A total of 150 juveniles are currently held at youth detention centers across San Diego County. Juveniles can suffer from long-term physical and mental health issues when they endure long periods of isolation and detention.
The state corrections board found San Diego’s probation department in violation of state regulations meant to protect juveniles. Meanwhile, a Chula Vista outreach group is making a street medicine team to serve the health needs of unhoused South Bay residents. Plus, La Jolla Playhouse returns to a live, in-person Without Walls Festival starting Thursday.
The violations were documented in a January report from the Board of State and Community Corrections. County officials have agreed to improve their practices and said corrective changes have begun.
San Diego
At a glance, San Diego County’s new $130 million Youth Transition Campus looks like a school campus, with clusters of one-story buildings, angled roofs and an open layout waiting for grass and trees.
A closer look reveals familiar features for juvenile detention centers, such as the institutional-grade locking doors on sleeping quarters and a 27-foot-high sound wall and fence around the property.
But there are no iron bars. No razor wire, like at San Diego County’s current juvenile hall in Kearny Mesa.
That’s because this campus was designed to reconcile the original requirement to detain young people in custody with the need to rehabilitate them before they return to society.
County supervisors hear ideas on probation system reform thecoastnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thecoastnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.