Beaumont Is Building a Campus to Catch Kids Before They Fall Into the System.

A coalition of community leaders, educators, mental health professionals, and nonprofits has proposed the SETX Youth Support Services Campus, a centralized Beaumont facility dedicated to intervening before young people enter the juvenile justice system. The anchor organization, Jefferson County reVision, has already helped redirect hundreds of at-risk youth in nearly three years of operation. The cost comparison is hard to argue with: housing a juvenile in detention runs $350,000 to $400,000 per year. Treatment and prevention services cost an estimated $5,000 to $15,000 annually. Jefferson County Commissioners have heard the proposal. Additional discussions are expected next month.