A long-discussed plan to double capacity at Westmoreland County’s juvenile detention center is expected to accelerate in the coming months, officials said Monday.

Director Rich Gordon told members of the county’s juvenile detention board that a nearly $1 million project to replace doors and locks throughout the Regional Youth Services Center is nearly finished. The project, which has been underway for two years, covers the secure lockup for juveniles and a shelter program for troubled youth.

“All the doors have been replaced and updated. It’s now just about the final touches,” Gordon said.

The Hempfield facility was originally built in 1979 to house 24 juvenile inmates. An extensive renovation completed in 2012 reduced the detention center’s capacity in order to create a separate, unsecured eight-bed shelter program under the same roof.

Although licensed to hold up to 16 juvenile offenders in secured lockup, the center has been limited to just eight residents since 2023. That limit was set when the facility reopened following a voluntary closure sparked by several failed inspections, which cited staffing shortfalls and training deficiencies.

As of Monday, four juvenile offenders were detained at the center.

For the last two years, Gordon has advocated for increased capacity as a way to generate revenue and provide much-needed bed space in the region. Westmoreland is one of only three counties in Western Pennsylvania — along with Allegheny and Erie — that operates a juvenile detention center.

County commissioners had delayed expansion plans until the door replacements were finished. With that work now largely complete, efforts to ramp up capacity are expected to begin.

Preliminary talks are ongoing to sign deals with five neighboring counties: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Greene and Indiana. Under the proposals, those counties would pay Westmoreland County $800 a day for each out-of-county juvenile housed at the facility.

“They’re ready to go,” Gordon said of the neighboring jurisdictions.

Commissioners directed Gordon to finalize contract language ensuring Westmoreland County juveniles maintain priority for housing at the facility. The contracts must also ensure that all transportation costs are covered by the counties renting the space.

The final contracts will require approval by the commissioners at a future public meeting.