RPinSD
02-04-2005, 01:23 PM
CYA lawsuit leads to plans for sweeping change
Link To Article (http://www.sfbayview.com/020205/cya020205.shtml)
by Lenore Anderson
Books Not Bars
The California Youth Authority agreed Monday with what youth, families and advocates have been saying for decades: the CYA is completely broken and can’t be fixed – a new model of juvenile justice is needed. The CYA has committed in writing to totally transform California’s juvenile justice system.
The Prison Law Office sued the state of California in 2003 because of the horrific conditions inside CYA. A few months ago, with the governor’s approval, the CYA admitted to its wrongdoings and settled the lawsuit. The lawsuit settlement required CYA to develop plans to clean up CYA by Jan. 31, 2005.
Then, top government officials went on tour. To see first-hand what effective programs look like, people from the governor’s office, YACA (the Youth & Adult Correctional Agency, which oversees CYA) and CYA visited juvenile justice programs in Missouri, Texas and elsewhere around the country. Later, after negotiations with the Prison Law Office, CYA agreed that, instead of merely “cleaning up,” CYA needs to go back to the drawing board.
Monday, in court, CYA and the Prison Law Office agreed to design a whole new model – based on rehabilitation – by May 2, 2005. A signed four-page document lists specific deadlines and clear guiding principles for what the new model of juvenile justice must include. And by Nov. 30, 2005, CYA must have a full, detailed plan for exactly how to put the new model into action.
In this plan, among other things, the CYA must:
l Include families in treatment and rehabilitation.
l Keep youth in facilities close to their homes.
l Provide youth with a supportive and positive environment that truly helps them get their lives back on track.
l Staff the programs with trained rehabilitation specialists.
Monday was truly a turning point for juvenile justice in California.
The campaign is far from over
Bound by a written and signed document with real deadlines, the CYA is now committed to sweeping change. These changes are far deeper than anyone could have expected when the Prison Law Office first filed suit in 2003.
But there’s so much more to do! We need to make sure that CYA’s new model closes the existing youth prisons. California’s new juvenile justice system must dramatically bolster community-based programs, reduce the overrepresentation of youth of color and contain strong community oversight mechanisms.
And we need to make sure sentencing reform accompanies these changes to the juvenile justice system. We must prevent California from simply transferring youth into the even harsher adult system.
‘Blow up the CYA box’
Another major step forward came on Jan. 24, when state Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero announced that she will introduce a bill to end the warehousing of youth and “blow up the CYA box”! This comes five days after we screened Books Not Bars’ film “System Failure” for the legislature in the State Capitol Building.
First and foremost, it calls for the immediate closure of Chad, perhaps CYA’s most violent and abusive youth prison. It also calls for taking all the girls and young women out of the Ventura facility in Southern California, CYA’s only female facility, and placing them in county programs.
The bill then calls for redesigning and/or rebuilding the rest of CYA’s youth prisons within three years. They would be replaced by a system that prioritizes rehabilitation and return to family and community, a system similar to the model system that Missouri has developed. Instead of huge warehouse prisons, the bill would set up small-scale, effective rehabilitation programs close to youths’ homes.
We’re energized, excited and mobilized to keep up the campaign. Together with our allies, Books Not Bars will push ahead until California finally has a juvenile justice system that makes sense and makes us proud.
Link To Article (http://www.sfbayview.com/020205/cya020205.shtml)
by Lenore Anderson
Books Not Bars
The California Youth Authority agreed Monday with what youth, families and advocates have been saying for decades: the CYA is completely broken and can’t be fixed – a new model of juvenile justice is needed. The CYA has committed in writing to totally transform California’s juvenile justice system.
The Prison Law Office sued the state of California in 2003 because of the horrific conditions inside CYA. A few months ago, with the governor’s approval, the CYA admitted to its wrongdoings and settled the lawsuit. The lawsuit settlement required CYA to develop plans to clean up CYA by Jan. 31, 2005.
Then, top government officials went on tour. To see first-hand what effective programs look like, people from the governor’s office, YACA (the Youth & Adult Correctional Agency, which oversees CYA) and CYA visited juvenile justice programs in Missouri, Texas and elsewhere around the country. Later, after negotiations with the Prison Law Office, CYA agreed that, instead of merely “cleaning up,” CYA needs to go back to the drawing board.
Monday, in court, CYA and the Prison Law Office agreed to design a whole new model – based on rehabilitation – by May 2, 2005. A signed four-page document lists specific deadlines and clear guiding principles for what the new model of juvenile justice must include. And by Nov. 30, 2005, CYA must have a full, detailed plan for exactly how to put the new model into action.
In this plan, among other things, the CYA must:
l Include families in treatment and rehabilitation.
l Keep youth in facilities close to their homes.
l Provide youth with a supportive and positive environment that truly helps them get their lives back on track.
l Staff the programs with trained rehabilitation specialists.
Monday was truly a turning point for juvenile justice in California.
The campaign is far from over
Bound by a written and signed document with real deadlines, the CYA is now committed to sweeping change. These changes are far deeper than anyone could have expected when the Prison Law Office first filed suit in 2003.
But there’s so much more to do! We need to make sure that CYA’s new model closes the existing youth prisons. California’s new juvenile justice system must dramatically bolster community-based programs, reduce the overrepresentation of youth of color and contain strong community oversight mechanisms.
And we need to make sure sentencing reform accompanies these changes to the juvenile justice system. We must prevent California from simply transferring youth into the even harsher adult system.
‘Blow up the CYA box’
Another major step forward came on Jan. 24, when state Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero announced that she will introduce a bill to end the warehousing of youth and “blow up the CYA box”! This comes five days after we screened Books Not Bars’ film “System Failure” for the legislature in the State Capitol Building.
First and foremost, it calls for the immediate closure of Chad, perhaps CYA’s most violent and abusive youth prison. It also calls for taking all the girls and young women out of the Ventura facility in Southern California, CYA’s only female facility, and placing them in county programs.
The bill then calls for redesigning and/or rebuilding the rest of CYA’s youth prisons within three years. They would be replaced by a system that prioritizes rehabilitation and return to family and community, a system similar to the model system that Missouri has developed. Instead of huge warehouse prisons, the bill would set up small-scale, effective rehabilitation programs close to youths’ homes.
We’re energized, excited and mobilized to keep up the campaign. Together with our allies, Books Not Bars will push ahead until California finally has a juvenile justice system that makes sense and makes us proud.