Boot camp to become girls juvenile facility

STUART — A former juvenile offender boot camp will become a jail for girls with mental health problems who commit crimes throughout South Florida, Martin County commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday.

"This is one way we can make an impact on future crime," said Martin County Sheriff Robert Crowder as commissioners allowed the state to turn the former boot camp into the Girls Intensive Mental Health Commitment Program. "This is some of the wisest money we can spend."

The juvenile facility, next to the Martin County Jail, will hold 30 girls convicted of crimes from South Florida, said Rex Uberman, assistant secretary of residential services for the state Department of Juvenile Justice.

The girls in the program will have mental health issues requiring them to be kept out of regular juvenile jails so they can get treatment, he said.

"If you look at the characteristics of these young women, they are often victims of abuse or neglect themselves," Uberman said.

Crowder ran the former boot camp for boys, which was regarded as one of the best in the state, for years. He closed it in 2006 because of a lack of state money.

The state will pay about $500,000 to repair the building and renovate it and will pay all the costs of running the jail, Uberman said.

Uberman said the new jail probably will open after June. The state will hire a private company to run the facility.

Source: The Palm Beach Post