TEB Votes To Move Juvenile Detention To BIA

A committee of the Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board unanimously voted to retrocede the agreement between the juvenile detention center and Bureau of Indian Affairs during a recent meeting.

The full board agreed to the motion during its meeting on Monday, Sept. 22. No one on the board voted against the motion, which was made by TEB member Jestin Dupree.

The vote will give the juvenile detention center back to the BIA. The juvenile detention center hasn’t been led by BIA since the mid to late 1990’s.

Officials said the juvenile detention center hasn’t been serviceable for more than two years. One TEB member said that the JDC recently failed on each one of 56 standards.

Issues have included inadequate air conditioning, broken facilities and overcrowding.

Through a contract with Cascade County, Fort Peck has been able to send about five juveniles to that facility during recent months.

The situation at the JDC was described as inhumane conditions due gross negligence by TEB members.

“We don’t have the ability to house the youth,” TEB member Roxanne Gourneau said.

TEB members said that it would be up to BIA to get the local facility up and running.

“It could take a month to 10 years,” Gourneau said of putting the detention center in proper condition.