ALBANY -- Former employees of the Oak Creek Youth Correctional Facility have been assured they will be first in line for their old job when the facility reopens.

Unfortunately, no one knows when, or even if, that will happen.

More than 70 people lost their jobs as a result of the Oak Creek closure last week, said Faye Fagel, the area coordinator for the Oregon Youth Authority. The adjacent youth detention center operated by Linn and Benton counties will remain open, for now.

When the state announced this winter that it was closing Oak Creek, 77 union-represented employees were given layoff notices.

About a half dozen of those employees were able to use their seniority to find other positions within the Oregon Youth Authority system. The rest were laid off.

Fagel told those employees the state built Oak Creek as a youth correctional facility and it intends to use the facility for that purpose again some day. But she doesn't know when that will be.

Of the nine management staff at Oak Creek, Fagel said, two have resigned, three have relocated, and four others have accepted lesser positions within the state system and are relocating to fill those posts.

The closure also affected 13 staff members who provided educational services at Oak Creek through the Linn-Benton-Lincoln Educational Service District.

Fagel's position as area coordinator is slated to be cut as of April 1.

"It's been a great ride," Fagel said. "I've worked with a staff that really wants to make a difference."

Oak Creek opened in December 1997 as a joint effort between the state and Linn and Benton counties. The state's side of the facility had 72 beds and held juveniles that were placed in long-term state custody.

The counties operate the 20-bed Linn-Benton Juvenile Detention Center. It holds juveniles who are awaiting a court hearing and those who have been ordered to serve a short term in detention, typically seven to 10 days.

"It has been a good partnership," Fagel said. "Through our collaboration we were able to provide a continuum of services to kids."

On Friday, control of the site on Lochner Road in south Albany was turned over to the detention center staff. The state and the counties have reached an agreement so that the detention center can remain in operation until at least the end of June.

If the Legislature does not provide the money for Oak Creek to reopen when the state's next fiscal year starts July 1, it is the state's plan to continue to work with the counties to allow the detention center to remain open, Fagel said.

Most of the juveniles housed by the state were transferred to other institutions or programs, but about 20 were released back into their communities. In all, about 250 juveniles were released after the closure of four youth correctional facilities statewide.