L.A. County Moves A Step Forward in a New Approach to Juvenile Justice
© by Jeremy Loudenback
Supporting radical changes to its juvenile justice system, the Board of Supervisors in Nov. endorsed a sweeping plan that would move 100s of young people out of juvenile halls and detention camps run by the Probation Department.
Under the plan, a new county department would be charged with providing therapeutic care to youthful offenders in their communities and in facilities that would be called “safe and secure healing centers.”
“Our current system is actually harming young people without any demonstrated benefits to their overall well-being or our community goal of public safety,” said Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, in support of the plan at the virtual public meeting.
Kuehl said pervasive racial disparities in LA County and the damaging impact of incarceration on young people moved her to vote for a complete transformation of the youth justice system — not merely incremental change.
Kuehl’s views met unanimous approval from fellow supervisors, [whose] sweeping reforms are sure to be watched by a nation reeling from national protests over abusive law enforcement practices and mass incarceration.
