A Kenosha County Board panel voted Tuesday to continue the use of secure juvenile detention as a tool for judges and social workers to deal with delinquents.

The Human Services Committee’s recommendation did not come without opposition, however, as one supervisor questioned the practice of allowing social workers to hold a delinquent in detention for up to 72 hours without a court hearing.

Under a 1996 state law, county boards have the discretion to authorize the use of secure detention for three categories of juvenile cases. Since 1999, Kenosha County has used all of them.

According to an analysis from county Juvenile Intake Services, they allow for the use of detention for:

— A condition of disposition, in which a judge can sentence a juvenile delinquent to up to 30 days in secure detention as a less severe alternative to placement in a correctional center.

— A sanction for habitual school truants, who may be sentenced to up to 10 days of secure detention.

— A short-term hold, in which a social worker from the county Division of Children and Family Services may place a delinquent juvenile in detention for up to three days, as a swift remedy for juveniles who are believed to require immediate attention and secure confinement.

The latter option, which accounted for an average of 119 placements annually over the last five years, is what rankled Supervisor Terry Rose, the lone dissenter in the committee’s 4-1 vote.

“I think it gives a social worker too much authority — in fact, more authority than a judge,” said Rose, an attorney.

County staff defended the practice, with Children and Family Services Director Ron Rogers stating that close monitoring and quick action is what often keeps juveniles from spiraling deeper into trouble.

Human Services Director John Jansen said he believes putting juveniles in front of judges sooner presents an opportunity for prosecutors to pursue charges that might go beyond what a social worker might recommend for a given case.

“My concern is that you expose that child to a whole other snowball situation, where that person might get placed when that wasn’t our intention,” Jansen said.

Kenosha County, as of this year, sends its juveniles to a secure detention center in Washington County.

The change came after a previous contract with Racine County ended and negotiations on a new one stalled.

The resolution before the committee Tuesday night was presented because the board’s previous authorization of these placements expired at the end of 2009.

Rose suggested amending the measure to order a hearing before a judge within 24 hours for short-term holds. Supervisor Ed Kubicki, the committee’s chairman, said he was confident in sending the existing language to the full board, as presented.

“I don’t want to change the Wisconsin state statutes here tonight,” Kubicki said. “I’m OK with it.”