Butler County will now house their juvenile inmates in the Allegheny County jail.
The move is being done to save money. It will cost the county about $100 per youth to house juvenile offenders in the Allegheny County jail, versus between $120 to $600 a day if they were housed in the Butler County Prison.
The reason is Allegheny already has a separate juvenile housing pod in place with the proper requirements, including constant supervision. Federal law mandates juveniles be housed away from the general population.
Butler County does not currently have any juvenile inmates and officials say it is a ‘rare occurrence.’
