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| Judge orders moratorium on sending juveniles to CYA |
| By Mercury News |
| Published: 02/12/2004 |
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San Mateo County (Calif.) abruptly halted sending children and teenagers to the California Youth Authority this week, responding to newspaper accounts of brutal and inhumane conditions inside the statewide juvenile prison system. Initiated by presiding juvenile court Judge Marta Diaz, the action makes San Mateo the second Bay Area county planning to keep youths in their home counties, rather than subjecting them to conditions of confinement inside the state's 10 lock-up facilities. Tuesday, San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano introduced a moratorium on all non-mandatory commitments to CYA. Supervisors will vote on the moratorium at a meeting next week. Probation officials are also taking action, responding to recently released state-commissioned reports that detail a climate of ward-on-ward brutality and harsh institutional treatment, including confining youths in cells 23 hours per day. The CYA reviews found that substance-abuse treatment was below national standards, and the reports concluded that mental-health services were failing the majority of inmates, ages 12 to 25, who suffer from psychiatric disorders. Feb. 26, an association made up of Bay Area probation chiefs will meet to discuss the creation of an alternative youth facility. Chairman Loren Buddress, San Mateo County's chief probation officer, said the exposure of ``major problems'' within the California Youth Authority could prompt Bay Area counties to greatly scale back commitments. |
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