LA County Probation set to move youths from troubled Nidorf Hall to Camp Kilpatrick in Malibu

Six months after demanding that youth offenders be transferred from the troubled Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar to a campus-like facility in the hills above Malibu, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors finally may see progress.

However, many members of the board were not happy with the slow pace of moving juvenile offenders to the “secure youth track facility.” They reacted unfavorably to a plan outlined by the head of the county’s Probation Department on Tuesday, Sept. 6. One board member questioned if the department’s chief officer was telling them the truth.

In the hot seat was Chief Probation Officer Adolfo Gonzales, who said six male juvenile offenders would be moved to Campus Kilpatrick in Malibu starting the week of Sept. 12. Only after a 30-day evaluation, and after staffing levels increase, will more youth leave Sylmar’s Nidorf Hall — a place that Supervisor Sheila Kuehl once called “an adult prison.”

The juvenile hall in Sylmar has been the target of numerous lawsuits for inappropriate use of force, and a state oversight board in September 2021 deemed it unsuitable for confinement.

“We’ve been hearing the same thing over and over because nothing is happening,” said Kuehl during the supervisors’ meeting. “I guess I’ll believe it when I see it, chief.”

Gonzales said his staff has identified the six youths to be transferred from the 57-year-old Nidorf Hall, which he said is not set up for mentoring youth. The new transfers to Campus Kilpatrick, also known as Camp Kilpatrick, will be offered programs in music, media arts, visual arts, creative writing, restorative justice, substance abuse counseling and other instruction, he said.

The Malibu facility has “cottages” that youths share and is designed more like a school campus. Gonzales countered that his  obstacles to moving the youths there more quickly include ill staff and other staffing shortages.

“I got the impression there were more,” than six youths being transferred to the Malibu site, said Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who asked that additional cottages be readied sooner rather than later. “I hope those numbers increase quickly.”

Supervisor Janice Hahn also questioned the chief’s numbers. “It is my understanding there are 10 to 15 youth that are ready to move to Kilpatrick,” she said.

But Gonzales said the moves must be done properly — and that means waiting for enough staff to handle the increase.

“I am really, really frustrated. I am really disappointed,” Kuehl told Gonzales. “I don’t know whether to believe anyone is moving, ever.”

Many who advocate for faster implementation of the county’s “care first, jails last” justice reform approach say the county must move away from using the Probation Department and its facilities to house young offenders.

“Nidorf is not the right place for these young people,” said Elida Ledesma, executive director of the Arts for Healing and Justice Network. “Let’s move them to facilities better able to support their well-being.”

One man in the audience, Lynn Moses, spoke in favor of moving youth from Nidorf Hall and said the board should not trust the Probation Department to oversee youth offenders. Twenty women sued the county this year, alleging that at least 10 county probation officers and staff members subjected them to sexual abuse, harassment and rape during their confinement as minors at Camp Joseph Scott in Santa Clarita.

That lawsuit alleges the abuse took place from 1996 through 2001 at the detention facility for juveniles convicted of criminal offenses and operated by the Probation Department. The camp in Santa Clarita closed in 2020. At the time of the alleged abuse, Camp Scott housed females aged 12 to 18.

“We need a new system. This is not working,” Moses told the board.

Gloria Gonzalez, youth development coordinator with the Youth Justice Coalition, said her group supports moving youths to Kilpatrick in Malibu, but bigger issues face the county’s probation staff.

“The truth is no matter where you move these young people, there is a problem with what services and what type of support the department is providing,” Gonzalez said Tuesday. “There is a problem with probation staff in general.”

Chief Gonzales said his department is also moving forward with improvements to Nidorf Hall, which include new plumbing, paint and furniture, and removing the barbed wire — something Hahn said should have been done months ago.

“Going forward, you will see a change in everything we do,” he said.

The board did not address a letter from the city of Malibu that opposed the addition of youths at Campus Kilpatrick. The city wants a full environmental review to evaluate possible fire dangers and other community safety concerns.

City News Service contributed to this article.