Juvenile Correctional Facility To Close

MARION, Ohio -- It was standing room only as a community met to talk about the closing of a juvenile correctional facility and moving its high-risk offenders.

Federal stimulus dollars are helping to make sure that Ohio has a balanced budget, but pretty much every department has been asked to scale back, including the Ohio Youth Services program.

OYS has been asked to save $21 million, and the way the department chose to save funds stirred up emotions in Marion.

NBC 4's Mikaela Hunt reported on WHY IT MATTERS.

Murderers. Rapists. Sexual offenders. The worst of Ohio's young offenders are sent to the Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility.

The closing of Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility is a tough topic, according to Director of Ohio Youth Services Thomas Stickrath.

Stickrath said the facility is closing due to Ohio's economic woes, and 300 jobs were set to go with it

The juvenile population is trending downward in Ohio: There were 2,167 in the system in 2000 and only 1,555 in 2008. That is the lowest population in recent history.

OYS said the state's other juvenile facilities are closer to the larger populations they serve or the facilities offer resources or building elements that still are needed.

Days before the facility is set to close, Beth Eisenbreit, whose husband works at the facility, will have a baby.

Eisenbreit broke down at the question-and-answer session.

"To move that stuff elsewhere doesn't sit well with me, but again I think they've already made their decision. They're not going to change their mind. What are you guys going to do? Good question," she said.

Deb Powell has worked at the facility for almost nine years and said she believes her only job-transfer option within the department is four hours away.

"It's hard, real hard, and I don't even have one of those sad, sad stories out there," Powell said.

Residents said the community will suffer a huge loss.

"It will hurt the community economically, psychologically, and it will be a loss to the tax base," local pastor Tyrone Kaiser said.

There were a lot of questions – good, fair and tough questions.

It all comes back to $21 million in state savings.

"We can reprioritize those funds into other existing facilities. Why not close another facility instead? This facility gave more bang-for-our-buck revenue. We could redeploy it elsewhere in our system," Strickrath said.

Marion Juvenile Correctional Facility employees will receive "bumping" packets Wednesday, April 1, and OYS will do paper layoffs Wednesday, April 29.

Some people will lose their jobs, and others will be transferred.

Information on who will be laid off and who will be transferred will be received Wednesday, April 29.

The facility was set to close Saturday, June 6, 2009.

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