A joint venture between the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections and Idaho Health and Welfare is expected to create a number of youth community centers around the state to provide services to juveniles in crisis mode.
The centers will be funded through a $4.42 million grant that was part of Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s $50 million Leading Idaho plan and approved by the Idaho Legislature to expand the state’s behavioral health resources.
Monty Prow, director of the juvenile corrections department, and Ross Edmunds, behavioral health administrator for health and welfare, said the youth crisis centers are badly needed in the state.
“We’ve had adult crisis centers for some time and we recognize the impact they have on the community,” Edmunds said during an online interview with the Lewiston Tribune on Wednesday. “We’ve needed this resource for youth and we’re incredibly excited to see this service available throughout the state eventually.”
“Many young people who are experiencing a behavioral health crisis eventually end up hospitalized or incarcerated, and those are expensive and sometimes ineffective options,” Prow said. “By making it easier and faster for youth to get help, these centers will create opportunities for better outcomes at far less cost to taxpayers.”
Currently, the departments are encouraging community organizations to apply for the grant funding, which will be awarded in December. Until applications come in, there is no way of telling how many of the youth centers will be established or where in the state they will be located.
Prow said ideally it hopes to have at least one center located in the northern, southwestern and southeastern parts of the state. Funding could be used to build a new facility or to convert an existing facility into a youth crisis center. Applicants may include government entities, such as counties or cities, or a private organization.
“What we’re trying to do is focus on the type of care and looking for responders to have them tell us how they intend to meet the expectations,” Edmunds said.
“We want communities to get together and figure out how to support this model. It will look different in different parts of the state. There’s not a cookie-cutter model, it’s really based on the coalition they can build in their community.”
Beyond the one-time funding to establish the centers, both departments have ongoing accounts that can continue to help support youth services.
Prow added that in the past several years, the juvenile justice system has seen a “tremendous decline in the needs for our services.” That has allowed the department to reinvest those resources, such as the youth crisis centers that provide “the best bang for your buck.”
There is no set timeline for when the youth crisis centers may be up and running. That will be largely up to the sponsoring organizations but it is hoped to have some services available by June 2023.
The centers will provide young people with a safe place to get help if they are having suicidal thoughts or struggling with issues like drug abuse or domestic violence. Youth will be able to stay at these centers for up to 24 hours. During the crisis intervention it’s expected behavioral health professionals will be able to de-escalate a young person’s crisis and connect them with community-based resources in a matter of hours.
Dave Jeppesen, DHW director, said youth crisis centers have been shown to reduce hospitalization, incarceration, domestic violence, child abuse and out-of-home placements.
Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.
