By Associated Press
Tulsa, OK – Panel looks at private juvenile prison
TULSA, Okla. (AP) The Board of Juvenile Affairs is considering a possible private prison for juvenile offenders.
The board is expected to vote in September on whether to solicit proposals to build or manage a private lockup. The move would require closing at least one of the agency's three prisons, the L.E. Rader Center in Sand Springs and two others in Manitou and Tecumseh.
Office of Juvenile Affairs Director Gene Christian told the board Friday that two pieces of 2008 legislation authorized the board to consider the move. Christian says the agency initially sought designs for a 64-bed prison to house youthful offenders.
The projected cost in 2007 was $24 million and is now $27 million. OJA asked the Legislature for a bond issue to provide funding, but that was not approved.
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Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com