Years of Lackawanna County deputy sheriffs transporting local juveniles accused of crimes to detention centers as far as Ohio should end next year.
The county commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to join a four-county consortium that will house accused juveniles at a Berks County center known as the Southeast Youth Detention Agency.
The center in Bern Twp., outside of Reading, which Berks County will run, will house up to 40 accused juveniles with up to 10 beds each reserved for Lackawanna, Berks, Dauphin and Lehigh counties. The center will reserve another 16 beds as shelter for unhoused children, a Berks county official said.
“This is a monumental day in juvenile justice here in Lackawanna County,” Judge Frank Ruggiero, who oversees juvenile court hearings told the commissioners.
The center is tentatively scheduled to open in July 2027. The commissioners approved an agreement to send juveniles there until at least Dec. 31, 2047.
The county expects to spend about $2.6 million the first year, slightly more than the $2.3 million in projected spending this year, according to a slide presentation by county chief financial officer David Bulzoni.
