Page 1 - bos20190813juvenile
P. 1
AGN NO._______
MOTION BY SUPERVISORS MARK RIDLEY-THOMAS AND August 13, 2019
SHEILA KUEHL
Restructuring the Juvenile Justice System: Building a Health-Focused Model
Well-regarded research on adolescent brain development, positive youth development
and trauma have demonstrated the ways youth are physiologically and fundamentally
different from adults and require different interventions. Acknowledgement of these
differences has resulted in the understanding that punitive models of juvenile justice not only
result in worsened outcomes, which runs counter to the rehabilitative goals of the juvenile
justice system, but also fail to make communities safer. Systems centered on healing and
growth are essential for improving the well-being of young people.
Over the past decade, many counties have attempted to reform what had become, at
their core, overly punitive juvenile justice systems; Los Angeles County (County) is among
them. While local reform efforts have resulted in some improvements, including reductions in
incarceration, fewer low-risk youth on probation, and greater investments in diversion, the
County has so far struggled to achieve major improvements in the treatment of youth in its
care and custody. This year, rampant use of pepper spray has put into question youth safety,
and the significant mental health needs of youth – 90% of youth in the juvenile halls have an
open mental health case – puts into question whether a system of incarceration is even
appropriate. If the County is to meet its obligation of adequately addressing the rehabilitative
needs of the youth in its care, it must acknowledge that the juvenile camps and halls model is
fundamentally flawed, and that housing supervision and services within an agency with a law
enforcement orientation may be counterproductive. Shifting towards a rehabilitative, care-first
MOTION
Solis ______________________________
Ridley-Thomas ______________________________
Kuehl ______________________________
Barger ______________________________
Hahn ______________________________
