LOUISVILLE, Ky.- In January of 2020 or possibly even sooner, the Louisville Youth Detention Services (YDS) facility will close. Although Metro Council defunded it, there's no clear plan on where the juveniles will be held after its closure.

Because staff that work at YDS are union members, they must have at least 60 days notice of the closure; that puts the deadline for a solid plan in October.

Among those with concerns over the fate of the young people in the Louisville system, are the Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Keturah Herron works with the ACLU Louisville branch's juvenile justice outreach. She's met families that will soon be impacted. Without clear word on where their children will go, it's hard to say just how they will be impacted.

Herron is concerned they will be transported to some of the state's juvenile jails far from home.

"We have to look at that from a public health standpoint, and actually invest in people," says Herron. "I mean it's absolutely not fair and unfortunately I feel like city council dropped the ball on the youth here in Louisville."

According to the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, there was an average youth detention population of 1,000+ in 2018. Jean Porter, spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, says there's an average daily population at Louisville YDS of 44. That's excluded from the state count, since Louisville operates separately.

Porter says that's the reason Metro Council cut YDS from the budget, because it's less profitable for the city as population falls.

The state subsidizes YDS, with a payment per inmate. The city budget takes a hit as the state funding to help with the cost to operate the facility decreases. Council says it costs $9.7 million to operate, annually.

Herron hopes this can be opportunity for Louisville to improve on its services for youth. So does Terry Brooks at the KYA.

Brooks is hoping there can be a Louisville Youth Development Center to help transitioning young people from detention centers. As for the concerns over kids being separated by distance from their families and attorneys, Brooks is suggesting Skype and Facetime and web cam calls.

"We can't give up on a 12-year-old who's made a mistake. In general, those people are gonna stay in their hometown or at least within the region. These are not young people that it seems, they get out of detention, they're probably not headed to Silicon Valley. That means that we are either going to work with those young people and families and community agencies to restore them," Brooks says.

In a statement, Porter said, "Louisville Metro Government is committed to as smooth a transition as possible, and we'll be working with all parties to mitigate the impact on our youth and families."