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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

NorCo's JJC Has Never Been a Money Maker

At last week's Northampton County Council meeting, Court Administrator Jermaine Greene had to run a gauntlet through Council members Tara Zrinski and Kevin Lott when he asked that supervisors at the Juvenile Justice Center get the same pay as lieutenants at the jail. This has been their modus operandi with Greene and no one else.  Neither Council member bothered to show up for the committee meeting the previous day in which the upgrade was vetted. Zrinski explained she had to be somewhere else,. That somewhere else just happened to be a petition signing event in her own race for Controller. Lott offered no explanation for his absence. One of his complaints is that the Juvenile Justice Center, which does accept children from counties with no facilities, should be a money maker. In fact, at one point, he made a motion for a "sustainability" study. He claimed that we had to pour $4 million onto the place last year, and something needs to be done. 

If Lott was talking about a county golf course or a zoo, I could see merit in a sustainability study. But it's not. It is a detention center for children who need rehabilitation. It is not supposed to turn a profit. And it never has. Despite what others seem to think, Northampton County's Juvenile Justice Center has never turned a profit. As the flow chart below demonstrates, expenses have always exceeded revenue. It has never come close to breaking even. 

So there's your sustainability study, Mr. Lott.

During that very same meeting, Council member John Brown stated that the JCC had a $2 million profit when he was Exec. Greene even agreed with him.  Here's the reality. In each of Brown's four years as Exec, the JCC lost money. 

Pearl Buck, daughter of a missionary is the person who first noted that the test of a civilization is the way it cares for its helpless members. I think that includes children in need of placement. 

If you want a Kids for Cash scheme, go a few counties north. If you want to farm your children hours away from their families, go a few counties west. If you want a real juvenile justice center, you're in the right place. Whether it makes money is no indicator of success. Whether it helps children and their families is what matters. 

JJC Flowchart by BernieOHare on Scribd

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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2023 at 6:56 AM

    " ... the test of a civilization is the way it cares for its helpless members ... "

    The souls of the departed elderly we ignored at Gracedale request permission to enter this chat about government giving any kind of a shit about our most vulnerable. Good grief. And let's spend another half a billion to foment the next war. You're "concerned" posts are parody at this point. You say you care about our vulnerable. You support policies that prioritize war making over caring for suffering Americans. War war war war war.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2023 at 10:01 AM

    Wait one second, JOHN BROWN LIED? I can't believe what i am reading here
    He also tanked the Health care for every employee working here and caused the biggest one time exit of county workers ever
    But thats ok lets elect him to County Council he'll do a great job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. CarlFebruary 21, 2023 at 2:29 PM

    Maybe a bit more emphasis spent on education as opposed to sports programs might make a few more kids a tad smarter when they reach adulthood and plan for their future.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 23, 2023 at 6:22 PM

    the juvenile center is not suppose to make money, but it should be run efficiently. Personnel costs are the biggest expense. Overtime could be reduced if you have a good part time pool. secondly, open beds can be sold to other counties to generate revenue. And, that revenue should go into the juvenile center budget and not into the general court budget. We did these things when I worked there and the facility was not a drain on the County.

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  5. Bernie O'HareFebruary 23, 2023 at 6:52 PM

    Yeah, it was. That's the whole point of my story. Since its existence, it has never generated a profit, even when other counties pay for beds. But as you correctly observe, it's not about making $.

    ReplyDelete

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