GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Five years ago, the Josephine County Juvenile Detention Center closed. In 2018, it’s getting new life thanks to the levy that passed in May.
After months of work, the walls are up, the floors are in and the doors are ready to open.NBC5 News was invited in for a first look. The facility features an outside recreation center, a detention center and a shelter for abused kids and kids waiting for placement. Right now, the shelter can house 11 kids.
32 cameras will be installed to keep a close eye on the detention center. It can hold 12 kids.
The new building is nice, but leaders say the improvements aren’t just cosmetic.
Director Brad Kane is hoping to add more programs to keep kids off the streets. He said, “We are going to do more in behavioral rehabilitative services, giving the youth groups, and teaching them skills so that they don’t keep coming back in.”
Kane went on to discuss the shelter. “We’re taking in youth that are on the streets right now and that don’t have a home that are being abused and we are able to take them in now, provide mental health services, medical services and provide family services for families and youth in the community so it’s very much needed.”
Right now, the kids in the program are being held in Douglas County. The Josephine County facility is expected to open January 16th.
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