Advocates demand immediate decarceration of youth from L.A. County juvenile halls

Los Angeles, CA – System-impacted youth, community organizers and advocates converged at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration to demand the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors take immediate action to decarcerate youth from juvenile detention facilities. 

The rally and press conference, which took place on July 30, began at 9:30 AM and highlighted voices from a coalition of youth leaders and community advocates mobilizing to address the dire conditions inside Los Angeles County's juvenile detention facilities, specifically Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall and Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. 

During the event, the speakers openly recounted their personal encounters and those of their loved ones with the juvenile justice system. Lakell White, a recent graduate of Dorsey High and an activist with Students Deserve and Black Lives Matter L.A., has family members who were formerly incarcerated, including her father and brothers. She recalls her brother being in jail on his 18th birthday because he didn't have the proper resources to support him.

White also emphasized the need for better LGBTQIA+ specific resources to prevent the incarceration of queer youth. ”Being a queer person is so hard, and we need so many more resources - we don't need to be criminalized,” she said. ”We're not animals, and we deserve love and care."

Reports and firsthand accounts have highlighted severe issues such as dehumanizing treatment and dangerous conditions created by probation staff. As of February 15, 2024, Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall and similar facilities in L.A. have been out of compliance for over 157 days. There have been at least 40 new behavior-related charges against youth, contributing to longer detention periods and eventual transfers to adult facilities. Despite spending over $12 million on security to prevent drug access and to monitor youth, overdoses continue to occur.

The L.A. Probation Oversight Commission recently moved to subpoena a probation staffing analysis. From September 2022 to September 2023, out of 510 youths in L.A. County facilities, 228 (45%) were on psychotropic medication. Reports persist of youth having to urinate in their cells overnight, and programming remains consistently unavailable. The BSCC has also not adequately addressed numerous sexual abuse allegations in probation-run facilities. Los Angeles County operates the largest probation department in the nation.

The call for action follows a notable direct action in April 2024, where a coalition of formerly incarcerated and system-impacted youth disrupted a County board meeting to highlight these issues. Their earlier efforts included delivering a powerful letter outlining the urgent need for change, and the day's event aimed to amplify those demands with renewed vigor.

The conditions within these juvenile halls have raised significant concerns regarding the treatment and safety of the youth detained there. Reports from advocates and youth themselves describe environments fraught with risk and neglect, undermining the promise of rehabilitation and support that juvenile justice systems are supposed to offer. The immediate focus is on ensuring that these youths are removed from such harmful environments and provided with more humane and constructive alternatives.

Youth Organizer with Youth Justice Coalition, Jahzara Halliday (she/her), emphasized the need for survivors of abuse to receive justice and support. “My question is, where are the dollars going, if not to their youth in their programming? Where's the accountability?” she asked during the press conference.

Halliday urged the Board of Supervisors to reallocate $140 million, including a $100 million surplus from the Juvenile Justice Harm Prevention Act, to community organizations that provide youth services. “This money should be diverted to people who actually do the work,” she said.