Director D.J. Watson of the Belmont-Harrison Juvenile District, from left, Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services Director Jeff Felton and Belmont County Commissioner J.P. Dutton discuss work with at-risk teens. Commissioner Josh Meyer appears in the background.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Belmont County is working with the Belmont-Harrison Juvenile District to keep at-risk teens close to home.

On Wednesday, the Belmont County Board of Commissioners voted to approve memorandums of understanding between the Department of Job and Family Services and the Belmont-Harrison Juvenile District for the reservation of two beds at the Provider’s Future Stories Group Home at a per diem rate of $344 per bed per day for November and December. The original rate was $200 a day per bed. This will continue next year through Dec. 31, 2024. The per diem rate will be adjusted April 1 after the state determines the new per diem rate.

Belmont County DJFS Director Jeff Felton said the total annual expenditure will remain the same — the flat yearly fee of $150,000 for the contract with the juvenile district.

“Last year was the first year we reserved some beds. … The (memorandum of understanding) kind of locked us into that $200 a day,” he said.

He later added that his department got a “discount” for the first year.

He said the department is compensated 62% of the cost when a juvenile is eligible for federal programs. Felton added that having access to local beds is an advantage, since Children Services no longer has to try and find other beds.

Children Services Director Christine Parker added that one of the top contributors to the success of a child in such a center is family involvement.

“When we’re local, that family is involved as much as they can be and they want to be with therapy and visitation,” she said.

Commissioner J.P. Dutton commented.

“These facilities allow in these difficult situations where juveniles are detained or in some cases where females are sent to a group home, it’s important to have these facilities in Belmont County and for Harrison County the next county over, so they’re not in a situation where they’re multiple counties away from their families,” he said.

Director D.J. Watson of the Belmont-Harrison Juvenile District commended the inter-agency collaboration.

“What an agreement such as this one does is it kind of reinforces the idea that we want to prioritize our local kids first, and an agreement like this gives us the ability to do so,” he said. “It’s been a struggle for us post-COVID, so reserving two beds locally kind of helps us out as far as budget forecasting goes.”

He elaborated after the meeting.

“There was kind of a dip in the COVID era and the post-COVID era, as they have shifts in trends and placement,” he said, adding that the number of children served remains steady and the detention area has been busy as population numbers picked up.

Future Stories, located in the Oakview Juvenile Residential Center west of St. Clairsville, is a group home for teen girls. Watson said the average daily population is about six, with 23-24 juveniles at the detention center.

He added that such cases can be challenging.

“Figuring out an individual plan that can best treat each kid, because every kid presents their own challenges,” he said. “If you can reach just one, you’ve done your job. But our mission is you try to reach them all.”

The commissioners will advertise for bids to remodel the shower and restrooms at the Sargus Juvenile Detention Center. Regarding the upgrades, Dutton said updates have already been completed in the last two years at Future Stories. He said the upgrades are on one of the two wings of the center at a projected cost of $175,000. Total cost of work for both wings is expected to be $300,000.

In other matters, Dutton will attend the annual County Commissioners Association of Ohio meeting through Friday in Columbus, with county commissioners from all 88 counties.

“It’s a very well-attended meeting with a lot of good sessions, a lot of good speakers and really good collaboration with commissioners from across the state talking about important issues,” he said.

He looks forward to bringing up Belmont County’s issues at the state level. He added that the counties in Eastern Ohio often collaborate.

“We have a lot of good relationships with our commissioners in neighboring counties and stay in touch with them quite a bit. Meetings like this allow us to have some of those conversations with some of those counties we don’t engage with quite as often.”

Commissioner Jerry Echemann was absent from the meeting Wednesday, but Dutton said he is expected to return next week.