Juvenile Justice Realignment
In August, Senate Bill 823 was signed into law with the intent to end placement of justice system-involved youth in State facilities, and instead, realign the responsibility to provide rehabilitative services for this population to their respective counties of residence at the county level. Each county is now tasked with developing a rehabilitative treatment program for those youth who previously would have been sentenced to the California Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). This planning effort is in partnership with the mandated Juvenile Justice Realignment Subcommittee of the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council which in Yolo County has been holding public meetings on the topic every other week since the beginning of February.
Unique to this population, SB 823 also established the age of jurisdiction at: age 23 for youth adjudicated of WIC 707(b) offenses (i.e. murder, arson, rape, etc.); age 25 for youth adjudicated of offenses that would result in an aggregate sentence of seven or more years in adult court; and age 21 for all other youth. Also unique to this population is the average length of stay. While the average length of stay for youth detained in the Juvenile Detention Facility is 22 days, the average length of stay for Yolo County youth committed to DJJ has been 2.4 years. The shortest length of stay has been just under 2 years with the longest length of staying being almost 6 years – more than a quarter of a youth’s life.
On July 1, 2021, DJJ will cease receiving new intakes and will completely close by July 2023. While there are no Yolo County youth expected to be sentenced to DJJ before July 1 of this year, Yolo County must be prepared to provide long-term treatment from this point on for future youth adjudicated by the Court to a post-DJJ-type program.
Options for all counties grappling with this realignment are:
- Creating a local long-term treatment program
- Hosting youth from other counties
- Contracting with another county for these services
- Opting into the Secure Track County Consortium
The Secure Track County Consortium is a concept being facilitated by the California State Association of Counties and the Chief Probation Officers of California which intends to coordinate secure treatment placements throughout the state, some of which might be specialized to address specific needs, i.e. behavioral change related to sexual offenses. Joining the consortium will be optional for counties.
The benefits and risks for each option can be found in Attachment A. Each of the options will have to provide long-term, intensive therapeutic treatment to the highest-risk youth, as well as, but not limited to: literacy, education and vocational training; health & fitness, spiritual and enrichment opportunities; and transition/re-entry and independent living skills.
Funding allocations for this realignment are based on a county’s past juvenile population, DJJ usage and estimated WIC 707(b) population. Yolo County’s funding for the next three years is as follows:
FY 2021-2022: $280,100
FY 2022-2023: $829,728
FY 2023-2024: $1,374,609
One-time funding available to counties for necessary facility modifications to house the realigned population is very limited. The minimum facility modification we will need are estimated to cost $250,000, while we are only eligible for a State grant of $118,000-$187,000 for this purpose.
Based on prior history, the realigned Yolo County juvenile population projected for 2021-22 is one youth and no more than two youth for 2022-23 and 2023-24. However, there are currently no youth in the pipeline that would be adjudicated to a DJJ-type program.
Best practices indicate this population should be housed separately from the current JDF population, and depending upon the age of the youth and/or the youth’s offense, may be further separated. Research indicates the resulting isolation given our anticipated low DJJ population is not a best practice for the well-being and development of these youth.
Following input from the Board of Supervisors, the Probation Department and Juvenile Justice Realignment Subcommittee will finalize recommended options for addressing the needs of this realigned population and will return to the Board for final direction on May 4.
Juvenile Detention Facility Use Planning
Options for future uses of the Juvenile Detention Facility could certainly be impacted by Yolo County’s plans to provide long-term therapeutic treatment for youth adjudicated by the Court to a post-DJJ type program. Options are impacted as well by other counties also having to address the needs of this population. All counties are grappling with both declining populations in their juvenile halls and now the responsibility for a high-risk population requiring separate, enhanced and longer-term services for a broader age range of youth. As such, counties are reluctant to commit at this time to providing juvenile detention services to other counties.
While it is unlikely the current use of the Juvenile Detention Facility can be modified in the near future, the Probation Department continues to evaluate options for future uses of the facility. A working group within the department has been meeting weekly for several months to research and analyze options among which include:
- Short-Term Residential Treatment Program for all youth or specific populations, i.e. Commercially Sexually Exploited Children
- Evening Youth Center
- Providing detention services to other counties
- Transitional Aged Youth (TAY) Housing
- Youth Camp
- Day Treatment Program for all youth or specific populations, i.e. Commercially Sexually Exploited Children
- Day Treatment for TAY
- Education/Vocation collaborative to include increased treatment services on site
Other ideas that have been floated, but which likely would be overseen by another entity include:
- Homeless Shelter
- Residential Detoxification Center
- Facility for countywide law enforcement training
The Probation Department had intended to return to the Board of Supervisors in July with recommended options for future uses of the Juvenile Detention Facility, ultimately seeking final direction in September. Given the uncertainty of Juvenile Justice Realignment throughout the state as described above, this schedule is likely to be modified. |