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LA County reveals plan to move youths out of troubled Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall
Aerial view of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey Thursday, June 29, 2023.
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Allen J. Schaben
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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The Los Angeles County Probation Department on Friday submitted a proposed plan to move dozens of young people out of the troubled Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey in keeping with a state finding that it is unsuitable to house youths.
By filing the plan with the Superior Court, the county has met a deadline set by Judge Miguel Espinoza.
The plan
The proposal calls for moving youths to camps and other facilities spread across the county, including Camp Joseph Paige in La Verne and Camp Vernon Kilpatrick in Malibu. Camp Kilpatrick underwent a $48 million rebuild that was completed in 2017. The revamped “therapeutic environment” includes a basketball court, library and pool.
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The plan would move about 100 youths out of Los Padrinos, which currently has a population of about 270.
Background
The move by the Probation Department comes about three weeks after the Board of State and Community Corrections affirmed its finding that the facility was “unsuitable” to house youth.
The board found last year that L.A. County had failed to meet minimum staffing requirements at Los Padrinos, and that young people held there were being confined in their rooms for too long and missing medical appointments.
What’s next?
The Probation Department said it plans to implement the plan over the next 30 days. The Board of State and Community Corrections would need to inspect the proposed facilities.
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