The county may be looking at more cost when it comes to housing juveniles in the Bob Johnson’s Youth Facility in Hutchinson.

Director Bill Hermes says he received a letter back in July from the Juvenile Justice Authority that they would not be signing any new contracts with facilities that house both juvenile offenders and children in need of care. That would be children that haven’t violated the law, but for what ever reason have been removed from the home.

Hermes told Reno County Commissioners Tuesday that he was told in the letter in July that this would not effect the county facility because of them housing both, now he says they may have changed their minds meaning the county would have to come up with some other solution for child in need of care cases.

But, he says he thinks those in Topeka may think that child in need of care stay for extended length of time, and says the average stay for child in need of care is about 3-days, while a juvenile offender housed in the facility is about 16-days.

But, should the JJA decide they only want contracts with facilities that house the offenders. Hermes say the county would then have to consider another facility for the child in need of care cases. He says the closest one would be a facility in Sedgwick County. Then comes the transportation cost of transporting the children from Wichita to court here, and then possibly back to Wichita.

He says that could be a Reno County Sheriff’s Department issue as well, because many brought into the facility are in police custody. He says they hold for other counties are brought in by police in those communities.

The JJA has not made a final decision, but Hermes says that could come anytime, and says it could happen as early as January of 2012.