Plus it will provide them with rehabilitation, a critical component that wasn't available at the Snake River Detention Center. The program will also save the county money. Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Doug Werth said the local program will not result in additional cost to the county. During weekends, adult offenders will be transferred to the county jail to make way for the juveniles. According to Werth, a key to the program is the cooperative effort among the Prosecutor's Office, Probation and Sheriff's Departments, courts and judges.
Organizers say that community involvement is critical to the success of the program.
Teresa Espedal, Blaine County chief probation officer, said a key to the program is to bring in members of the community with a wealth of knowledge and experience to talk to kids about the issues and problems in their lives. According to Femling and Werth, substance abuse is a major contributing factor in juvenile crime. They need a place to go as a sanction and sort of forced education. To just lock kids up with substance-abuse problems and not provide them with rehabilitation is like throwing the future away. Femling called the program the first step in substance-abuse intervention for juveniles.