Constructive Behavior By Helping Build Detention Center Additions, Juvenile Offenders Break Down Walls To Getting Jobs, Work Skills

DowRell Perkins is celebrating his 21st birthday with a certain amount of pride and satisfaction.

The former juvenile offender is the most valued laborer on new additions to the Bonner County Juvenile Probation and Detention centers.

He’s been offered a job hanging drywall when this job’s finished, and he’s long since paid off his restitution.

“If he’s not here, the day doesn’t go very well,” said B.J. Armstrong, job foreman with Baker Construction.

Perkins is part of a low-wage work force building the new additions. Some of the laborers, juveniles assigned to community service or work in lieu of detention, work for free.

Others, like Perkins, work at minimum wage or slightly more, and 60 percent of their earnings go to pay off court-ordered restitution.

Perkins, whose forgery offense is more than three years old, was on probation when he applied for the construction job. It wasn’t long before his restitution was paid off and he was simply staying for the wage and to learn work skills.

“If you come to work, you’re not here to mess off or mope around,” Perkins said during a break from nailing up siding. “If you’re not learning something new every day, you should be doing something else.”

Armstrong and Community Service Officer John Gentle have been overseeing the construction, which began in April. Juvenile offenders have done all the work, except for specialized jobs such as electrical installation.

It’s the second time the juvenile probation department turned to kids to help keep the costs of construction down - and to teach job skills.

The idea came from contractor Brent Baker, a former school board chairman who is also involved in the Sandpoint High School construction program.

Baker was looking over plans for the first addition to the juvenile probation center a couple years ago, and concluded that there was no way it could be built with the money available.

“We were wracking our brains, trying to think of a way to make it work,” Baker said.

The solution was for Baker Construction to provide supervision, project management and instruction, and not charge the county program any overhead or other usual costs associated with a commercial building contract.

As it is, the budget for the 1,700 square foot additions is $74,000. Part of it is being paid with a $41,220 federal Juvenile Accountability Incentive Grant, said Debbie Stalcup, director of juvenile probation.

Stalcup credits Baker for the success of the program.

“It’s his commitment and loyalty to kids that allows it to happen,” she said.

Armstrong, the foreman, said he wasn’t sure at first that he would enjoy working with juveniles.

“I was real dubious,” he said. “I thought, `Oh no, working with a bunch of hooligans.”’

A couple of the laborers didn’t last, but for the most part, Armstrong said it’s been gratifying to watch his apprentices “blossom” with social and carpentry skills.

Meanwhile, Perkins’ job prospects are getting better each day. Baker said he’s starting to get real busy, and will need to hire more people - outside the county program - for other construction jobs.

“I’d recommend DowRell in a heartbeat,” Armstrong said.