LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) -- Officials who oversee a regional juvenile detention center in northern Idaho's Nez Perce County are looking for ways to reduce a $485,000 operating shortfall.
The Lewiston Tribune reports commissioners from four other counties served by the facility said Monday they're willing to consider helping cover the deficit if it means keeping troubled youths closer to home.
But Nez Perce County Commission Chairman Douglas W. Havens says he's not ready to give up on the possibility of Idaho sending some juveniles to a detention facility in eastern Washington, about 20 miles southwest of Spokane.
Meanwhile, Idaho's Department of Juvenile Corrections has ruled out helping close the budget gap at the Lewiston facility, saying there is neither funding nor prisoners available as the state's youth inmate population declines.
