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| Juvenile prison plan made public |
| By Mercury News |
| Published: 05/23/2005 |
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Six months after they agreed to overhaul California's notorious juvenile prison system, officials are beginning to sketch a picture of what the new system will look like -- starting with smaller living groups and increased staffing ratios. The details are in budget documents and court filings that were made public last week. But many specifics are still lacking and the plans, so far, appear to fall short of what outside critics have urged. ``A lot of these things are things they should have been doing all along,'' said public interest attorney Sue Burrell, a longtime youth advocate. While the proposed staffing ratios are an improvement, she added, the average population on living units may still exceed national standards. Experts say smaller groups with more supervision are a key to successfully changing the behavior and attitudes of juveniles. State officials agree that drastic changes are needed. The documents they filed last week will dramatically redefine how California's most seriously troubled youth offenders will be treated in the future -- with an emphasis on learning responsibility rather than simply serving time. The filings are required under a legal settlement reached last fall with the non-profit Prison Law Office, which sued the state over poor conditions in the California Youth Authority. The settlement requires more detailed implementation plans to be submitted in November. Elizabeth Siggins, an assistant secretary for juvenile justice policy in the state's corrections agency, said last week's filing describes ``where we're going, not how we're going to get there.'' Officials are committing to specific changes on two fronts: While the population of the youth authority -- now at 3,288 -- is steadily decreasing, the state will not close living units at any of its eight institutions or eliminate staff positions. The net effect will be to reduce the number of offenders in each living unit over the next two years, from an average of 50 to no more than 35 or 40 over the next two years. At the same time, staffing ratios will improve, toward a goal of one staffer for every seven or eight wards. The state's remedy may disappoint critics who have urged officials to close the large, warehouse-like institutions and replace them with smaller buildings designed as treatment centers. State officials have said they don't have the money to do that immediately, although their latest documents acknowledge that may be necessary in the long run. Officials have been tight-lipped about costs overall. But a budget proposal released May 13 includes $3 million to explore developing new facilities and creating new job descriptions within the agency to better serve the wards. Separately, state officials are also talking with counties about having local officials take responsibility for supervising youth authority parolees. Other parts of the state's plan remain loosely defined, but are no less critical to rebuilding a system that officials described as ``broken'' in the governor's budget proposal. Central to the reforms is creating a more ``normative'' and less prison-like environment. Wards of the state would each have an individualized treatment plan and a case manager who would follow them through their stay in the CYA. They would receive a comprehensive assessment that -- unlike the current system -- would actually reach the line staff to help them provide appropriate care. And youth offenders would spend more hours engaged in school, vocational training and treatment programs. ``It's not going to be easy, we know that,'' said Siggins. ``This model recognizes that staff will require extensive initial and ongoing training.'' In crafting a new model, state officials drew on approaches used in other states, including Washington, Florida, Missouri, Texas and Colorado. Siggins said the model will most closely reflect Colorado's Lookout Mountain Youth Services center, which houses that state's most serious offenders. |
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