County options for juvenile detention in New Mexico shrink

A southern New Mexico county has renewed an agreement with another county hundreds of miles away to continue housing its juvenile detainees. The decision by the Otero County Commission comes as the number of juvenile detention facilities around New Mexico shrinks. That means more youths are being detained far from home. A state Supreme Court Justice recently told a panel of lawmakers that the time has come to find ways to keep detained youths adequately supervised and cared for near their home while helping counties in finding ways to meet the high cost of 24-hour detention.