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Advocates Say LA County's Youth Offenders Have Few Coronavirus Protections
FILE PHOTO: A probation officer walks through a dormitory at Camp Afflerbaugh in 2013. (Grant Slater / KPCC)
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Institutions that house many people in tight quarters — like homeless shelters, nursing homes, jails and prisons — are all known risks for COVID-19 outbreaks.
Advocates for youth offenders in L.A. County are now raising deep concerns about conditions in the eight facilities that house about 700 young people ages 12 to 23.
Jerod Gunsberg, a private attorney who represents juvenile offenders as part of a partnership between L.A. County and the L.A. County Bar Association, told us:
"We are getting repeated, consistent reports of youth who are held in custody, not having any guidance or guidelines on social distancing. They're eating communally, they're showering communally. There's no consistent access to soap and water or hand sanitizer."
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