It was one of the first resolutions on the agenda at the Cambria County commissioner meeting on Thursday.  All three commissioners voted to close the county’s detention center.  

The commissioners wanted to make the point that the decision by no means is a reflection of the employees.  It’s about trimming the budget.  Closing the center the will save the county between $900,000 and $950,000 per year.

“This is another contingent part of their plan to get the financial house of Cambria County in order and it’s never an easy decision to shut anything down,” county controller Ed Cernic Jr. said Thursday morning.

Commissioner BJ Smith told us he spoke to the Cambria County president judge about this issue before making the decision.  The judge checked with other nearby counties and told the commissioners that troubled youth are now usually being sent to Christian group homes and he suggested shutting it down.

“There are other avenues that the juvenile justice system is utilizing. They are really not sending near the numbers of juveniles to detention centers anymore,” said commissioner Mark Wissinger.

The commissioners told us of all of Pennsylvania’s counties, only 10 still have detention centers.  If someone needs to be sent to a juvenile detention center, the county plans to use either Westmoreland or Allegheny County’s facility.

The center employs 24 people full-time.  The commissioners said they will try to transfer some of the employees over to other county jobs if they are qualified and are looking for work.

The facility will be closed by June 30.