Under the agreement, the Juvenile Detention Center in Linden will provide 15 beds to male minors between 12 and 17 years old who have been detained for committing various crimes.

The Division of Unaccompanied Minors of the Department of Health and Human Services will be the entity responsible for providing a safe and appropriate site for the detained young delinquents. They will be detained as soon as they are brought into custody and held until they are met by members of their family in the United States or deported to their countries of origin.

The Linden jail, which opened in March 2008, has 76 beds and currently houses 30 minors. The contract will create one million dollars of annual income for Union County.

"The current contract will be extended, creating important income for the county. They have violated the law, they have been accused of a crime and, for whatever reason, they need to be in a safe place," said Frank Guzzo, director of Human Services for the county.

The spokesman for the Administration for Children and Families added that this week the prison staff will receive training on the policies and procedures.

According to federal officials, the government detains more than 1,000 minors every year with no prior criminal record, mostly from Central America, who leave their countries and do not have a legal guardian; however, a small percentage is arrested under suspicion of committing crimes and kept in federal prisons until their cases are seen in court.

Sebastian D'Elia, director of Communications for Union County, said that in Linden, minors will receive legal assistance through nonprofit organizations and health services, including for mental health issues.