A youth facility in Ketchikan closed indefinately Thursday as a result of statewide budget cuts.
In a news release, the Alaska Department of Health and Human Services said it had to make “the difficult decision” to close the Ketchikan Regional Youth Facility as a cost-saving measure due to Alaska’s multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
Fifteen full-time employees with the Division of Juvenile Justice received lay-off notices, and two positions were reassigned to other offices.
DHSS Commissioner Valerie Davidson said in a statement her department is “committed to a responsible state budget,” and state funding had been reduced by $200 million since last year.
“Now youth in detention will have to be sent further away from their communities and hard-working Alaskans have lost their jobs,” she said. “However, given the financial realities our state is currently facing, we saw no alternative.”
The Ketchikan facility oped in 2002 as a short-term youth detention facility serving Ketchikan, Prince of Wales Island, Wrangell, Petersburg, Metlakatla, Kake and other surrounding communities.
