Commissioner Don Jordan of the Juvenile Justice Association met with the Community Corrections Advisory Board Tuesday afternoon to discuss issues of interest to board members.
Jordan, who was at the board meeting to answer board members’ questions, said after working numerous jobs including a 29-year stint with Social Rehabilitation Services, this is his first direct experience with JJA.
Jordan said one of the things that the JJA has done is ask for a budgetary increase for next year’s budget. A budget increase would allow more money to be distributed to counties for various programs in the juvenile justice system.
“It’s my hope that it will be successful,” Jordan said.
Jordan encouraged board members to meet with local representatives to get the word out about the need for a funding increase.
“They will listen to you more than they will me,” Jordan said. “You all can express over the last five to six years what sacrifices you’re had to make because you haven’t had the increases you needed.”
Board members asked for the date of budget hearings. Chief Judge Merlin Wheeler said he’d make sure somebody was present at the hearings.
“We would be happy to come out to the budget hearings and offer case studies,” Wheeler said.
The topic of prevention also came up during the meeting. Some prevention programs had to be cut because of lack of money in Lyon County.
Jordan said that because of the way money is distributed, out of more than 30 districts there are 12-14 winners, which makes 17-19 losers.
“I suspect if we can get an increase in funding we can get more allocations representative of an appropriate allocating basis,” Jordan said. “I don’t think it’s going to be possible without and increase in funding.”
Jordan said he was hesitant to say what the success rate would be with the funding increases due to where the state is in the budget process and there are a lot of programs that need to be caught up.
Wheeler also expressed frustration over JJA programs. He said when he sent a juvenile to the facility to get into a sex offender program, he was told he wasn’t going to be there long enough to get programming. Jordan said that problem since has been fixed.
“My expectation is that they organize the program to fit the kids not the kids fit to the program,” Jordan said. “I expect that to happen. I’ve been assured that that’s happening.”