02/28/2026
Today is our last day in operation. For any past residents who may need school records, please contact the Fremont County School District for information on how to get those records. Our school principal continues to work elsewhere in the district and will be happy to help you get the information you need.
We want to take a moment to express our gratitude to all we have worked with over the years. We want everyone to know that it has been a privilege to serve our communities for nearly 28 years. We are saddened for this to come to an end.
For years, Five County ran a detention program for short-term stays for local juveniles in our 5 counties, as well as a long-term residential treatment program for juveniles in need of court ordered treatment. We worked with kids from Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Iowa, as well as kids from many other states, and tribal entities through our work with the federal bureau of prisons. The building where 5C is now located, had a 1.9 million dollar annual payment. The money that the counties paid into the 5C budget did not even cover the full cost of the payment, and our residential treatment program covered the rest of the payment as well as our operations budget. We paid the building off early because of revenue from the residential treatment program we ran. After the building was paid off, the contributions from the 5 counties were reduced and at times, the counties did not even have to make some of their quarterly payments. Unfortunately in March of 2025 the state of Montana made the choice to move their juveniles back to their state in order to not pay out of state contracts. Rather than allowing the 5C director sufficient time to get other contracts for treatment in place from other states, the 5C commissioners chose to terminate the residential treatment program, and only run detention. That brought an end to the revenue that came from running the treatment program. That meant a higher cost to the 5 counties because there would be no further revenue from the residential treatment program. In February of this year, despite many different options that were presented to the commissioners to cut costs and to once again bring in revenue, the 5 County board of commissioners voted 3-2 to close 5C down. Despite what some of the commissioners say, this was not about saving money, there were plenty of options to cut costs and to bring in revenue to offset the costs to the counties to keep 5C running. And it's sad to see so many people who have devoted their careers to helping kids, lose their jobs. Five County made money, and provided important services for the juveniles that entered our doors. We are grateful for the opportunity we had to do so, and are disappointed that we cannot continue to serve the community as we have. We wish nothing but the best for our communities and especially all of the kids we have helped over the years. Thanks again for the opportunity we had to serve in this way. We will miss it, and will cherish the memories.
