Juvenile correctional facility to close Sept. 10

Published 10:23 am Wednesday, March 16, 2011

FRANKLIN FURNACE — The Ohio River Valley Juvenile Correctional Facility in Franklin Furnace will close Sept. 10, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Youth Services said Tuesday.

The decision to close the facility came as Gov. John Kasich announced his budget Tuesday.

The budget calls for a 9 percent, or $41 million, reduction in funding for the department, which oversees the correctional facility, said spokesperson Andrea Kruse. By closing the facility, the state will save approximately $20 million.

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The facility currently employs 333 people. Kruse said that some of the employees might be transferred to other facilities within the department’s jurisdiction, though no decisions have been made yet.

Besides the budget cuts, Kruse said another reason for closing the facility is its reduced population.

“We have 720 kids today and in 2007 we had almost 1,800,” she said.

Besides closing the facility, the department plans to cut 21 positions from its administrative staff and 5 percent from the budget of its community correctional facility, among other cuts.

Calls to Kasich’s office were not returned.