The Los Angeles County Probation Department on Friday submitted a court-ordered plan to relocate youth detainees from Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey.
LA Superior Court Judge Michael Espinoza ordered the department to come up with a strategy to improve conditions at the troubled facility in April.
“This is a responsible and thoughtful step forward that reflects our commitment to court compliance, operational reform, and youth rehabilitation,” Chief Probation Officer Guillermo Viera Rosa said in a statement. “While this is not a final plan, it represents a strong foundation to realign youth with the right programs and services — and do so in a way that brings lasting, systemwide improvements.”
The Probation Department is proposing to reduce the Los Padrinos population by more than 100 youth detainees with a “coordinated approach” to reduce the facility’s population while “improving youth outcomes and maintaining public safety,” according to the department. Los Padrinos houses about 300 detainees whose criminal cases are pending in court.
Upon the judge’s approval, probation officials will implement the plan over 30 days in phases in coordination with the Board of State and Community Corrections, Juvenile Court Health Services, the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the county departments of Public Health, Mental Health and Youth Development, officials said. The proposal builds on the department’s Facilities Global Plan and includes provisions to enhance mental health care, gender-responsive programming and individualized placement for youth with specialized needs.
“Youth, families and stakeholders will be notified in advance of any transfers, and a comprehensive communication timeline — including virtual town halls, email updates, and facility-level FAQs — will ensure families are supported throughout the transition,” according to a Probation Department statement.
The department will also continue working with the court and county agencies to consider releasing more youth detainees “in a manner consistent with public safety, as well as community-based alternatives and diversion programs,” officials said. Future efforts to reduce the number of Los Padrinos detainees will depend on the readiness and capacity levels of alternative facilities and BSCC coordination.
In December, the BSCC declared Los Padrinos unsuitable to house youth detainees because of staffing deficiencies and other shortfalls. The county, however, lacks a viable alternative to house the youth held at Los Padrinos and has continued to operate the facility despite the board’s closure order.
According to the department’s proposed plan, 82 youth will relocate from Los Padrinos by June and another 21 upon the completion of structural repairs at Camp Joseph Paige in La Verne. When the department completes a “secure youth treatment facility recommended track” at the Barry J. Nidorf facility in Sylmar, males currently housed at Los Padrinos who have pending court cases and have been identified as likely candidates for future SYTF commitments will relocate to Nidorf.
The strategy also designates Camp Vernon Kilpatrick as an all-girl facility where Los Padrinos’ female youth detainees will relocate, the Dorothy Kirby Center in Commerce as a medical and mental health facility and Nidorf as a comprehensive secure youth treatment facility.
The Probation Department has appealed multiple times to the board to lift the unsuitability ruling, asserting that improvements have taken place, but state regulators have maintained the facility is still too troubled to suitably house youth.
Los Padrinos has experienced numerous problems since it hastily reopened in 2023 to house detainees relocated from Central Juvenile Hall in Boyle Heights and Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar, which state regulators ordered to close.
Despite a successful relocation effort, Los Padrinos has suffered from short-staffing, allegations of violence among detainees — at times while probation officers allegedly stood by without intervening — and escape attempts.
In March, 30 county probation officers received criminal charges in connection with alleged youth-on-youth violence at the facility. According to prosecutors, probation officers would facilitate “gladiator fights” involving detainees.
Between July and December in 2023, 69 youth fights were allowed to occur at the facility, California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office reported.
Updated May 5, 2025, 11:24 a.m.
