Corrections Board Seeks to Join California Justice Department Juvenile Halls Lawsuit
by Michael Dean Thompson
The California Department of Justice (CDOJ) and Los Angeles County seem to be getting nowhere in a five-year-old judgment regarding its juvenile halls. As a result, the CDOJ wants the juvenile halls to be placed under a receivership. Now, the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) has asked the court to allow it to enter the case as a “friend of the court,” allowing them to file briefs that challenge witness testimony and provide first-hand information about its inspections of the juvenile facilities within the county.
According to Jana Sanford-Miller, the BSCC’s spokesperson, “The BSCC Board made the determination to provide the amicus briefing in the receivership case to urge the court to consider stronger judicial intervention.”
The CDOJ previously had asked the court in July 2025 to transfer “full operational authority” over the juvenile halls after LA County failed to comply with more than 75% of the 2021 settlement’s requirements.
It is not the first time the CDOJ has asked the court to intervene since the settlement. In 2023, they asked a Superior Court judge to sanction LA County if “illegal and unsafe” conditions at two juvenile facilities were not fixed within 120 days. At that time, Rob Bonta, the California Attorney General, said in a statement, “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.”
Bonta called the conditions there “appalling” in that statement. The CDOJ motion for sanctions declared the violations were “severe and ongoing, and youth and staff are at a serious risk of harm.”
A proposed copy of the brief was submitted with the petition and included several inspection reports. Among the inspections, the filing details allegedly falsified documents that mark activities, exercise and fire drills that never happened. The proposed brief also contradicts prior testimony by Chief Guillermo Vieira Rosa who implied the BSCC had tacitly approved the reopening of the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall. The BSCC had forced the facility’s closure in 2023. Neither the reopening nor the conversion of the Campus Kilpatrick into a facility for girls and gender expansive youth were approved by the BSCC before youth were transferred to them.
A key issue for the facilities is staffing. BSCC attorney Le-Mai Lyons noted the county’s reliance on deployed staff to backfill positions since 2022. Lyons wrote, “Reliance on temporarily deployed staff who are not fully trained and serve irregularly contributes to required services not being provided and a less secure facility.” The BSCC’s proposal adds that “any judicial intervention the Court decides is necessary should include guidance on long-term staffing solutions and training to supervisors on appropriate staffing policies.”
LA County objects to BSCC’s involvement in the case even though the BSCC’s proposed brief does not directly support a receivership. “We strongly disagree with any suggestion that Probation is unwilling to improve conditions or operate in compliance with standards,” said Vicky Waters, spokesperson for the LA County Probation Department, which has responsibility for the facilities. According to Waters, the department has “strengthened supervision structures, enhanced training standards, improved documentation protocols, and expanded oversight.”
Lyons, on the other hand, points to the activation of the facilities without the necessary clearances and approvals, adding that “particularly representations by the County that conflict with other evidence, emphasize the need for judicial intervention in overseeing Los Angeles County’s operation of its juvenile facilities.”
Source: Los Angeles Daily News
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