KQED: State Juvenile Justice Facilities Are Failing Kids, Report Finds

CJCJ | Unmet Promises

State Juvenile Justice Facilities Are Failing Kids, Report Finds

Originally published by KQED.

KQED’s Marisa Lagos sits down with CJCJ Policy Analyst Maureen Washburn and Communications & Policy Analyst Renee Menart to discuss current conditions at California’s troubled Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities. 

In the article:

For 12 years, California’s juvenile justice facilities were overseen by a court monitor — the result of a lawsuit aimed at ending the culture of violence, including staff abuse and frequent suicides, at the state’s correctional institutions.

But now, three years after that oversight ended — and despite assurances ​“that the state was entering a new era of rehabilitative treatment” — a new report finds the 600 young men and women housed in the four Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities in California are still being exposed to ​“violent” and ​“inhumane” conditions, where fights and riots are a part of daily life and lead to lasting trauma.

…

“Among the youth we spoke to, you have them all describing feeling very isolated when they come home — feeling distant from their families, feeling overwhelmed by the world,” [Menart] said. 

Read & listen to the full coverage on KQED: The California Report »

Related Links:

• Report: Pervasive Violence and Isolation at California’s Division of Juvenile Justice Endanger Youth
• California’s Juvenile Justice System Had 16 Years To Fix Its Abuse Problems. It Didn’t.

• Newsletter: Violence at DJJ, Guide to Reentry, and more!