Regents give go ahead to new juvenile justice program building

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges expects to be getting a new home on the Redfield campus south of Reno, but some wonder if there isn't a better site.

Council officials want to build an $8.5 million facility on the Redfield campus at the south end of Reno. That campus is a joint project between the University of Nevada Reno and Western Nevada Community College.

Before last week's vote by the state's Board of Regents, Las Vegas members Dave Phillips and Thalia Dondero questioned why the facility was being built there.

Phillips suggested building the center in a depressed area to offer economic incentives. Dondero wanted to know why they weren't building in Las Vegas where most of the problem juveniles, the professionals who take care of them and the judges who deal with them are located.

They were told the council is a national group that provides training to all juvenile and family judges and juvenile justice professionals around the world. That means classes needed in Las Vegas are provided on site just as they are elsewhere.

Council officials said they have outgrown their space in the Midby-Byron building on the main UNR campus and that there isn't much room left to build there anymore.

The new facility will cover some 65,000 square feet. The council will raise the money necessary to build it.