Simplified: Minnehaha County is nearly ready to open its new, $42 million juvenile justice center, and before the kids in custody move to their new digs, the county invited media to tour the facility Thursday morning.

Why it matters

• The new facility has a strong emphasis on safety – both of the children and of the staff. It includes three padded rooms for kids, which detention center Director Jamie Gravett said is a safer option for everyone compared to the current option of using a restraint chair in situations where a kid is threatening self harm.
• The new center is also designed to keep kids in custody out of their rooms for as much of the day as possible. In addition to school, kids can spend time in multiple secured outdoor spaces or in communal indoor spaces decorated with calming artwork and design.
• Currently, the juvenile detention center has an average of 30 kids age 10 to 17 per day, and the average length of stay is one month. The new facility has space for up to 64, and when the second phase is completed next year, the hope is that a kid's entire case can happen in that one location – booking, court dates, etc.

"Probation's here – they can see their cases as they need to," Gravett said. "The judge is here. We can have all the court in one spot. It's just (more) efficiency."

Show me the space

Here's a look inside, starting with the garage where police will be able to securely and privately take kids into custody. That's a change from the current set-up in which kids have to enter the same door as any visitors, meaning less overall privacy.

Then kids will move into a booking area, where they may be held temporarily in one of these rooms:

The typical day-to-day rooms are in blocks of eight – which is also the ideal staff-to-child ratio in the facility (1:8).

Each eight-room pod also has a living room space and a patio, shown in the photo at the top of the story. Here's a closer look at an individual room:

Here's a look at the outdoor and recreation spaces:

And the classroom space:

What happens next?

Students will move into the facility later this month, and then the old building will be torn down to make room for phase two of the project. That's where the courtroom and administrative spaces will be.