In the conclusions and recommendations portion of a draft report on how to eliminate 235 beds from the juvenile rehabilitation facilities, consultants wrote that — if the only two options for closure are Maple Lane in Grand Mound and Green Hill School in Chehalis — the better of the options would be Maple Lane.

    That recommendation comes with a big caveat, however, as the consultants noted that they were limited to examining only those two facilities. The report closes by cautioning against closing either facility. The full report is available on the Web at www.ofm.wa.gov/facilities. Financial analysis for the recommendations have not been completed, but will be available by Nov. 1.

     Below is the written conclusion of the draft report, along with additional information compiled by consultants on the potential closure.

    • “It is our conclusion that the data do not support closure of either Green Hill or Maple Lane. Without new construction, there is insufficient capacity in the rest of the system to accommodate the youth who would be left and closure of either facility would be accompanied by a significant probability of doing serious harm to a quality program and leave little to no room for error in caseload forecast for JRA institutions. … While we want to make it clear that we think this is a bad idea, in conformance with the proviso, the final report will include a plan to close Maple Lane School.”

    • Under the option of closing Maple Lane, consultants wrote that “it is recommended that all of the Maple Lane youth in the residential mental health program, and most of the youth in extended mental Health, go to Echo Glen. … The remainder of the residential mental health population would be relocated to a new building constructed at Green Hill. Maple Lane youth in sex offender and drug and alcohol treatment programs would be consolidated at Green Hill and Naselle.”

    • The report estimates the closure of Maple Lane would save a net total of $4.4 million. That number reflects $20.8 million in savings in facility improvements that would no longer be needed at Maple Lane, and $14.8 million in costs for improvements to Green Hill for adding approximately 80 beds to absorb the influx of juveniles.

    • Consultants wrote that “Maple Lane has programs specifically designed for older youth experiencing serious mental and emotional problems. The staff is trained to observe and intervene in behavior that may be leading toward self-harm or mental decompensation. Closing Maple Lane would require additional training for the staff of receiving facilities. Maple Lane also has a large inpatient chemical dependency program.”