FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Statement on Next Steps After the Court’s Approval of Probation’s Depopulation Plan for Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall: Prioritizing Youth Wellbeing is Public Safety
LOS ANGELES, CA —The Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission (POC) remains deeply concerned about the ongoing detention of youth at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. Judge Espinoza’s recent Order to Show Cause ruling affirms the urgent need to move youth out of a facility plagued by violence, inadequate supervision, and conditions deemed unsuitable by the California Board of State and Community Corrections. The ruling is a necessary step—but it is only a beginning. Oversight of Probation’s implementation of the Depopulation Plan is essential to ensuring youth safety across all facilities.
The POC is equipped and ready to provide this oversight, cautioning against mistaking the plan as sufficient to ensure meaningful change. Simply relocating young people without addressing root causes—like intake practices, support services, and staff training, recruitment and retention—risks further traumatizing youth and delaying true justice. We urge all County departments to move beyond status quo operations and commit to transformative reforms.
Transitioning away from youth detention
Reducing the detained youth population is the only sustainable way to address Probation’s staffing crisis and meet state standards. This requires:
- A thorough reassessment of youth currently held at Los Padrinos
- The release of youth who can be safely supervised in the community
- A reformed intake process to prevent unnecessary detention and reduce the average length of stay
Judge Espinoza acknowledged the POC’s recommendations, agreeing to consider reassessment efforts under the court’s self-assessment committee. He also adopted one proposal outright—requiring Probation to assess youth in the SYTF stepdown program at Campus Kilpatrick for eligibility for release into community-based programs like Pine Grove.
The Youth Detained are Real People, Not Just Numbers
Youth detained at Los Padrinos are among the County’s most vulnerable. Over 85% have not been adjudicated and have no access to bail. Many are dual-system youth, involved in the child welfare system due to histories of abuse and neglect. Most are Black or Latine (94%) and come from under-resourced neighborhoods in South Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Youth with diagnosed developmental disabilities are held on average much longer than their peers—often in isolating conditions and exposed to weekly use of chemical agents like pepper spray. Detained girls include victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC), and some are pregnant or parenting.
These young people are not theoretical. They are part of our community and will return to our community. They have endured real trauma and require trauma-informed care—not punitive confinement—to ensure their rehabilitation and community safety.
Probation’s Data Shows Many Youth Can Be Safely Released
According to the County’s own Los Angeles Detention Screener (LADS), many detained youth score as low to moderate risk, including over half of those facing the most serious charges. Some youth with a risk score of zero are held for months—far beyond the national average of 27 days—before trial or adjudication. A Probation official reported at a POC meeting that as many as 60 youth at Los Padrinos might be eligible for house arrest.
This Moment Demands Vision and Data-Informed Decisions
We echo the Public Defender's call for the "immediate, safe release of eligible youth through rapid and thorough reassessments." The County and the Board of Supervisor’s vision of Youth Justice Reimagined and Care First, Jails Last demands that youth detention should always be a last resort, used only when absolutely necessary and in settings designed to foster healing, not harm. We must transition from reactive systems of punishment and control to proactive models of support—models that prioritize family reunification, mental health care, education, and community integration.
This is not a question of leniency—it is a matter of equity, responsibility, and vision. We call upon all County leadership, including our colleagues at the Probation Department, to seize this moment to reimagine youth justice not as a punitive pathway, but as a continuum of care rooted in compassion and accountability. This will make our facilities safer for youth and the employees of the Probation Department and lead to better outcomes.
The Probation Oversight Commission urges immediate, collective action to move decisively toward reducing the number of youth detained in Los Angeles County and sustained investment for interventions that heal rather than harm. Investing in our youth and keeping them safe is a path forward to public safety.
Sincerely,
Wendelyn Julien
Executive Director
County of Los Angeles, Probation Oversight Commission
Eduardo Mundo
Chair
County of Los Angeles, Probation Oversight Commission
About the L.A. County Probation Oversight Commission: The Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission is an independent body tasked with promoting transparency, accountability, and improved practices within the probation system. Through oversight, policy recommendations, and community engagement, the POC strives to enhance public safety and rehabilitative outcomes.
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Media Contact:
Wendelyn Julien, Executive Director
County of Los Angeles, Probation Oversight Commission
Email: wjulien@poc.lacounty.gov
Phone: (213) 308-8373
Website: poc.lacounty.gov
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