CALIFORNIA YOUTH JUSTICE DEBATE

Stockton's Chaderjian facility targeted in bill to reform youth corrections system

A troubled youth prison near Stockton that houses California's most violent juvenile criminals could close its doors in a year under legislation proposed by a leading critic of the California Youth Authority. Closure of N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility tops the list of sweeping changes state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, proposed Monday. If Romero gets her way, the California Youth Authority would resemble the juvenile corrections system of Missouri, which focuses on getting teens out of the criminal system through rehabilitation.
“Chad is the poster child I believe for all that is wrong with the CYA,” said Romero, chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on the California Correctional System. “We have seen the worst tragedies out there.”
The 270-plus employees at Chaderjian would be offered retraining or positions with the California Department of Corrections, so the closure would not eliminate jobs. The changes are part of a three-year plan, according to Romero's legislation. Romero has been among the most vocal critics of the Youth Authority, which has about 3,500 wards throughout the state. Her legislation is the result of hearings, reports, visits and consultations with juvenile-justice specialists, she said.

The Youth Authority came under fire last year, when a series of reports found widespread system failures. Last January, two staffers were videotaped while fighting with two wards at Chaderjian. In total, six staffers were fired in connection with the fight. Romero's proposed reform act would require smaller living units and lower staff-to-ward ratios, designed to give wards better interactions with staff members in a therapeutic environment. The Youth Authority would completely end its use of cages and nearly daylong lockups if Romero's legislation is adopted. In addition to closing Chaderjian, Romero proposed sending all female wards to county-run facilities, emptying the state's only facility for girls, in Ventura. Only the girl's facility and Chaderjian would be closed under Romero's proposal.
“The CYA is a broken system, and we cannot tinker with this any longer,” Romero said. “We should find another way.” The Youth Authority is well on its way to adopting many of Romero's proposed changes, said Nancy Lungren, a Youth Authority spokeswoman. A lawsuit that the Youth Authority and juvenile advocates settled late last year will address many points Romero's legislation raises, Lungren said. “We're trying to weave a lot of those changes in,” Lungren said. The details of the settlement are expected by the end of this month. Closing Chaderjian and the Ventura facility, however, are not on the Youth Authority's radar screen, Lungren said. Youth Authority administrators always welcome proposals Romero proposes, Lungren said. Closing a prison and implementing any of the other changes Romero proposes require legislative action, said Russ Lopez, Romero's director of communications.

The changes Romero is proposing are long overdue, said Dan Macallair, director of the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco. Chaderjian breeds the gang culture that has brought so many problems to the Stockton juvenile prison, he said. Macallair favors the Missouri model for California, which is rehabilitative, not punitive. “The Missouri model works partly because of the way kids are treated,” Macallair said. “They're not treated like animals or lifelong criminals to be simply written off.”

Scott Smith
26 January 2005

http://www.recordnet.com/daily/news/articles/012605-gn-2.php

home / Previous feature