In a decisive move amid ongoing issues, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is slated to declare a local emergency at the Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, which, despite an order for its closure by state regulators, continues to house youth due to the absence of alternative facilities, FOX LA reports.
The emergency declaration, expected to be put to a vote Tuesday, aims to harness the county's "emergency powers" to urgently address staffing shortages and operation deficiencies cited at the heart of the Board of State and Community Corrections’ (BSCC) mandate to shut down the facility by December 12, shared by KTLA.
Despite several closure orders, the juvenile hall with about 250 detainees remains operational, notably due to a dearth of feasible options for relocating the young residents, as noted by officials and even as defense attorneys push for their release alleging the facility's operations are illegal—a facility plagued by understaffing and a string of challenges including violence, allegations of probation officers' inaction during incidents, and escape attempts, operational issues have dogged Los Padrinos since its reopening last year mainly to accommodate transfers from other juvenile halls that were also closed by the state, according to FOX LA.
In the wake of a reaffirmed "unsuitability" verdict from the BSCC following a reinspection, the proposed emergency motion constitutes a plan championed by Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Hilda Solis, with measures including the potential deployment of disaster service workers and sizeable hiring bonuses to alleviate staffing woes, NBC Los Angeles details. Yet, Roshell Amezcua of the Juvenile Justice Clinic at Loyola Law School is skeptical, telling NBC Los Angeles that "they are violating the law currently" regarding the juveniles, suggesting that the proposed changes may be insufficient to tackle the systemic problems entrenched within the institution.
