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Commissioners to consider services for juvenile probation

The Lycoming County Juvenile Probation Office will seek approval for two new contracts and three contract renewals at Thursday’s commissioners meeting, said Ed Robbins, director of the office.

A professional service agreement with a detention center in Northampton County will give the juvenile probation office more bed options for juveniles accused of felonies. The county has three other contractors for this service, however there have been times when no beds were available, Robbins said.

“When I left work two Thursdays ago, we had zero beds available for us,” he said. “That’s not a position that our office or our community want to be in. It makes great sense for us to add this, based on our need.”

If a youth is charged with a serious felony, he said, the county would not have a secure place to keep that youth. They would have to go either to a shelter care facility or be sent home. Luckily that did not happen, he said.

At $250 per bed per day, Northampton will be the cheapest of the detention facilities contracted if approved, he added.

An agreement with Mid-Atlantic Youth Services “will add to the continuum of care” the office provides to local juveniles. The organization provides secure services at costs ranging between $270 and $345 per day — and the county doesn’t have to use them, it’s just good to have options, Robbins said.

The three renewals are for Youth Services Agency, used for its weekend accountability programming, Glen Mills, a treatment and vocational facility that certifies juveniles in specialty skills such as carpentry, and Clear Vision, a girls program the county has contracted with for nearly 10 years, Robbins said.

Glen Mills and Clear Vision have included rate increases for the first time since 2015, he added.

“Whenever I come before you with this type of request, it’s always based on need,” Robbins said. “It’s always based on quality of service that a program offers, or it fills a unique niche in our continuum of care. Each one of these programs fits one of those rationale.”

In another matter, the commissioners voted to approve the total parcels, taxable or exempt, for the 2018 tax rolls as presented by Brooke Wright, chief assessor. Taxable parcels amount to 51,992 assessed at $5.73 billion. That represents three more parcels over last year.

Exempt parcels are 1,974 assessed at $1.02 billion, down 15 parcels from last year.

Most exempt parcels tend to be schools, churches and other non-taxable entities, Wright said.

Other items up for vote on Thursday include:

• A quote from Tobcon Solutions Store for the annual Carlson Command Office software subscription in the amount of $2,995 per year.

• Selling a 2007 Sterling Acterra PT-1000 20-Cubic Yard Packer Truck to Robert Losell in the amount of $35,300.

• Agreements for inmate housing with Clinton County for $70 per day and Centre County for $65 per day.

• Several bills of sale by auction.

Commissioners Jack McKernan and Rick Mirabito were present, Commissioner Tony Mussare was absent. The next meeting will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

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