Freeholders on Tuesday voted to solicit bids from private companies to run the center hoping it can be done cheaper than the current $1.1 million annual cost.
The county says the shelter costs more than $3,000 per day to run even though it houses only four to five children per night, on average.
The cost is so high because the shelter has 14 full-time employees and one part-timer.
The 12-bed facility provides temporary housing for children and teens sent there by courts or youth services social workers for reasons from neglect to drug use to homelessness.
