Budget cuts result in elimination of boot camp program

STROUD, Okla. (AP) _ A ``boot camp'' program here has become the latest casualty in the state Office of Juvenile Affairs' effort to trim its budget. <br><br>Twenty-four employees of the Stroud

Friday, October 25th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STROUD, Okla. (AP) _ A ``boot camp'' program here has become the latest casualty in the state Office of Juvenile Affairs' effort to trim its budget.

Twenty-four employees of the Stroud Intervention and Remediation program will be out of work at the end of the month, Cindy Cornett, a program counselor, said Thursday.

The agency will save about $284,000 a year.

Earlier this month, the OJA discontinued its contract with Avalon Correctional Services, a company that operates a medium-security detention center in Union City.

The Oklahoma Military Department had a contract with OJA to run the Stroud program.

The military department originally told employees Oct. 1 that they would receive a severance package that would carry them through the holiday season, but that is no longer the case, Cornett said.

``We thought we would be comfortable through December,'' Cornett said. ``Now we're out looking for jobs. I guess this kind of speeds that process up.''

The decision to close the Stroud program ultimately was left up to the military department, juvenile affairs spokeswoman Rhonda Burgess said. The military department runs three other juvenile corrections programs.

In a letter to Cornett, Col. Dale E. Carney said, ``Due to state statutory requirements, this department regrets to inform you that severance pay will not be provided.''

Pat Scully, a spokesman for the military department, said his agency tried to find a way to offer a severance package, but couldn't.

``As we were working on it, we found that state statutes don't allow for a severance package under these circumstances,'' Scully said.

People who lose their jobs as a result of a reduction in force are allowed to receive severance pay. But if an entire program is cut, severance pay isn't allowed, Scully said.

Stroud Intervention and Remediation put juvenile offenders through a military camp experience. It took in 24 juveniles at a time and 5,000 during its tenure.

The youths have been moved to other juvenile centers.