Guilford County commissioners are set to vote to approve, on Thursday, March 5, a budget amendment that would add $250,000 to the county’s Juvenile Detention budget and authorize payments to the State of North Carolina for housing certain Guilford County juveniles in state-run detention facilities.
Doug Logan, the director of the Guilford County Juvenile Detention Center, is making the request to the board.
The Juvenile Detention Center manages the daily population of juveniles housed at the county facility. Over the past year, the department has experienced increased challenges – both operational and security related – to housing older juveniles, those ages 16 and 17, together with younger residents.
According to detention staff, those challenges include program limitations in delivery, increased staffing and supervision demands, and elevated safety and security risks for both juveniles and staff.
To help manage that population mix and maintain safe operations, the department has been using the option of placing certain Guilford County juveniles in state-operated facilities. That’s where the cost comes in: the State of North Carolina assesses a rate of $150 per night for each Guilford County juvenile housed in its facilities.
In the first six months of the current fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2025, the costs associated with those state facility bed stays have exceeded $200,000.
Based on current trends, county staff are communicating to the county commissioners that additional appropriations are required to continue that practice through the remainder of fiscal year 2025-2026.
Guilford County operates under a Memorandum of Agreement with the State of North Carolina governing juvenile detention cost sharing. Under that agreement, the state reimburses the county for a portion of costs associated with operating the county’s detention facility – including 50 percent of the projected cost for Guilford County juveniles housed locally and 100 percent of the projected cost for out-of-county juveniles housed locally.
The requested action before commissioners pertains specifically to payments made by Guilford County to the state for housing certain county juveniles in state facilities when it’s deemed appropriate for operational and safety reasons.
The commissioners are taking the money from the General Fund budget – that is, essentially, the county’s savings account, to the tune of $250,000.
The agenda materials for the March 5 meeting note that the Guilford County Juvenile Detention Center will track daily state placements, nightly costs and remaining budget authority, as well as report monthly to the county’s Budget Department to make sure that the spending remains within the bounds of the approved appropriation.
County leaders are also evaluating long-term population management strategies – including things like age separation practices and coordination with the state – to reduce the county’s continuing reliance on state-operated placements when possible and fiscally responsible.
The practice aligns with North Carolina juvenile detention standards that require appropriate age separation as well as satisfactory
