LA County’s two juvenile halls must comply or face sanctions: Rob Bonta | California

(The Center Square) – Los Angeles County two juvenile halls came under fire today by the Department of Justice which filed a motion to enforce provisions of a 2021 judgment. The DOJ found that LA County is out of compliance with the terms requiring the county to provide a dozen objectives for conditions of confinement at its two juvenile halls. 

The 2021 judgment set out a detailed plan with a timeframe to comply with each of the following areas:

• Homelike Environment and Operations; 

• Technology and Data Management;

•  Use of Force and Youth Safety; 

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• Trauma-Informed and Positive Behavior Approaches Room Confinement; 

• Basic Living Needs and Juvenile Hall Conditions; 

• Programming, Recreation, Exercise, Religious Services, Visitation, and Telephone Calls; 

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• Mental Health, Medical Care, and Treatment Plans; 

• Education, Transition, and After-Care; Staffing, Hiring, and Training; 

• Oversight and Grievance Systems; 

• Compensatory Services for Youth

The motion claims that for more than two years the county failed to comply with seven critical provisions of the judgment. Of all the areas of non-compliance, failure to timely and accurately document and review all use-of-force incidents; failure to transport youth to school; failure to transport youth to critical medical appointments; failure to deliver compensatory education services to youth who are entitled to those services; failure to Install video cameras throughout Barry J. Nidorf juvenile hall; failure to implement a positive behavior management plan and lack of daily outdoor recreation, make up the list.

  “The County has failed to “simply meet basic standards of care” and that “the young people incarcerated in the Juvenile Halls are paying the price for the neglect that gives way to the deteriorating conditions,” the motion laments.

“The conditions within the juvenile detention centers in Los Angeles County are appalling. Every child in our state is entitled to a safe, homelike environment,” said Attorney General Bonta. 

The DOJ states that the county “has actually regressed away from complying with the most basic and fundamental provisions that ensure youth and staff safety and well-being,”describing the entry of illicit narcotic substances such as fentanyl into juvenile halls and a severe staffing shortage. This negatively impacted youth safety and bathroom access, requiring shifts over 24 hours and a reliance on temporarily reassigned field officers who are not trained to work with youth.

Bonta explained,  “For justice-involved youth in particular, it is imperative that our institutions give them every opportunity for rehabilitation, growth, and healing. We are responsible for protecting justice-involved youth and ensuring they receive educational, health, and supportive services necessary to stop the cycle of incarceration.”

• “The Attorney General therefore asks the Court to grant the motion to enforce the above 

• listed provisions of the Judgment and order the County to come into compliance with those provisions, respond to periodic status reports to be filed by the Monitor, and, if it has not achieved compliance within 120 days, show cause as to why the Court should not order sanctions—as set forth in the attached Proposed Order” the motion states.

The motion aims to enforce compliance within 120 days or face sanctions.