The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion Tuesday requiring board approval before any further changes are made to the embattled Probation Department’s juvenile halls.
A motion introduced by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn called on the department to ask for board approval on any updates to the Global Plan to implement policy and procedural changes at Campus Kilpatrick in Malibu, Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, the Dorothy Kirby Center in Commerce, Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey and possibly other youth detention facilities.
Supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of the motion, with Board Chair Kathryn Barger voting against it.
The supervisors condemned what they called the department’s “difficult history of failures and crisis,” including refusals to follow directives from the board.
The motion highlighted the Probation Department’s alleged failure to stop using pepper spray on youth detainees, failure to equip custodial staff with the anti-overdose remedy Narcan and the lack of a “plan for LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth,” in addition to other shortfalls.
“With Probation’s crisis and this Board’s effort to improve transparency and communication with the public and relevant stakeholders, it is critically important that this Board set clear requirements for how Probation moves forward with major changes to its facilities, and how it presents those plans to the Board, County stakeholders, and the greater public,” Horvath and Hahn wrote in their motion.
Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa was the motion’s primary target for his alleged failures to meet suitability standards in the facilities and to comply with directives from the Board of Supervisors.
The motion criticized Rosa’s Feb. 18 response to the board’s order in March 2023 for the department to develop a long-term plan for the county’s youth detainees.
“Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa admitted that the plan presented was not developed in collaboration with County stakeholders, or community organizations,” according to the motion. “For example, the plan did not consider staffing changes that the Department of Health Services or Department of Mental Health would need to make to serve the girls population if it is moved from more centrally located facilities in Downey and Commerce to Malibu, nor did the plan consider outreach to labor partners or the courts.
“Asked how Probation would care for pregnant youth under the plan, Chief Viera Rosa wasn’t able to give a clear answer other than that there tend to be very few pregnant girls in custody,” the motion continued. “Chief Viera Rosa also conceded there hadn’t been any outreach to communities that surround Probation’s facilities and noted that they haven’t planned for, or worked out, things as critical as the best way to support visitation by families at reorganized facilities.”
The Probation Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Supervisor Hilda Solis submitted a motion amending that language previously filed by Horvath and Hahn. To read Solis’ amended motion that her colleagues except for Barger OK’d, visit tinyurl.com/na6wphbb.
“My ‘no’ vote on this motion was driven by my concern that it preempts the upcoming hearing and action by the Board of State and Community Corrections on April 10 and undermines the flexibility granted to the LA County Probation Chief under the emergency proclamation motion I introduced — and that Board of Supervisors unanimously approved — just a few months ago, in December 2024,” Barger said in a statement to HeySoCal.com. “That flexibility is essential for our Probation Department to effectively address the serious challenges within our juvenile detention facilities. I believe this action ultimately works against the Department’s ability to implement necessary reforms in a timely and responsive manner.”
Several residents and representatives from community groups spoke in support of the motion and said the department should be held accountable, especially regarding the treatment of young girls and “gender-expansive” youth.
The motion requires Probation Department officials to consult with the directors of the county Health Services, Mental Health, Public Health and Youth Development departments, the LA County Office of Education superintendent of schools and any other relevant county stakeholders before submitting Global Plan or Facilities Plan updates.
Supervisors also directed Rosa to speed up planning for the complete closure of Central Juvenile Hall near downtown Los Angeles, which temporarily has been used to provide health care and reserved as an emergency evacuation site.
The board wants to move all health care services to Los Padrinos and ordered probation officials to include any updates in monthly progress discussions.
Problems have occurred at Los Padrinos since it reopened in 2023 to house detainees from Central Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights and the Nidorf facility, which state authorities ordered closed.
Short-staffing, allegations of violence among detainees and escape attempts have been reported at Los Padrinos and in October, the Board of State and Community Corrections deemed the juvenile hall unsuitable to house youth.
The oversight board set a Dec. 12 deadline for county officials to correct staffing deficiencies or close the facility, but Los Padrinos has continued operating despite a state shutdown order. County officials cited the lack of a viable alternative for housing the approximately 260 youths detained there.
