Did the juvenile court err in ordering OJS to be responsible for the costs of Teneko’s detention?
The Court noted that generally, DHHS is responsible for the support, study, or treatment costs of a juvenile which the juvenile’s parents cannot pay, when the juvenile has been placed in the care and custody of DHHS. (§ 43-290) As the Court had decided that the juvenile court erred in placing Teneko in the custody of OJS, it added that the juvenile court could not have placed Teneko in the custody of DHHS such that DHHS might still be responsible for the costs of Teneko’s detention. Section 43-254(5) provides that a juvenile court may place a juvenile in the temporary care and custody of DHHS prior to adjudication “when it does not appear that there is any need for secure detention.” Here, the juvenile court ordered that Teneko continue to be detained in the Douglas County Youth Center and that OJS might seek a placement for Teneko “that takes into account the present change and that has no other children,” which order made it appear that Teneko required secure detention. “Thus,” ruled
