Ward County is awaiting a decision on an appeal that will determine whether its juvenile detention facility remains noncompliant with federal rules.

Jail Commander Paul Olthoff told the Ward County Commission Tuesday, April 7, that the county received its report of noncompliance on Feb. 1 and has filed an appeal.

Olthoff, who said he expects to receive a determination within the next two weeks.

The juvenile detention center opened in its existing location in 2016 under indirect supervision. The following year, the Department of Justice issued a memorandum setting out a requirement under the Prison Rape Elimination Act for direct supervision, which means a staff person must be constantly in the block with juveniles whenever two or more are there. However, not until last year was the issue flagged in Ward County.

Following a recent audit by the N.D. Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the noncompliance notice was given Feb. 1.

Olthoff said there is conflicting information about whether camera supervision meets compliance so that could be a consideration in the appeal. He told commissioners last year that under Ward County’s indirect supervision, staff check on juveniles every 15 minutes, and the center has monitoring cameras.

Commissioner Jason Olson noted the commission rejected a proposal during the 2026 budget process to add three detention officers to provide the staffing to achieve compliance. If the appeal is denied, the commission will need to determine how to respond in drafting the 2027 budget.

“If we lose the appeal or are denied the appeal, we’re not compliant, and we need to make decisions if we’re going to adjust operations to become compliant, either adding staff or changing the amount of juveniles that we have to become compliant. Or we are going to say we’re not going to operate if we can’t be compliant,” Olson said. “This is a bubbling issue on our back burner, and it’s going to come to a head here pretty soon.”

The Ward County juvenile detention center is one of only three in the state, with the others in Grand Forks and Bismarck.