By Traci Chapman
Published on November 13, 2008

Personnel costs at the Gary E. Miller Canadian County Children’s Justice Center topped $4.48 million during the 2007-2008 fiscal year, more than the employee costs for all other county departments combined.

County personnel costs, excluding the juvenile justice center, were about $4.06 million, according to financial statements prepared by the county’s accounting firm, Yadon and Putnam.

Employee-related costs for the juvenile justice center have increased by more than $2.8 million since the 2000-2001 fiscal year, according to county financial records. Between July 2000 and June 2001, employee-related expenses totaled $1,625,939. Since then, costs have increased between $154,000 and just more than $659,000 each year, with the largest increase — $659,526 — posted in the last fiscal year.

According to the 2008-2009 statement of needs certified by Commissioners on Sept. 30, juvenile justice center officials posted a $32,217 proposed increase in personnel costs for the current year.
The juvenile justice center has about 120 employees. Center director Joan South said earlier this year some of the increases, such as a $485,050 boost during the 2004-2005 fiscal year, could be explained by new programs introduced at the facility.

“That was the year we opened the group home, so we brought on more employees at that time,” she said then.

Commissioners approved a sliding pay increase between 3 percent and 7 percent for justice center employees in September 2007, and all county staff, including those working at the justice center, received a 5-percent pay hike in 2006.

South requested graduated raises in 2007 to compensate justice center employees who did not receive raises in 2005, the year county employees received an 8-percent raise. South said at that time the center did not have the funds for an employee increase in 2005.

“We had a lot of disgruntled employees out there, so we changed the accounting on the justice center to coincide with the rest of the county,” Hedrick said.
The juvenile justice center is comprised of a juvenile bureau, detention center, alternative school, group home, drug testing lab and behavioral health divisions. It also houses a courtroom for juvenile-related hearings and trials, a court clerk’s office, interview rooms and visitor spaces, South said.

District 1 Commissioner Grant Hedrick said the “many arms” of the justice center required a larger staff than many other county departments.

“With the detention part of it and with the group home, we have to have so many staff there 24 hours a day. We also have teachers and counselors working at the alternative education program, and in the justice center part of it, we have drug counselors, drug treatment people,” he said. “We also have Joan (South) and her administrative staff, and then we’ve got so many people that are transporting the juveniles back and forth, as well as the drug lab in the back.”

The juvenile justice center is financed partially through a one-third of a cent permanent sales tax passed by voters in 1996. Contracts with counties throughout Oklahoma, as well as the state Office of Juvenile Affairs and Oklahoma Department of Corrections also provide funding for the center.

County Commissioners awarded a $967,500 contract to expand the justice center Nov. 3. Operations manager Jamie Girard said the 8,800-square-foot addition of office space would provide room for about 19 employees, as well as a multi-purpose room, which she said could be used for training and group meetings. The project will add 24 new offices, which will allow employees who have been forced to work two or three to an office to have the room they need, South said.