The Yolo County Juvenile Detention Facility (JDF) houses and provides services for justice-involved youth in Yolo County as well as unaccompanied youth through a contract with the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Support services are provided to the youth onsite as overseen by Probation Department staff. These services include education, medical services and behavioral health services. Additionally, a number of community volunteers provide mentorship, serve as positive role models, and provide additional program services that cannot be provided by facility staff. However, the total number of youth incarcerated has significantly declined over the last few years; a trend mirrored throughout California.
While the operation of the JDF receives great focus and support from the County and the community, demand for services has declined. The facility can house up to 90 individuals, however, it has never reached this capacity. In fact, in recent years the JDF has experienced a consistent year over year reduction in the number of youth housed. As shown in the table below, the facility’s average daily population has decreased by 52% from 2017 to 2019. A detailed breakdown is provided in Attachment A.
JDF Average Daily Population
| Year |
All Youth |
Yolo Youth (only) |
ORR Youth (only) |
| 2017 |
35.05 |
16.11 |
18.9 |
| 2018 |
30.01 |
11.77 |
18.2 |
| 2019 (Jan-April) |
16.75 |
4.51 |
12.2 |
This is not unique to Yolo County but is a trend occurring across the state as the criminal justice system moves towards greater restorative justice practices for juveniles. For example, 20 years ago truant youth were arrested, booked and housed in the JDF; a practice contrary to current evidenced-based standards. Now restorative techniques as opposed to incarceration are used as interventions. Though this trend is something to celebrate, with youth better rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community, California counties are now beginning to assess what to do with a rapidly increasing number of vacant juvenile beds; which number in the hundreds in Northern California alone.
Thus, Yolo County would naturally have had to evaluate the future of the JDF, but that analysis has been accelerated due to the Leinberger and Monroe jail facilities grant-funded construction projects. While construction is occurring, jail functions will need to be relocated, creating a need for a temporary booking facility as well as detention space for adult inmates due to the demolition of Leinberger. In addition to the facility needs, once construction has completed, the Sheriff’s Office will require increased staffing to meet the increase in beds which is a cost borne by the County general fund.
Due to the reduced demand for space at the JDF, it appears that the re-purposing of the facility could achieve three objectives. First, the JDF could provide temporary booking and adult detention space during the aforementioned construction period. Secondly, the pod environment within the JDF might serve as a foundation for new transitional aged youth (TAY) programs. Lastly, the cost savings associated with the re-purposed facility could not only fund the known cost increases associated with the new correctional officers for the expanded jail facility, but also reinvestment in strengthened criminal justice programming, including the potential TAY opportunities.
For 2019 thus far, the JDF has had as few as 3 Yolo youth on a given day with the average daily number for Yolo youth during this time period being 4.51. Yet, the program operates at an annual cost of approximately $10,200,000 (see Attachment B: JDF Budget), which includes 58 full time employees as well as extra help. While $7,004,000 of this budget is anticipated to be provided by the federal government for Fiscal Year 2019-2020, through the contract with ORR, $3,232,793 is an impact to County general fund. The actual cost to the County, however, is even higher as medical costs for Yolo youth are funded through the Health and Human Services Agency from County General Funds and this cost is also likely to be reduced if the JDF is re-purposed.
Proposed Recommendation
In reviewing the upcoming jail expansion needs compared to the reduced demand for the JDF, County Leadership, in consultation with the Probation Chief, recommend re-purposing the JDF for adult detention over the next few years as the jail construction projects proceed. This allows the JDF to provide temporary adult jail booking and temporary adult detention space for the 18-24 months of construction. In addition, the cost savings could not only help fund the ongoing correctional officer costs but also future justice reinvestment opportunities as described below. During the period of jail construction, staff will develop recommendations for the long term use of the JDF post-jail construction and any reinvestment of the interim cost savings.
One exciting aspect of this otherwise difficult decision is the potential to reinvest savings in new evidenced-based programs targeting justice-involved youth. Staff recommends exploring these opportunities collaboratively with multiple departments and stakeholders to determine the needs and programming opportunities. Options include focused programs to assist transitional aged youth, targeted efforts to strengthen families of justice-involved youth, and the establishment of a juvenile evening center. These concepts would be studied further in the coming months as part of the JDF transition.
The overall re-purposing of the JDF will result in significant changes. It requires the cancellation of the contract with ORR, the relocation of youth currently housed in the facility, and the relocation and/or layoff of program personnel. Such a transition would be handled with transparency and every effort made to ensure the best possible outcome for the youth and staff affected. The relocation of the unaccompanied youth would be discussed with ORR. Additionally, Probation staff are currently exploring opportunities to partner with adjacent counties to house Yolo County youth. As part of the transition, County staff would evaluate how to best support families of Yolo County youth held in nearby county detention facilities. This could include assistance with transportation, such as money for ride-share services, bus passes, and/or establishing a County transport.
For program personnel, a core recommended principal is for the County to engage individually with all affected employees to assist in transitioning to alternative permanent employment. If layoffs were to occur, Human Resources staff would meet individually with each staff member to review and discuss opportunities in the County for relocation to other positions including within Probation, the Sheriff’s Office, and Health and Human Services. In addition, several adjacent counties have already expressed interest including participating in an onsite job fair to be held on June 5 and offering assisted and streamlined application processes.
Next Steps
If directed by the Board to develop this recommendation further, staff would return to the Board of Supervisors at their June 25 meeting with a detailed implementation and transition plan for final approval. This would include exploration of the legal and procedural pathways to alternative uses of the JDF as well as the feasibility and cost of contracting for nearby detention space at an adjacent county JDF. |