Juvenile Court gets funding boost

St. Joseph County Juvenile Court officials were given a funding boost Tuesday, when the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners agreed after extensive discussion to provide $245,000 in assistance toward the Child Care portion of the court’s budget.
A trio of representatives – Juvenile Court Judge David Tomlinson, director Tom Robertson and supervisor Don Happel – stated their case before the county commission. They said higher-than-anticipated expenditures for institutionalization through the first half of their fiscal year have had a detrimental impact on their 2014-15 fiscal year budget.
Robertson explained that the county is reimbursed 50 percent of its Child Care budget, meaning the county could recoup up to half of the $245,000. The only caveat, according to Robertson, is that the funds must be within the county’s Child Care budget.
The court’s fiscal year ends Sept. 30.