Construction of a new juvenile detention facility on the Colorado River Indian Reservation

The Recovery Act - Renovation of Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands Discretionary Grant Program assists tribes in developing strategies to cost effectively construct or renovate existing facilities associated with the incarceration and rehabilitation of juvenile and adult offenders subject to tribal jurisdiction. Careful planning is critical to ensure that new and renovated correctional facilities are appropriately designed for the intended population, supportive of cultural and traditional values, safe and secure when completed, and are in compliance with appropriate standards regarding correctional operations, programs, and design.

The Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) will use the Recovery Act Correctional Facilities on Tribal Lands (Category I: Construction of Detention Facilities for Adult and Juvenile Offenders) to construct and establish a new juvenile detention facility to hold and house tribal juveniles who have been taken into custody for violations of tribal law. In 2004, CRIT was required (Per BIA) to remove juveniles from their adult corrections facility because the juveniles area did not provide sight and sound separation from the adult population. Since then, the tribe has been forced to transport their juvenile offenders to a BIA facility in Towaoc, Colorado, which is over twelve hours away from the reservation. In 2006, CRIT received an Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) from HUD, in which the tribe used the available funds for architectural and engineering (A/E) services to design a new juvenile facility. Recovery Act funds will allow the tribe to complete the project and operate its own juvenile detention facility on the reservation. CRIT will utilize the established team and build upon the strategy which entails: the final review of the facility design; development of construction documents, plans and specifications; construction of the facility; completing the development of policies and procedures for the facility; the hiring and training of detention facility staff; and the opening of the juvenile detention facility.

CA/NCF