Taxpayers find plenty of reasons to chastise local officials over how they spend the public’s money. Sometimes they deserve the needling, but they also deserve pats on the back when they make wise fiscal decisions.

So thank you, Coos County commissioners and juvenile department staff, who made the good decision to partner with Curry County on juvenile detention.

Curry County generally relies on a detention center in Northern California. Now, however, Curry County has a better option for kids from the north end of the county, or for times when the California lockup is full. Coos County will receive a little extra revenue, presumably with little or no additional overhead.

Though there’s no financial gain for Curry County, the deal means some kids can be housed closer to home. Families in northern Curry may be able to visit their kids more often, which counts in helping troubled teens get back on track. The bigger issue for Curry County might be that without Coos County’s help, some of those teens could end up back to the streets or in centers farther away.

Both counties have struggled to cover expenses for juvenile corrections programs. They’ve talked over the years of ways to partner on public health services and mental health caseloads. This deal took months to negotiate, which probably signals why the partnerships aren’t always financially feasible or agreeable when neighboring officials get to talking.

If a little project such as the juvenile detention partnership benefits families and both counties, even in a slight way, then the small step is worth it. Officials in every agency should look for opportunities to use this kind of partnership to improve public services.