Department of Juvenile Justice eyeing new facility to address youth mental health

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Department of Juvenile Justice wants to build a $35 million mental health facility for incarcerated youth in Kentucky.

Commissioner Randy White told the Budget Review Subcommittee on Justice and Judiciary Wednesday there is a high need for that type of facility, according to a news release. It's still in the early planning phases.

Incarcerated children in Kentucky receive treatment in detention centers. But White said that delays care and is often unsafe for youth and staff.

The department tries to place youth with severe needs in private mental health facilities. But those children are sometimes sent out of state.

“When we require or seek placement for these violent individuals – if we’re fortunate enough to obtain a bed and position and treatment for these individuals – we have to send them far away from their support base and far away from their homes,” White said. “It could be somewhat traumatic for them to move that distance.”

The children in need of in-patient, high acuity treatment are often violent, according to a news release. State law currently does not require a mental health facility to accept these patients.

Rebecca Norton, the budget director for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, said the $35 million figure is a preliminary estimate. The cabinet currently doesn't have the funding to complete the design phase.

“The costs listed here are based on discussions that have been had as far as what would be requirements for square footage, and that’s based on the number of beds,” Norton said.

The proposed facility would have 24 beds, with 16 beds for clinical patients and eight beds for assessment and stabilization needs.

According to a news release, the estimated annual operating budget for the facility would be $12.1 million.

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