JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Six juvenile detention facilities could close in Missouri under a plan to lay off 64 employees.
The decision announced Tuesday by the state circuit courts budget committee will take effect next January. It will affect facilities in Bolivar, Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff, Sedalia, Union and Warrensburg. The state judiciary says those facilities hold an average of four or fewer juveniles each day who are waiting for their cases to be decided.
Plans call for juveniles to be held in facilities in nearby counties or diverted to other oversight methods.
The layoffs are expected to save $500,000 in their first year and as much as $2.7 million in salary and benefits when fully implemented. Some of those savings could be offset by increased transportation or program costs for juveniles.