ACLU condemns LA County plan to reopen Los Padrinos, assign reserve deputies to troubled juvenile halls

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has condemned a newly approved plan from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors that would transfer 275 youth detainees to the previously shuttered Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall and bring in reserve sheriff’s deputies to fill staff vacancies.

In a statement Wednesday, May 3, ACLU SoCal pointed to two of its ongoing lawsuits against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for poor conditions in its jails as evidence of the agency’s inability to “provide basic, humane care for people under their custody.”

The decision to assign reserve deputies to the juvenile halls to ease a staffing crunch “is not the care first philosophy the board has long promised,” said Melissa Camacho, a senior staff attorney at ACLU SoCal.

“Already, we’re suing the sheriff’s department for its failure to provide adequate care or safety to people in our jails,” Camacho said. “It’s therefore shameful and dangerous to think that reserve deputies — with absolutely no training to take care of children — can care for youth in detention.”

The plan approved by the Board of Supervisors at its meeting Tuesday would establish Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey as the county’s main juvenile facility, shift Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar to solely house its Secure Youth Treatment Facility, and limit Central Juvenile Hall in Lincoln Heights to law enforcement intake and medical assessments.

Los Padrinos, which was closed in 2019, is one of the facilities named in a lawsuit from nearly 300 former incarcerated youths who allege they were sexually abused while being held by the county.

275 detainees would be moved

At a hearing in April, county officials said they had a combined total of roughly 350 youths detained at Barry J. Nidorf and Central juvenile halls. Of those, the new plan calls for the transfer of 275 of the detainees — all of whom have not been sentenced or, in some cases, yet to be tried — to Los Padrinos in an attempt to consolidate staff.

The county has earmarked roughly $30 million for renovations at all three facilities.

One of the most controversial elements of the proposal, written by county CEO Fesia Davenport, requests the use of sheriff’s reserve deputies to help stabilize the Probation Department’s ongoing staffing crisis.

“Reserve officers are volunteers who are trained peace officers assigned to fulfill selected duties and responsibilities traditionally handled by full-time Deputy Sheriffs,” Davenport wrote. “Reserves undergo the same hiring standards as a full-time Deputy, so the ability to deploy them to supplement the sworn staff assigned to the juvenile halls will provide help increasing staffing levels in the facilities.”

‘Reinventing juvenile operations’

In a statement, Guillermo Viera Rosa, the county’s chief strategist for juvenile operations, said the new plan approved by the board this week would allow the county to take the “dramatic step of reinventing juvenile operations to put the safety and welfare of our youth at the center of our efforts.” The board’s approval also gave Viera Rosa the authority to implement future reforms at the juvenile halls.

“As we wipe the slate clean, we’re leaving behind a traditional, incremental approach that has bred distrust and confusion,” Viera Rosa stated. “Instead, we are embracing radical change — change that I’m convinced will demonstrably improve the care that our youth receive, the accountability the public demands and the professionalism the State requires.”

Viera Rosa compared the use of reserve officers as “much like substitute teachers,” saying they would be “on-call, part-time probation officers.” He also indicated the county may use graduate students and other county employees, such as lifeguards, to free up sworn probation officers.

The shift is not a “quick fix or an expedient to buy time with the Board of State and Community Corrections or the California Department of Justice,” he said.

Both agencies have threatened action against L.A. County over deplorable conditions in the juvenile halls. The BSCC could declare Barry J. Nidorf and Central juvenile halls “unsuitable” to house youths as soon as May 23. Meanwhile, state Attorney General Rob Bonta is seeking sanctions against the county if it does not adhere to a court-ordered mandate requiring immediate improvements at the facilities.

Dangerous understaffing

Critics, state and local officials all agree that L.A. County’s juvenile halls are dangerously understaffed. Recent reports have indicated youths are forced to urinate in their rooms during night shifts and have raised concerns about drug overdoses and violence.

The Peace and Justice Law Center and the Youth Law Center have called on the BSCC to declare the Nidorf and Central juvenile halls as “unsuitable,” saying in a letter that state board has failed to comply with its own statutory obligations because it did not approve L.A. County’s corrective action within 60 days.

“Every day that the BSCC fails to meet its legal obligation to make a finding of unsuitability is another day beyond the legal limit that youth spend in horrifying conditions,” said Erin Palacios, a staff attorney with the Youth Law Center, in an email.

Palacios said it is unclear whether Los Angeles County’s “most recent Hail Mary of a plan will work.”

“There are a lot of questions still to be answered, none of which were addressed during the Board of Supervisors meeting when the motion passed without discussion,” Palacios said. “One question is whether it is appropriate to bring the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department into this hornets’ nest,” particularly because there are still concerns over deputy gangs.

A spokesperson for the L.A. County Probation Department was unable to provide more information about the implementation of the newly approved plan as the “timeline and details” are still being developed.

No input from probation union

The reforms did not include input from the Los Angeles County Deputy Probation Officers’ Union, according to President Hans Liang.

The union has been at impasse with the county over a new contract covering 2,800 deputy probation officers since early March, Liang said. Among the core issues, he said, are “acute safety and staffing concerns.”

“There was no discussion with our Union about these matters before the Board took action, though we are ready and eager to collaborate with all stakeholders on solutions that will enhance juvenile rehabilitation, reduce youth-on-youth violence, and assure the safety of officers, teachers, and providers who are serving justice involved youth,” Liang said.

Viera Rosa was appointed to his newly created position by the Board of Supervisors in early April. He has since taken over the county’s juvenile reform efforts from interim Chief Probation Officer Karen Fletcher, who tendered her resignation a day before the supervisors voted on the proposal.