why.