North County Officials Fight to Keep Juvenile Court Open
 North County officials met at Mayor Richard Alcombright's office on Tuesday to express their concerns over the proposed closing of the juvenile court. |
The Berkshire Juvenile Court branch in North Adams was the only court targeted for consolidation in Berkshire County as the Trial Court System tries close a $21 million gap in this year's budget. The assumption was it would be combined with Berkshire Juvenile Court in Pittsfield. North County officials, however, lead by Mayor Richard Alcombright, swiftly responded to the proposal released on July 20.
"An hour ago, I received a phone call from Chief Justice [Robert] Mulligan who assured me that juvenile court services would remain in North Adams," said Alcombright at a noon press conference in his office attended by several local officials as well as Sen. Benjamin B. Downing and Rep. Daniel E. Bosley. "We don't know what that's going to look like, but he did assure me they would remain in North Adams... A very, very good thing; we're pleased about that phone call."
Still, North County officials aren't taking anything for granted. Alcombright will represent Northern Berkshire towns and Monroe at a hearing on Wednesday in Worcestor, one of three planned on court closings across the state and the closest to the Berkshires.
The mayor said he "will very adamantly request that they come to North Adams to meet" and to hear public input. Downing and Bosley have added their voices to that request.
"The more problematic pieces of this is the geographical issues of getting our kids to Pittsfield, if that were be the case," said Alcombright. "Also the socio-economic impact; many of our people are at the poverty level. To assume that our kids can hop on a bus and spend 10 bucks each time they go to court..."
Superintendent of Schools James Montepare and Drury High School Athletic Director John Franzoni, the school system's liaison to the juvenile court, said moving the services to Pittsfield would be both costly and unwieldly.
Some 498 cases are seen yearly in the court; Montepare said some 200 children from the local school system are in the system at any one time for one reason or another.
"We have a relationship with that organization that makes a difference for kids, that is very, very important," he said. "It's a phone call away, a walk away ... it's the proximity that makes a difference in kid's lives. It's not so much a punitive mechanism that we have with them, but one that challenges their behavior and puts them back on the right path."
Relocating to Pittsfield 23 miles away would be an impediment to the relationship built between the school and court, put an extra burden of transportation on minors as well as school officials, and negatively affect the school system's truancy and absentee rate, said Montepare. "I think it's crucial to the students to be here."
Treks to Pittsfield would also cost in man-hours for the smaller police departments. Clarksburg Town Administrator Michael Canales said his town deals with about 40 juvenile cases a year.
"To go to Pittsfield, you're talking in excess of 60 to possibly 80 hours in travel time, which means we could be losing two weeks of patrol on the roads just to travel to the court," he said.
The planned court consolidations affect nearly every county in the state and are the result of more than $70 million in cuts over the past two years; the Trial Court System has seen its budget drop from $605 million to $534 million.
Bosley noted that the system has laid off or left vacant by attrition more than 700 jobs.
"The only other place they can go [for savings] other than jobs is leases," he said. "I was very surprised to find the juvenile court on this because there hadn't been an indication they were looking at the juvenile court when they were looking at the district courts. ... I think we all have had the same message of saying that even though population isn't as big out here in the Berkshires, we need to maintain the same services."
Alcombright said he'd been in contact with Clerk-Magistrate Timothy Morey and Judge Michael Ripps at Northern Berkshire District Court, who seemed amenable to discussions to relocating to the courthouse on Marshall Street.
The juvenile court system was created in the 1990s to separate children and teens from adult offenders. While returning to that model was not a ideal solution, it would keep services here, said the mayor.
Alcombright will present the Court Relocation Committee with a letter expressing North County's concern with proposed closing; it lists 21 community leaders in local goverment, law enforcement and community building. The letter can be read here or below.
"Everyone's speaking with one voice to to make sure we continue to have these critical services," said Downing. "We all know the most efficient, most effective way to deliver a dollar of services is to provide it as close as possible to the home community in which it's needed. ... We know we need it here and we're going to fight for it."
Berkshire Juvenile Court Closing Response
