Reforming the Nation’s Largest

Juvenile Justice System

by Michelle Newell, MPP and Jorja Leap, PhD

Policy Brief • November 2013

“When I grew up in Los Angeles, California was at the forefront of progressive reforms, including a juvenile justice
system committed to helping troubled youths develop knowledge and life skills to raise the odds that, upon release,
they would not end up behind bars again. But in the 1980s we shifted course…The mission of rehabilitation got re-
placed by a culture of punishment... It is only by charting a new future that we can return Los Angeles’ youth proba-
tion system to a position it has held in the past – that of a national leader and model of best practices.”

­— Mark Ridley-Thomas, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors1

The Camp Vernon Kilpatrick Replacement project, funded primarily by California State juvenile justice realign-
ment legislation, is poised to become a model for best practices in Los Angeles County, reversing decades of ne-
glect and outdated practices that have led to poor outcomes for incarcerated youth.

Introduction
Research confirms that incarcerating young people is The good news is that youth incarceration rates in the
harmful – contributing to lower educational achieve- U.S. have declined by 41 percent over the last 15 years,
ment, higher unemployment, higher alcohol and sub- reaching the lowest level since 1975.4 While this is due
stance abuse and increased mental health problems.2 largely to decreasing crime rates and state budget cuts,
Roughly three-quarters of youth leaving locked facili- it also reflects the increased use of cost-effective, com-
ties nationally are rearrested and – depending on local munity-based programs for youth who pose a minimal
juvenile justice statutes – up to 70 percent are con- threat to public safety.
victed of a new offense.3 These dismal outcomes, com-
bined with a high price tag, have largely made youth Nevertheless, approximately 70,000 youth nationwide5
incarceration a failed public policy approach. – 2,000 in Los Angeles County6 – are still confined in

Reforming the Nation’s Largest Juvenile Justice System 1

 has described the design of the probation camps as
“creat[ing] an image of a jail-like environment.”10 De-
spite recent improvements, most youth in the camps (as
in the rest of the country) are still subjected to some
discredited and outdated approaches based largely on
control and coercion.11 Research has shown that these
types of correctional practices – which are widely ad-
opted and can include promoting fear, instilling boot-
camp-style discipline, relying on surveillance and
delivering punishment (e.g. isolation) – are ineffective
and frequently harmful.12 These approaches have also
led to widespread abuses that have resulted in lawsuits
and federal investigations, nationally and in Los Ange-
les County (see page 5).
The command center station in the middle of the room projects a long row of
beds in Camp Scobee’s 100+ bed dormitory at Challenger Memorial Youth
Center in Lancaster. Photo courtesy of Kevin Chang of the Long Beach
In contrast, effective approaches to juvenile justice are
Press-Telegram. treatment-oriented,13 helping youth to develop pro-so-
cial strengths and attributes, heal from past victim-
ization, build relationships, develop skills and address
The Los Angeles County juvenile
mental health and substance abuse problems. However,
justice system is the largest
while studies have shown that these approaches reduce
system in the nation, with
recidivism14 and help youth transition successfully into
locked facilities that include
adulthood,15 they are rarely practiced with full fidelity
three juvenile halls and fourteen in locked facilities.16
probation camps.

juvenile detention facilities on any given day. While How these youth are treated while
the goal remains to reduce these numbers further and incarcerated has a marked impact
keep young people out of the system whenever possi- on the rest of their life, their
ble, a small number of youth will remain in secure fa- communities, and on our society
cilities. How these youth are treated while incarcerated as a whole.
has a marked impact on the rest of their life, their com-
munities, and on our society as a whole.

The Los Angeles County juvenile justice system is

Now, with the estimated $48 million allocated for the
the largest system in the nation, with locked facilities
pilot Camp Vernon Kilpatrick Replacement Project,
that include three juvenile halls7 and fourteen proba-
funded largely by California State juvenile justice re-
tion camps.8 Yet many observers of the system, includ-
alignment legislation (Senate Bill 81), Los Angeles
ing legal groups, advocates and organizers, the media,
County has the financial resources and opportunity to
and elected and appointed officials, have concluded
more fully align its camps with best practices in the
over the years the camps are not meeting the needs of
field, jump-starting meaningful juvenile justice reform.
youth, and not helping them become law-abiding and
productive members of society.9

In a critique to the Board of Supervisors, Jerry Pow-

ers, Los Angeles County Chief Probation Officer,

2 2013 Children’s Defense Fund - California and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
Los Angeles County’s Probation Camp System:
An Outdated Model
During the past decade, responsibility for managing student-to-teacher ratio)20 and health and mental health
most system-involved youth has shifted from the State services.
of California to its 58 counties.17 With 6,500 employ-
ees and an annual $813 million budget,18 the Los Ange- Youth are sent to these facilities post-adjudication for
les County Probation Department is responsible for the three-, six- or nine-month sentences, with an average
vast majority of youth who become system-involved in camp stay of 4.7 months.21 The average daily cost to
the county, including those who have committed seri- house a youth in a probation camp is $329.61; for a six-
ous crimes and have complex needs. On any one day, month sentence, this equates to over $60,000 for one
the department supervises nearly 17,000 youth, close youth.22 Of the approximately 900 young people de-
to 2,000 of which are held in locked facilities.19 tained in the probation camps, 89 percent are male
and more than 95 percent are youth of color. African
Experts consider probation camps to be a more moder- American youth are particularly over representated in
ate alternative to the adult criminal justice system and LA County’s camps, with an incarceration rate three
the state-run Division of Juvenile Justice. Each camp times that of their prevalence in the general popula-
in LA County is a fully enclosed facility, with a ca- tion. Youth in the camps come largely from the First
pacity to hold up to 120 youth. While the LA County and Second supervisorial districts, encompassing
Probation Department runs these facilities, other South Los Angeles, East Los Angeles and the San Ga-
county departments provide education (300 minutes briel Valley.23
of daily instruction in classes with a maximum 17-to-1

Figure 1: Racial Breakdown of Youth in Los Angeles County Probation Camps

Ages 10-18

70% Youth in Los Angeles County

60% 65%
62% Youth in Probation Camps

50%

40%

30%
30%
20%
17%
10% 13%
3% 2%
8%
0%
African American Latino White Other

Reforming the Nation’s Largest Juvenile Justice System 3

Ineffective Design and Operations
Today, we know that youth involved with the
juvenile justice system have low rates of educational
attainment and high rates of learning disabilities,
substance abuse and mental health issues. Moreover,
these young people are often victims of violence
themselves and suffer from high levels of trauma and
post-traumatic stress disorder.24 But until recently,
juvenile justice remained rooted in century-old beliefs
that youth, instead of having complex needs that must
be addressed, needed only discipline and structure,
and that housing them together in one large space was
the most cost-effective solution.
Youth at Camp Smith sit lined up on the field by deputy probation officers
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, counties in before walking to another building for classroom instruction in March 2008.
Camp Smith is one of six camps at Challenger Memorial Youth Center, the
California had just two options for system-involved largest facility in LA County built with a combined 660-bed capacity. Photo
youth: adult prisons or juvenile training schools. Over- courtesy of Kevin Chang of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

crowding at the training schools in 1931 led to the

opening of the first juvenile probation camp in the dormitories can typically house up to 100 youth in
U.S., Camp Glenn Rockey in LA County.25 Group- one large open area built around a monitoring center,
ing a large population of youth together in a rural set- where a large custodial staff enforce supervision and
ting far from urban temptations, Camp Rockey served control. Bathrooms consist of open showers and toilets
as the model for similar probation camp programs for without privacy.
youth throughout the state.26 However, since little was
known at the time of its construction over 80 years ago The design of large, open dorms like this has been re-
about effective juvenile justice facilities or programs, peatedly cited as problematic, particularly given the
the camp was limited in its ability to positively impact population and its needs, including mental health prob-
youth.27 lems, anger management issues, and gang affiliation.
As noted by former LA County Assistant Chief Proba-
Built mostly in the 1950s and 1960s, today’s LA tion Officer (and former Interim Chief Probation Offi-
County probation camps followed this model, which cer) Calvin Remington, this design, which places many
relied on penitentiary-like facilities and strictly en- youth in one room together, can foster competition,
forced routines. Over the decades, changes consisted deepen factions and further gang problems.30
mainly of implementing a boot-camp structure. Even
the newest Los Angeles County probation camp – Nearly half of the camps contain a special housing unit
Challenger Memorial Youth Center, which opened in (SHU) with individual cells used in large part to iso-
1990 in a geographically remote area with a command- late youth who misbehave or pose safety concerns;
and-control program28 – represents an outdated era of camps without a SHU utilize one at a neighboring fa-
juvenile justice that does not meet the needs of today’s cility. Despite research showing the detrimental effects
system-involved youth. of solitary confinement on youth, the SHU continues
to be utilized.
Camp design does not foster rehabilitation.
In Los Angeles County, as in counties throughout the Youths’ lives are regimented yet filled with
state, juvenile probation camps are located in sparsely aimless free time. Youth wear LA County-issued
populated, geographically isolated areas of the county clothing and are permitted few personal items. Roll
and remain largely correctional in design, with ra- call is taken throughout the day, and youth transi-
zor wire-topped perimeter fences.29 Barracks-like tion between activities by marching with their hands

4 2013 Children’s Defense Fund - California and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
behind their backs in single-file lines. Youth spend Agreement (MOA);
much of the day, including at meal times, in the dorms • A federal class-action lawsuit in 2010 that charged
and transitioning between activities “on quiet,” where LA County with failing to provide adequate edu-
talking is restricted and sometimes silence is even re- cational and rehabilitative services for youth in the
quired. Youth spend most of the day in school. Late county’s largest probation camp, Challenger Me-
afternoons and evenings often include recreation, en- morial Youth Center, which led to a settlement
richment programs or individual and group therapy, agreement in 2011 that is still being monitored33;
though programs vary by camp. At some facilities, • County of Los Angeles Office of Independent Re-
program options are scarce, and youth have consider- view annual reports of the Probation Department
able amounts of aimless free time. in 2012 and 2013, assessing things like employee
misconduct that have plagued the department;
Youth interaction with staff is inconsistent • Internal documents, including Interim Chief Pro-
and often adversarial. While some probation po- bation Officer Calvin Remington’s 2010 “Back to
sitions are specifically geared toward counseling, the Basics” report, outlining policy and procedural
design of the camps, which requires supervision and challenges faced by the department; and
control, perpetuates a more guard-like approach to- • News and feature stories reporting on scandals and
ward youth from many line staff. Probation staff uni- abuses in the camps and halls.
forms are similar to law enforcement attire, including
badges and combat boots, which can reinforce a cor- These findings have centered primarily on the follow-
rectional feel. Most staff, particularly probation line ing problems in the camps:
staff, works a 2½-day (56-hour) schedule, which in-
cludes two consecutive 16-hour shifts (6 a.m. to 10 Failure to protect youth from harm. Several re-
p.m.), one eight-hour shift, and two eight-hour sleep ports repeatedly found that staff employed excessive
periods on-site, followed by several days off. As a re- use of force, inappropriate physical restraints, blatant
sult of these long shifts–designed to ensure adequate mistreatment and assault, overuse of pepper spray and
supervision and lessen commute times, given the re- verbal abuse. Reports also found a high incidence of
mote location of these facilities–youth interact with a youth-on-youth assaults, particularly when large num-
constantly changing group of staff.31 bers of youth were together in the dorms and when
youth moved from one activity to another. Solitary
A Pattern of Misconduct and Abuse confinement was being used excessively and inappro-
Recent lawsuits and allegations of ongoing misconduct priately, causing mental and emotional harm to young
and abuse have revealed critical systemic problems in people. Additionally, camps failed to provide adequate
Los Angeles County’s probation camps and halls. Evi- suicide management. Investigations into abuse allega-
dence of shortfalls has been extensive, multi-faceted, tions failed to examine grievance reporting and inves-
and ongoing, including: tigation processes.
• An LA County Civil Grand Jury report32 in 2000
that gave a majority of the county’s probation
camps a failing score, citing unsanitary condi-
tions and inadequate programming, among other Several reports repeatedly found
problems; that staff employed excessive use
• A Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation and of force, inappropriate physical
federal oversight beginning in 2004 that examined restraints, blatant mistreatment
unsafe and abusive conditions at the three juvenile and assault, overuse of pepper
halls; spray and verbal abuse.
• A DOJ investigation and federal oversight into the
probation camps that began in 2008 and resulted
in a still ongoing 41-provision Memorandum of

Reforming the Nation’s Largest Juvenile Justice System 5

Insufficient and problematic staffing. Reports
documented extensive problems related to staffing, in-
cluding an insufficient number of staff, untrained staff,
staff engaging in unpermitted punitive behavior and
staff drinking on the job. Other pervasive problems in-
clude poor staff communication and collaboration.

Inadequate rehabilitative and educational ser-

vices. Reports repeatedly found inadequate men-
tal health services and rehabilitative programming.
Camps often failed to provide mandatory educational
services, including ensuring participation in the re-
quired minimum school day–for all youth, including
those held in the special housing unit–and assistance
for youth who asked for help with schoolwork. The re-
ports also frequently cited conditions incompatible
with a rehabilitative environment, including unsani-
tary environments and dilapidated infrastructure.

The Limits to Current Reform A young man at Camp Afflerbaugh is participating in CDF’s Free-
dom School program, which piloted in two LA County probation
To address violations and abuses, the LA County Pro- camps in summer 2013. Photo courtesy of Hanif Houston.
bation Department, County Office of Education, and
Department of Mental Health, have undertaken con-
siderable policy, program and staffing changes. The Staffing changes. The staff-to-youth ratio for both
following details these steps forward: probation officers and teachers has decreased. Camps
have hired important new positions for transition
New programs. The county has implemented an in- counselors and additional mental health staff. Staff has
tegrated behavioral treatment model34 at five camps. also undergone extensive training in new procedures
It consists of a unified approach to screening, assess- and programs.
ment, case planning, treatment, transition and after-
care (reentry), with all staff members trained to work With changes like these, most of the provisions of the
together with a common vocabulary and common Memorandum of Agreement have been satisfied, and
treatment goals. The approach is promising, though many of the most concerning abuses – inappropri-
the extent of fidelity to the model is unknown and ate use of pepper spray, for example – have been rem-
the results have yet to be determined. The Los Ange- edied. Additionally, the operations, programming and
les County Office of Education has improved its edu- atmosphere at Challenger Memorial Youth Center has
cational programs to increase student engagement and seen a positive shift under the settlement agreement.
curriculum relevancy, including the project-based and Moreover, the significant reductions in juvenile hall
interdisciplinary educational program Road to Suc- and probation camp populations – down 41 percent be-
cess Academy that piloted at camps Scott and Scudder tween 2009 and 201236 – mean that fewer youth, like
and is now being expanded, and the Children’s De- those with only a technical violation, are being unnec-
fense Fund Freedom Schools® literacy and enrichment essarily detained. These are promising developments.
program. Evidence-based programs such as Aggres-
sion Replacement Training are now standard through- Still, progress has been slow and limited in other ways:
out the camp system. To support these new programs,
the probation department is working to create smaller Compliance challenges with the MOA and
groups in the dorms when possible.35 Challenger lawsuit. LA County was not able to
achieve and maintain substantial compliance with the

6 2013 Children’s Defense Fund - California and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
Memorandum of Agreement for the camps within the
required four-year period. The county still has not
complied in full with several significant provisions:
• Providing sufficient staff supervision to keep resi-
dents safe and allow successful implementation of
rehabilitative activities;
• Providing adequate rehabilitative and gender-spe-
cific programming to deliver instruction that meets
youths’ needs, as well as mental health services,
enrichment activities and family involvement;
• Providing a facility-wide behavior management
system;
• Addressing substance use disorders; and
• Collecting sufficient and reliable data to evaluate
A view of a single bed and shelf in the open dorm at Camp Afflerbaugh in La
implementation of the MOA.37 Verne, taken July 24, 2013. Youth are permitted few personal items and have
little to no privacy. Photo courtesy of Michelle Newell.
In addition, the county struggled to resolve quickly
and consistently the educational violations happening
Inter-department Collaboration. Collaboration
at the Challenger Memorial Youth Center. Progress has
among county agencies serving youth, while improv-
at times stalled or reversed. For example, in November
ing, remains fragmented. For example, a report cited
2011, the settlement monitors found that certain pro-
the lack of a close relationship between probation of-
gram gains had “evaporated” and that staff turnover
ficers and education staff at the Challenger Memorial
and staff quality was quite concerning.38 While things
Youth Center as “harmful to the education of the youth,
have certainly improved as of late due to dedicated ef-
as lack of cooperation is carried over from the class-
forts by the county and expert monitors, things like
room to the living units.”43
staff stability, staff collaboration and data collection ar
continuing concerns.39 Moreover, as of early 2013, new
violations have still emerged at Challenger such as the The Price Youth Pay for an Outdated
failure to provide nutritionally adequate food, despite Approach
the increased resources and scrutiny at the facility.40 The design and operations of the current camps remain
obstacles to comprehensive reform. While promising
Misconduct and Violence. Youth-against-youth programs, such as the Road to Success Academy edu-
and staff-against-youth violence, while declining, re- cation model, have seen success, and lawsuits and fed-
main problematic. Some staff misconduct has been eral oversight are implementing needed change, there
persistent, including aggressive behavior toward youth is a limit to this success within our current camp sys-
and an excessive use of force.41 Despite many improve- tem. Fully rehabilitative and therapeutic environments
ments in staff recruitment, training and oversight, simply cannot be established in facilities with institu-
alarming incidents still occur, including staff oversee- tional designs and operations that combine to cause
ing fight clubs and staff physically abusing youth in safety concerns and atmospheres not conducive to pos-
their custody.42 itive mental health or meaningful relationship building
between youth and staff.
Forcing trauma-exposed youth
into one large dormitory leads Design obstacles. The current juvenile facility
to increased violence, threats design in LA County constrains effective treatment
to youth safety and delayed programs. A design that requires supervision from a
acceptance of rehabilitation. control center limits staff-youth relationship build-
ing. In large open dorms, it is also difficult to create

Reforming the Nation’s Largest Juvenile Justice System 7

 cannot occur.45

Additionally, many aging facilities require costly

maintenance because of ongoing water, sewer and in-
frastructure problems.46 When a facility unexpectedly
closes for maintenance, its youth are shuffled to an-
other camp. The combination of displacement and dis-
ruption and a crumbling and poorly kept environment
stymies attempts at rehabilitation.

Operational obstacles. Punitive practices are of-

ten an unavoidable part of a supervision-driven camp
model, which adversely affects youth with mental
health issues and trauma-exposed youth. Though de-
An inside view of the dormitory at Camp Afflerbaugh in La Verne, taken July creasing, some facilities still regularly employ solitary
24, 2013. Opened in 1961, this juvenile probation camp houses younger boys
in one 120-bed open-dormitory style living unit. Photo courtesy of Michelle
confinement in a special housing unit, which can have
Newell. a devastating effect on young people already exposed
a therapeutic environment, form cohesive groups and to high levels of trauma. In response to studies dem-
conduct small-group treatment. For this reason, camps onstrating the harm of such prolonged isolation, the
offer treatment programs and evidence-based pro- United Nations has called on all countries to prohibit
grams one to two hours a day at most. Some sites solitary confinement in juvenile cases.47
provide the programs only a couple hours a week. Dur-
ing the remainder of the day or week, the facilities Finally, staff-related policies, including the staffing
revert to their routine operations, which do not sup- schedule, hinder attempts at creating a rehabilitative
port–and potentially undermine–the gains youth make model. The 56-hour staff shift, with its 16-hour days
during small-group treatment. Moreover, research and extended time away from the facility when a shift
demonstrates that forcing trauma-exposed youth ends, undermines the staff’s ability to perform effec-
into one large dormitory leads to increased violence, tively, engage with youth and address critical pro-
threats to youth safety and delayed acceptance of reha- grammatic responsibilities.48
bilitation.44 When youth do not feel safe, rehabilitation

A New Model

Senate Bill 81 as a Vehicle for probation camps based on best practices.51 The county
Reform selected Camp Kilpatrick, an all-boys camp, because
it was physically in the worst shape – the county Chief
Senate Bill 81, a juvenile justice realignment bill49
Executive’s Office found that the camp needed $22.3
passed by the California State Legislature in August
million worth of renovations beyond the $1.127 million
2007, created new juvenile justice funding streams
the county needed to spend, on average, to maintain it
for counties, including $200 million in lease revenue
annually.52
bonds for counties to construct or improve juvenile
facilities.50
Since the Board of Supervisors approved this grant in
early 2012, the county, in a burgeoning partnership
In December 2010, LA County was notified that it re-
with researchers, advocates and funders, has taken a
ceived a state grant to tear down and rebuild one of its

8 2013 Children’s Defense Fund - California and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
number of steps to inform the design of this new camp
program, including conducting research on best prac-
tices and performing site visits to model programs
throughout the country. With demonstrated commit-
ment and leadership from the Board of Supervisors
(who recently allocated more resources to this project
to help ensure fidelity to the model), the probation de-
partment and the Los Angeles County Office of Edu-
cation, LA County now has the opportunity through
this $48 million project to create an innovative model
that can vastly improve services for youth in the juve-
nile justice system, and can stand as an example of in-
novation and system reform for the rest of the nation.

The Origination of a New Model: recommitted for new juvenile offenses within one
A Success Story year;53 84 percent of youth discharged from Mis-
For the Camp Kilpatrick project, policymakers in the souri’s DYS are law abiding and productive in
county have committed to a new approach known as school or work after one year.54
the LA Model. It is informed by best practices cen- • Seventy percent of youth incarcerated in Missouri
tered on a rehabilitative small group treatment model, facilities accumulated educational credits in core
which began to emerge in Massachusetts in the 1960s. academic subjects as fast as, if not faster than,
This approach was exemplified in Missouri, whose ju- their same-age peers;55 85.3 percent were enrolled
venile justice system has proved so successful over the in school or employed at the time of discharge in
last 30 years–reducing recidivism to one of the lowest 2008.56
rates in the nation–that it is known as the “Missouri • Compared to other state’s juvenile justice systems,
Miracle.” A number of practices combine to make this assaults on youth in Missouri are 4.5 times less
approach unique: it is primarily made up of small, cot- likely and assaults on staff members are 13 times
tage-like facilities located at sites throughout the state less likely. The frequency of restrictive conditions,
that keep young people close to their own homes and including isolation, is 200 times less than in other
embody a rehabilitative approach. The effectiveness juvenile justice agencies.57
of these practices in Missouri on reducing recidivism,
improving educational and employment outcomes, and The success of the Missouri Model led states and
improving safety are clear: counties across the country to implement a similar ju-
venile justice model.

• In 2011, only 6.9 percent of youth discharged from

After publicly acknowledging its failing juvenile justice
Missouri’s Division of Youth Services (DYS) were
system in 2006, Santa Clara County, California, under-
took an overhaul of the William F. James Boys Ranch,
a co-ed, 96-bed residential camp for youth, based on
Missouri’s juvenile justice the small-group approach used in Missouri. Before the
system has proved so successful new model (called the Enhanced Ranch Program) was
over the last 30 years—reducing adopted, 47 percent of youth failed the program while
recidivism to one of the lowest at the ranch58 and 42 recidivated59 within one year af-
rates in the nation—that it is ter release.60 In 2011, only 17 percent of youth failed the
known as the “Missouri Miracle.” program, and 21 percent recidivated.61

These statistics reveal a 63 percent reduction in

Reforming the Nation’s Largest Juvenile Justice System 9

 program violations and a 50 percent reduction in new
arrests and violations for youth who returned to their
communities.62 Additionally, between 2007 and 2011,
the average number of violent incidents per individ-
ual per year (including gang-related fights, possession
of contraband and disruptive conduct in the classroom)
dropped from 9.8 to 2.36.63

In Washington, D.C., the Oak Hill Youth Center was

dangerous, overcrowded and plagued by lawsuits and
consent decrees. Fifty-one percent of the center’s youth
were rearrested within a year of returning to the com-
munity. Administrators, looking for a new way,
designed and built the New Beginnings Youth De-
velopment Center, a 60-bed facility based on the The Santa Clara County Probation Department redesigned its William F.
James Boys Ranch with small dorms to create a home-like environment that
Missouri Model. supports rehabilitation. Photo courtesy of the Santa Clara County Probation
Department.
By 2010, after the new model was adopted, the re-
cidivism rate dropped to 35 percent.64 Youths’ aver-
age annualized grade improvement in reading was
an impressive 1.73 in the 2011-2012 school year during Core Principles and Practices of the
their approximately nine-month stay.65

New Model
Sites in Louisiana, New Mexico and New York City Across the country, including in Missouri, Santa Clara,
have also shifted their focus from large, correctional and Washington, D.C., this new model has seen suc-
facilities and instead embraced this small group treat- cess from the following characteristics:
ment model. These sites have experienced a drop in vi-
olent incidents and an improvement in youth-to-staff Rehabilitative and non-institutional environ-
and youth-to-youth interactions. ment. The model emphasizes a continuum of care,
encouraging community alternatives to incarceration
whenever possible. Secure facilities are rehabilitative,
small and cottage-like, non-institutional, and whenever
possible close to the young people’s communities. Fa-
cilities are designed to create a physical and emotional
space that enables both staff and youth to feel safe and
be open to taking risks, an approach integral to behav-
ioral and cognitive change.66

Small-group treatment model. Youth spend al-

most all day in small groups of 10 to 12,67 sleeping,
eating, exercising and attending school and therapy
sessions together, and interacting with the same highly
trained staff (youth specialists or youth counselors).
This approach68 is based on positive youth develop-
ment principles, which emphasize cognitive changes,
At the Watkins Mill Park Camp in Missouri, as in all secure juvenile facilities
run by the state, youth are housed in small, cottage-like dormitories of 12, the importance of peer influence among teens, close
rather than large locked facilities. Photo courtesy of Julio Marcial. relationships and positive peer accountability.69

10 2013 Children’s Defense Fund - California and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
Safety fostered by positive relationships. Posi- Integrated program based on collaboration.
tive relationships among peers and between youth and This model requires integration at every stage. Depart-
staff foster a rehabilitative climate while improving ments and staff have a unified approach and remain
safety. Punitive responses such as restraints and isola- in close communication. Staff attends joint trainings
tion are avoided; alternative approaches, such as “cir- across departments, and job descriptions and duties
cling up” – youth coming together in a circle to talk support collaboration.
through their problems – help facilitate positive social
behavior. Focus on reentry planning and family involve-
ment. Staff undertakes thorough aftercare (reentry)
High-quality education. Access to a range of aca- planning early in a youth’s stay.70 This includes com-
demic services – an engaging curriculum, vocational pletion of school enrollment, even if a youth must
and credit recovery programs and a focus on devel- leave the camp temporarily to enroll at a school site.
oping soft skills, such as team building, communica- Staff helps identify employment opportunities, match
tion and leadership–helps youth become motivated to a youth with mentors and meaningfully involve the
change, build skills for the future and adapt to the de- youth’s family.71
mands of reentering their communities when released.

Current Probation Camp The New Model

Model
Facility Large, institutional, and geographically Smaller, rehabilitative, home-like
Design isolated environment rather than a correctional
setting.

Sleeping & Large open dorms with 50-120 Small dorms of 10-12 youth; living
Living beds in military barracks style; open room area; private bathrooms.
bathrooms; no privacy

Safety Safety largely through supervision Staff provide services and supervision;
(command centers), restraints, isolation no use of isolation rooms; safety
rooms through positive relationships

Staffing Staff work 56-hour work schedule with Staff have regular work schedules
Schedule long (16 hour) shifts, sleeping at facility, to support working with youth,
then gone for several days consistency, and relationship building

Family & Limited family engagement and Interactive approach between youth,
Community community involvement families, treatment center staff and
community staff

Collaboration Siloed working practices; different Integrated treatment model; cross-

programs done by different county agency collaboration at each stage,
agencies including seamless transition and post-
release services

Programs & Programs varied, sometimes limited, Program and education central; focus
Education and often inconsistent with rest of camp on skill-building, relevancy, and internal
experience transformation

Reforming the Nation’s Largest Juvenile Justice System 11

Moving Forward: Recommendations for LA’s Camp
Kilpatrick Replacement Project
Los Angeles County is at a critical stage in reforming relationship-building by adjusting recruitment for
its juvenile justice system. The following recommen- these positions, modifying job descriptions, im-
dations will help ensure that the Camp Kilpatrick Re- proving trainings, and changing staffing sched-
placement project supports true reform: ules; and
• Conducting cross-departmental trainings and re-
1. Ensure youth sent to Kilpatrick (and other vising Memorandums of Understanding between
camps) truly need to be there. The first step to departments to increase collaboration.
a better juvenile justice system is a smaller one. Since
research confirms that incarcerating young people who 3. Ensure broad agency collaboration and
commit low-level offenses is particularly harmful,72 community partnerships. The historical frag-
LA County should only send youth to Camp Kilpat- mentation and insularity of the county’s juvenile jus-
rick, or any other camp, who present significant dan- tice system has resulted in limited resources, a lack of
ger to the community.73 While LA County has taken transparency and hurdles to reform. Because county
decisive steps to improve intake screening and reduce agencies – including departments of health services,
the average daily detention population in its 14 pro- mental health, education and probation – all play criti-
bation camps, further ensuring that only those youth cal roles, collaboration at every step is vital.
who seriously threaten public safety be sent to the pro-
bation camps will promote better outcomes and cost Community partnerships are also essential to ensure
effectiveness. that reform is based on solid research and reflective of
community needs. LA County’s community-based and
2. Maintain fidelity to the model while adapting faith-based organizations, advocates, researchers, or-
to the unique circumstances of Los Angeles. ganizers, youth and parents all have an investment in
Success at other sites has been the result of adherence improved systems and improved youth outcomes. For
to the therapeutic, integrated, small-group treatment community input to be significant, it must be solic-
model. While each site’s location and population ited early and often and be taken seriously. It also must
has specific needs, faithfulness to the model’s core come from those that have directly experienced the
principles is critical. In LA County, adaptations will system. An outside evaluation will further help foster a
likely include a projects-based education program successful public-private partnership.
modeled after the Road to Success Academy as well
as extended and integrated mental health and aftercare 4. Improve tracking and use of data.
services developed in coordination with community- Juvenile justice policy decisions in LA County
based reentry programs. are, unfortunately, often based on minimal data.
Without the necessary data, the county implements
Even the most forward-thinking building design will new programs and expands pilot programs more
fall short if the county does not maintain fidelity to often because they “feel” right then because of their
the model’s programming, training, collaboration and demonstrated effectiveness. To better understand
staffing by: the experiences and outcomes of probation-involved
• Consulting with experts on the model; youth and the success of programs that serve them,
• Committing to small groups of no larger than 12 the reform of Camp Kilpatrick must be thoroughly
youth; documented and evaluated, enabling necessary course
• Ensuring staff focus on counseling and correction and ensuring that the experiences and
outcomes of youth are indeed improving.

12 2013 Children’s Defense

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5. Use Kilpatrick as a pilot for important and Scudder (which is in the early stages of roll out to
concepts. other camps), and community-based partnerships at
By using resources wisely and documenting successes other camps–lessons learned from Kilpatrick should
and challenges, Camp Kilpatrick can be a springboard undoubtedly inform future reform. This includes les-
for greater reform in LA County probation camps. sons from the research and planning phase happening
All youth in LA County, especially those who have now, as well as lessons from implementation when the
been detained and deprived of their liberty, deserve camp opens in a few years.
to be treated humanely and in ways that will support
their development, which means in probation camps To ensure that a small-group treatment approach can
aligned with best practices. While there are several be successful at other facilities, physically reconfigur-
other promising programs to learn from and expand ing other camps to support smaller groups and a more
on – including the multifaceted educational overhaul rehabilitative environment (as Santa Clara County did
at Challenger Memorial Youth Center, the Road to with its reconfiguration of its William F. James Ranch
Success Academy educational model at Camps Scott facility) should also be a top priority.

Conclusion

The time is now for Los Angeles County to move even youth. With a facility design, program design, staffing,
further beyond outdated and ineffective approaches to training, and evaluation based on rehabilitative best
juvenile justice with a probation camp that puts the needs practices, the LA Model can ensure that youth in the
of youth first. The Camp Vernon Kilpatrick Replacement LA County juvenile justice system are set on the path
Project–scheduled to open in 2017–represents a unique toward becoming responsible adults with achievable
opportunity to develop an innovative approach that goals, a credit to their communities.
will profoundly improve the treatment of incarcerated

Reformingthe
Reforming theNation’s
Nation’s Largest
Largest Juvenile
Juvenile Justice
Justice System
System 13
Endnotes
1. Mark Ridley Thomas, “Don’t Let Houston Put Us To Shame,” Zocalo Public Square Blog, April 25, 2012. http://www.zoca-
lopublicsquare.org/2012/04/25/dont-let-houston-put-us-to-shame/ideas/nexus
2. Joanne Savage, ed., The Development of Persistent Criminality (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).
3. T.A. Loughran, E.P. Mulvey, C.A. Schubert, J. Fagan, A.R. Piquero, and S.H. Losoya, “Estimating a Dose-Response Re-
lationship Between Length of Stay and Future Recidivism in Serious Juvenile Offenders,” Criminology 47, no. 3 (2009).
4. Sarah Bryer & Marc Levin. The Comeback States: Reducing Youth Incarceration in the United States. (Washington,
D.C., 2013)
5. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Statistical Briefing Book, released December 9, 2011, http://www.
ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/corrections/qa08201.asp?qaDate=2010.
6. California Board of State and Community Corrections, Juvenile Detention Profile Survey: Third Quarter Calendar Year
2012. Sacramento, CA: California Board of State and Community Corrections, Facilities Standards and Operations Divi-
sion [Producer and Distributor], 2012. http://www.bscc.ca.gov/download.php?f=/3Q12_JuvDS_full_report.pdf
7. The juvenile halls in the county typically hold youth pre-adjudication for an average of 17 days; these facilities, which
contain individual cells, are not designed for long-term stays and typically offer minimal programming.
8. Of these fourteen probation camps, eleven are for males, two for females, and one is a treatment center (Dorothy Kirby)
for both genders.
9. Examples include but are not limited to: lawsuits filed by organizations such as Public Counsel and ACLU – Southern
California; federal oversight from the Department of Justice; a decade worth of documented youth stories, policy analy-
sis and organizing campaigns around reform from the Youth Justice Coalition; op ed articles written by the Advancement
Project; numerous media reports of troubling conditions and policies; internal audits by the county and probation depart-
ment; elected officials’ writings and public comments like LA County Board Supervisor Ridley-Thomas.
10. Letter to the LA County Board of Supervisors on the Camp Vernon Kilpatrick Replacement Project, from William T. Fu-
jioka, CEO, and Jerry E. Powers, Chief Probation Officer, January 17, 2012. http://file.lacounty.gov/bos/supdocs/65921.
pdf
11. Richard Mendel, No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration (Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey
Foundation, 2011).
12. Mark W. Lipsey, James C. Howell, Marion R. Kelly, Gabrielle Chapman, and Darin Carver, “Improving the Effectiveness
of Juvenile Justice Programs: A New Perspective on Evidence-Based Practice,” (Washington, DC: Center for Juvenile
Justice Reform, December 2010), 23-24.
13. A classic treatment-oriented program that has been shown to reduce recidivism in the juvenile justice system is Cogni-
tive Behavior Therapy (CBT). This form of behavioral therapy is designed to elicit changes in thinking and beliefs, and
ultimately influence behavior. CBT is active and goal directed and requires a small-group format, a trusting environment
and strong relationships. “Cognitive Behavioral Treatment,” Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S.
Department of Justice, http://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/progTypesCognitivePrev.aspx (accessed April 11, 2013).
14. Mark W. Lipsey, “The Primary Factors that Characterize Effective Interventions with Juvenile Offenders: A Meta-Analytic
Overview,” Victims & Offenders 4, no. 9 (2009).
15. Positive youth development (also called positive youth justice), a framework developed primarily by Jeffrey Butts,
M.S.W., Ph.D., of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has emerged as a resilience-oriented, strength-based ap-
proach to adolescence. Positive youth development posits that with the right opportunities and relationships, even youth
with the highest needs can successfully transition into adulthood. Jeffrey A. Butts, Gordon Bazemore, and Aundra Saa
Meroe, “Positive Youth Justice—Framing Justice Interventions Using the Concepts of Positive Youth Development,”
(Washington, DC: Coalition for Juvenile Justice, 2010).
16. Stephen Phillippi, Laquinta Below & Damien Cuffie, “Evidence Based Practice for Juvenile Justice Reform in Louisiana,”
(Louisiana State University School of Public Health, January 2010). http://publichealth.lsuhsc.edu/lamc/pdf%20files/
EBP%20Whitepaper%20FINAL%20FEB%202010%20_3_.pdf.
17. At its peak, the California Division of Juvenile Justice (formerly known as the California Youth Authority) housed nearly

14 2013 Children’s Defense Fund - California and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
 10,122 young adults in 1996 in its facilities. In 2013, there are fewer than 750 young people in a mere three facilities,
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/bccj/New_Era.pdf (accessed July 9, 2013).
18. County of Los Angeles, 2012-2013 Final Budget. http://www.lacountyannualreport.com/2012/pdf/2012-13_Complete_
Budget.pdf
19. LA County Probation Data, August 2012.
20. In October 2008, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to increase the 240 minutes of instruction required by the
state to 300 minutes. http://file.lacounty.gov/bos/supdocs/41381.pdf
21. Laura S Abrams, Jessica Nolan Daugherty and Bridget Freisthler, “County of Los Angeles: Young Offender Reentry
Blueprint” (Commissioned by the Los Angeles County Community and Senior Services, and Prepared by UCLA School
of Public Affairs, Department of Social Welfare, December 2010), 33. This average length of stay of 4.7 months is incon-
sistent with the three-, six-, and nine-month sentences youth are given because early release form the camps is a com-
mon practice.
22. Letter to the Board of State and Community Corrections on the Average Daily Cost to House Youth in Juvenile Halls and
Camps / Ranches, from Gary Wion, Deputy Director, California Corrections Standards Authority, September 14, 2012.
http://www.bscc.ca.gov/download.php?f=/Avg_Cost_Juv_Fac.pdf
23. LA County Probation Data, August 2012
24. Anna Gorman, “Addressing girls’ health needs at juvenile detention centers,” Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2013, http://
www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-juvenile-girls-health-20130317,0,564591.story (accessed July 2, 2013).
25. Allen F. Breed, “California Youth Authority Forestry Camp Program,” 17 Federal Probation 37 (1953), http://heinonline.
org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/fedpro17&div=26&id=&page - (accessed June 25,
2013).
26. Annette Kondo, “Doing Time: Camp Glenn Rockey Gives Juvenile Offenders a Chance to Fight Back.” Los Angeles
Times, April 23, 1989. The camp also served as the model for federal Civilian Conservation Corps camps.
27. Richard Mendel, No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration, 2011
28. Challenger Memorial Youth Center, which is located next to an adult prison in a geographically remote area 70 miles
north of downtown Los Angeles, is composed of six camps housed in a barracks-like compound. Group sizes are large
and organized with a command-and-control model.
29. Daniel Macallair, Mike Males, Dinky Manek and Natasha Vinakor. “Renewing Juvenile Justice.” A report to the Sierra
Health Foundation by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (March 2011), 54
30. Assistant Chief Probation Officer Calvin Remington, quoted in “Game-changer for a probation camp,” Zev’s Blog (Zev
Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District), February 14, 2012, http://zev.lacounty.gov/news/game-
changer-for-a-probation-camp (accessed July 3, 2013).
31. Calvin C. Remington, “Management and Administrative Assessment of the Los Angeles County Probation Department:
Back to the Basics: The Steps Required While Moving Forward,” Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, August 24,
2010. http://zev.lacounty.gov/pdfs/MANAGEMENT-ADMINISTRATIVE-ASSESSMENT.pdf
32. California Penal Code §919(b) mandates that the Grand Jury inspect all county and municipal police departments, jails,
and holding cells in superior and municipal courts, as well as juvenile camps and other institutions operated by the Los
Angeles Probation Department.
33. Counsel in the lawsuit included ACLU of Southern California, ACLU National Prison Project, Disability Rights Legal Cen-
ter and Public Counsel.
34. The characteristics of an integrated behavioral treatment model are described in: Clemens Bartollas and Stuart Miller,
Juvenile Justice in America (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008), 280.
35. At Challenger Memorial Youth Complex, reopening three of the camps has allowed for group sizes of close to 30 in some
of the dorms. However, youth do not spend all day with this group, like is typically done to promote group cohesion in
other small group treatment models.
36. LA County probation camp and hall numbers were compared from 2009 to 2012 using the: Juvenile Detention Profile:
California Board of State and Community Corrections. Juvenile Detention Profile Survey: Third Quarter Calendar Year
2012. http://www.bscc.ca.gov/download.php?f=/3Q12_JuvDS_full_report.pdf
37. “Second Amendment to Memorandum of Agreement Between the United States and the County of Los Angeles Regard-
ing the Los Angeles County Probation Camps Entered Into On October 31, 2008,” October 2012. www.justice.gov/crt/
about/spl/documents/lacamps_secondMOA_10-12-12.pdf

Reforming the Nation’s Largest Juvenile Justice System 15

38. “Second Quarterly Report of the Technical, Consulting and Advisory (TCA) Team at the Challenger Memorial Youth Cen-
ter,” Casey A v Gundry, November 25, 2011
39. “First Semi-Annual Report of the Technical, Consulting, and Advisory (TCA) Team at the Challenger Memorial Youth
Center,” Casey A v Gundry, April 1, 2013.
40. Jason Song, “Youths at L.A. County probation caps complain about food,” Los Angeles Times, March 26, 2013, http://ar-
ticles.latimes.com/2013/mar/26/local/la-me-probation-food-20130326
41. In “Second Annual Report, Los Angeles County Probation Department,” March 2013, Office of Independent Review at-
torneys and investigators examine cases that include staff condoning and even promoting youth fight clubs, staff using
excessive levels of force and violence when restraining youth, and reporting and oversight problems related to falsified
accounts of youth restraint.
42. “Second Annual Report, Los Angeles County Probation Department,” Office of Independent Review, Los Angeles
County. March 2013, 43-46. http://www.laoir.com/reports/OIR%20Second%20Annual%20Report%202013%20Final.pdf
43. “First Semi-Annual Report of the Technical, Consulting, and Advisory (TCA) Team at the Challenger Memorial Youth
Center: Casey A v Gundry (April 1, 2013), 3-4
44. Cited in Dan Macallair, “Reaffirming Rehabilitation in Juvenile Justice,” Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (lecture,
Western Society of Criminology, Berkeley, CA, February 1991), Harvard researchers Ohlin, Miller and Coates’ analysis
of population size in youth correctional environments demonstrated how violence is partly a function of population size.
http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cjcj/documents/reaffirming_rehabilitation_in_ juvenile_ justice.pdf
45. Daniel Macallair, Mike Males, Dinky Manek and Natasha Vinakor. “Renewing Juvenile Justice.” 55
46. For example, in summer 2013 Camp Gonzales closed for several months due to roof repair. Other camps, like Camp Kil-
patrick, incur average annual repair and maintenance costs of over $1 million.
47. In United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Méndez told the UN’s General Assembly’s third committee,
which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural affairs, to ban the solitary confinement of prisoners except in very ex-
ceptional circumstances and for as short a time as possible, with an absolute prohibition in the case of juveniles and
people with mental disabilities. https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40097&;Cr=torture&Cr1=%20For-
ceRecrawl:%200#.Ud0DU1eRfKc
48. C. Remington, “Management and Administrative Assessment of the Los Angeles County Probation Department.”
49. Senate Bill 81 was termed the juvenile justice realignment bill because it set strict eligibility requirements for which youth
could be committed to the state juvenile justice authority, the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), ensuring that California
juvenile courts could only send youth that had committed the most serious or violent crimes to DJJ. The remaining youth
who would no longer be eligible for commitment to DJJ would remain the responsibility of the counties.
50. Juvenile Justice Realignment Law § SB 81, Chapter 175, and AB 191, Chapter 257 (2007), http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/
pub/07-08/bill/sen/sb_0051-0100/sb_81_bill_20070824_chaptered.pdf
51. Los Angeles County applied for these funds in 2009, proposing a facility composed of 120 individual cells (or wet rooms).
The application was not selected, likely because the proposed facility design was not based on best practices.
52. “Game-changer for a probation camp,” Zev’s Blog (Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District).
53. Missouri Division of Youth Services, “Missouri Division of Youth Services Annual Report Fiscal Year 2012,” http://dss.
mo.gov/re/pdf/dys/youth-services-annual-report-fy12.pdf
54. Missouri Division of Youth Services, “Missouri Division of Youth Services Annual Report Fiscal Year 2011,” http://dss.
mo.gov/re/pdf/dys/youth-services-annual-report-fy11.pdf
55. Richard Mendel, “The Missouri Model.”
56. Missouri Department of Social Services, “Missouri Division of Youth Services Annual Report Fiscal Year 2008,” http://
dss.mo.gov/re/pdf/dys/dysfy08.pdf
57. Richard Mendel, “The Missouri Model.”
58. Santa Clara County defines program failure here as a violation or new arrest while at the ranch.
59. Santa Clara County defines recidivism here as a re-arrest or violation within one year of release.
60. “County of Santa Clara Strategic Investment in Innovative Juvenile Support Paying Off,” County of Santa Clara press re-
lease, June 11, 2012, on the County of Santa Clara website, http://www.sccgov.org/sites/opa/nr/Pages/County-of-Santa-
Clara-Strategic-Investment-in-Innovative-Juvenile-Support-Paying-Off.aspx, accessed July 10, 2013.
61. Santa Clara County Enhanced Ranch Program presentation, Washington, D.C., September 2012
62. Ibid.

16 2013 Children’s Defense Fund - California and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
63. Ibid
64. District of Columbia Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, 2012 Annual Performance Report. http://dyrs.dc.gov/
sites/default/files/dc/sites/dyrs/page_content/attachments/DYRS_AR-low-res_041713.pdf
65. Ibid.
66. Richard A. Mendel, “The Missouri Model: Reinventing the Practice of Rehabilitating Youthful Offenders,” Annie E. Casey
Foundation, 2010, http://www.aecf.org/~/media/Pubs/Initiatives/Juvenile%20Detention%20Alternatives%20Initiative/MO-
Model/MO_Fullreport_webfinal.pdf
67. Small group size is essential because groups of 12 or larger have been shown to reduce group cohesiveness and nega-
tively affect relationship building, both of which are essential to this model. Research has shown that personal discus-
sions and problem solving work most effectively in small settings. Increasing group size can reduce the attention each
individual receives, thus reducing effectiveness. L.K. Bendtro and A.E. Ness, Re-Educating Troubled Youth: Environ-
ments for Teaching and Education (Piscataway, NJ: Aldine Transaction, 1983). See also K.A. Avinger and R.A. Jones,
“Group Treatment of Sexually Abused Adolescent Girls: A Review of Outcome Studies,” The American Journal of Family
Therapy 35, no. 4 (2007): 315-326.
68. This small group treatment model is based on approaches like Cognitive Behavior Treatment (CBT), an evidenced-based
therapy shown to be effective with high-risk youth. Research on treatments utilizing CBT or similar cognitive behavior
theories supports the model of groups that do not exceed 12 members. “Cognitive Behavioral Treatment,” Office of Juve-
nile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, http://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/progTypesCognitivePrev.
aspx (accessed April 11, 2013). See also K. Jahnke, “Anger management programs for children and teens: A review of
eleven anger management programs” (paper, Annual Meeting of the National Association of School Psychologies, Or-
lando, FL, April 1998).
69. Urie Bronfenbrenner, “The Ecology of Human Development” (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979).
70. In the Youth Justice Coalition’s report “Welcome Home LA: From the Cell Block to the Corner Block” (February 2011),
which many organizations and individuals endorsed, it is stressed that reentry planning should start as early as the time
of arrest. http://www.youth4justice.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012WelcomeHomeLA.pdf
71. In “Families Unlocking Futures: Solutions to the Crisis in Juvenile Justice,” a report by Justice for Families, with research
support by Data Center (September 2012), the crucial roles families play in the success of system-involved youth is de-
tailed. In a survey of over 1,000 families, nearly one-third of them from California, eighty-six percent of family members
surveyed said they would like to be more involved in their children’s treatment while they are confined, yet a majority of
families said there were serious impediments to reaching youth by phone or visiting (difficulties with transportation, dis-
tance, cost, insufficient visiting hours and restrictive visitation rules were cited). Additionally, only 32 percent of parents
and families surveyed reported discussing release plans with juvenile justice system staff before their child was re-
leased. A family-centered approach is needed so families are engaged in meaningful ways. http://www.youth4justice.org/
wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Families-Unlocking-Futures.pdf
72. In “First-time violent juvenile offenders: probation, placement and recidivism,” Joseph P. Ryan, Laura Abrams and Hui
Huang (in press, 2013) found that, for youth who had committed their first violent offense, being assigned to probation
camps was equated with a higher likelihood of recidivism than being assigned to suitable placement or in-home proba-
tion. This supports the idea that less restrictive settings are a more appropriate and cost-effective approach for these
youth.
73. Daniel Macallair, Mike Males, Dinky Manek and Natasha Vinakor. “Renewing Juvenile Justice.” A report to the Sierra
Health Foundation by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (March 2011)

Reforming the Nation’s Largest Juvenile Justice System 17

About the Authors
Michelle Newell is a Senior Policy Associate at the Children’s Defense Fund - California.
Dr. Jorja Leap is an Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare and Director of the Health and Social Justice
Partnership at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.

Acknowledgements
We want to express our gratitude to the individuals who generously provided support to this policy brief, includ-
ing: Jesse Reyes, Intern, CDF-CA; Laura Rivas, Research Associate, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs;
Hanif Houston, Communications Associate, CDF-CA; Michele Stillwell-Parvensky, Policy and Communica-
tions Associate, CDF-CA; Angie Salazar, Policy Associate, CDF-CA; Carol Biondi, Commissioner, LA County
Commission on Children and Families; Jacquelyn McCroskey, Professor, USC School of Social Work; and Dan
Macalliar, Executive Director, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. Additionally, copy editing was completed
by Cathy Curtis and graphic designing by Micah Bazant.

In addition, our heartfelt thanks go to the staff, leadership and consultants who work at the model sites referenced
in this brief – the Enhanced James Ranch in Santa Clara County, CA, the New Beginnings facility in Washington,
DC, and Missouri’s Division of Youth Services and Missouri Youth Services Institute. These individuals opened
their doors for site visits and answered our countless questions.

We also must acknowledge the advocates, organizers and individuals who have been tirelessly pushing for re-
form in Los Angeles County’s probation camps for years, including but not limited to the Youth Justice Coalition,
the Office of Restorative Justice at the Archdiocese of L.A., the Everychild Foundation, Public Counsel, ACLU-
Southern California, Loyola Law School’s Center on Juvenile Law and Policy, the Advancement Project, Inside
Out Writers, New Roads, as well as Los Angeles County policymakers – specifically the Board of Supervisors,
Chief Probation Officer Jerry Powers and Office of Education Superintendent Dr. Arturo Delgado – whose leader-
ship and dedication have carried this project forward.

Finally, this policy brief was made possible by the generous support of The California Wellness Foundation.

Children’s Defense Fund-California is the California office of the Children’s Defense Fund, a non-profit child advocacy or-
ganization that has worked relentlessly for nearly 40 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. The Children’s
Defense Fund champions policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect, and
ensure their access to health care, a quality education, and a moral and spiritual foundation. www.cdfca.org

Founded in 1994 and dedicated in 2011, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs is a leading institution for research
and scholarship in the areas of public policy, social welfare and urban planning. our global society. Based in the global
metropolis of Los Ange- les, UCLA Luskin develops creative solutions and innovative leaders that confront challenges in
immigration, drug policy, prison reform, transportation, the environment, and other areas vital to the continued health and
well-being of our global society. www.luskin.ucla.edu

18 2013 Children’s Defense Fund - California and UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs