Youth held in 2 LA juvey halls to relocate as conditions are unsuitable to house
Two Los Angeles County juvenile halls have 60 days to relocate about 275 detainees as a state regulatory board declared the halls unsuitable to house.
The Barry J. Nidorf and Central juvenile halls both have a history of shortcomings, and recent inspections found them to still be out of compliance according to members of the Board of State and Community Corrections.
Board members called L.A. County's recently approved "aggressive" plans for an overhaul of its juvenile detention system too little, too late.
Representatives for the county unsuccessfully asked the board for a five month delay in the board's action, saying plans are already underway to relocate detainees to the previously closed Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey. They say doing so in 60 days could create "chaos" and safety concerns.
In a lengthy presentation to the board, representatives for the county outlined the county's ambitious efforts to move youth out of the two facilities. Margarita Perez, a former assistant chief probation officer, appeared on behalf of the county and conceded there have been historic failures to correct shortcomings at the facilities, but she said another 150 days would "allow us to transfer our predisposition youth to Los Padrinos Hall ... with the least amount of disruption to youth, their families, our staff and their partners."
But the pleas for another delay fell on deaf ears. Board chair Linda Penner said she appreciates the "extremely meaningful" improvements the county has in the works, but she added: "I've heard this before from Los Angeles County."
In a statement following the vote, Interim L.A. County Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said that while he was "disappointed" in the 60-day timeline being imposed, "we agree that it is time for the department to discontinue using these facilities for housing pre-disposition youth."
"We are already executing a plan to transfer these youth, staff, programs, and services to Los Padrinos by the deadline," he said. "We also want to make clear that the BSCC's decision today will not result in the release of hundreds of youth, as some have erroneously alleged. As we look forward to the methodical and smooth transition to Los Padrinos, we will also continue working on the more complicated issues of staffing and culture within the Department. These will take longer to resolve, but we are determined to do it."
Some of the failures at the halls have been linked to staffing shortages. "Officers assigned to the juvenile division are faced with daily youth-on-youth and youth-on-staff assaults and 40% of staff in the juvenile division are now out on injury leave," said Hans Liang, president of the L.A. County Deputy Probation Officers Union.
"To make up for the staffing shortfalls, staff are being compelled to work 18- to 24-hour shifts and have reached a breaking point, simply doing the best they can with limited resources and exhaustion."
The county Board of Supervisors recently voted to advance a "Global Plan" for the placement and care of juvenile detainees, with the goal of reducing the number of juveniles in custody and development of Secure Youth Treatment Facilities to provide a more supportive environment for detained youth.
On May 2, the board approved a series of more immediate steps outlined by county CEO Fesia Davenport. Under that plan, all pre-disposition youth will move to Los Padrinos, while Central Juvenile Hall will be used solely as an intake unit and medical and diagnostic/assessment hub, and only Secure Youth Treatment Facility youth will be housed at Nidorf.
The plan also included the readjustment of millions of dollars for capital improvements at the juvenile halls, with overall costs anticipated to reach nearly $50 million.
That plan also called on the sheriff's department to deploy volunteer reserve deputies to help fill holes in staffing.
