by Evelyn Pyburn
Before each shift, the staff at the Ted Lechner Youth Services Center compare notes. Pictured here are (L-R) Hank Richards, Amanda Cortez, Yuliya Johnson, Sandy Woodyard, Albert Marnolejo, Kim Foreman, Randy Spivey, and Tina Taylor. (Evelyn Pyburn photo)
At a moment in time that the population of the Youth Services Center (YSC) in Yellowstone County is soaring, it is struggling to find the help that is needed to operate.
Director of the Center for 27 years, Val Weber, told county commissioners last week, that the population numbers at the center have been consistently elevated for the past several months.
The Ted Lechner Youth Services Center, at 410 S. 26th Street in Billings, is a secure detention facility that holds minors, up to age 18, who have allegedly violated the law, while their cases go through the judicial system. YSC also operates a shelter care facility that provides a temporary safe and secure “home” for children, who through no fault of their own, have nowhere else to go.
The facility has been at 20 occupants for almost four months. “I don’t see it getting better,” said Weber, adding, that “we have a high number of serious crimes.” Average population was previously about 14. They have youths accused of robbery, rape, homicide, and felony assault.
Weber said, “We can go to 24 (occupants) but staffing for 24 is very difficult.”
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