A juvenile hall, long criticized for allegations of violence inside and operational issues will stay open despite a state order to shut down. John Cádiz Klemack reports for the NBC4 News at 6 a.m. on Dec. 13, 2024.
A juvenile hall in Downey, long criticized for allegations of violence inside and operational issues will stay open despite a state order to shut down.
This comes after after housing conditions were found unsuitable for minors, but Los Padrinos juvenile hall said it will continue to house nearly 250 detainees.
The juvenile hall has been through many inspections in the past year, the most recent being in October, when the hall failed a screening.
The juvenile hall was also found unsuitable for the staff, specifically due to shortages.
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Two other detention centers have already been shut down and the detainees were moved to Los Padrinos Jivenile Hall, the only one left in all of Los Angeles County.
Los Padrinos opened last year after two juvenile detention centers in the county were forced to close when the state said those were also unsuitable for children.
Advocates for the children, including the Children's Defense Fund, are speaking out, saying that keeping the juvenile center open is breaking the law.
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"The county and probation will be breaking the law, and it is my belief that groups will sue the county and probation and the judges for continuing to use this facility ilegally" Milinda Kakani with the Probation Oversight Commission said."
Several groups have sent letters to the probation department, county supervisors and the juvenile court saying in one letter "we are prepared to seek resolution of this matter through litigation, if necessary."
The head of the county probation department, Guillermo Viera Rosa, had announced last week he was retiring at the end of this year, but now tells NBC4 that he will stay on to see this through.
County supervisors say there is a staffing issue, with probation officers not showing up for work.
