Governor’s Proposal to Complete Juvenile Justice Realignment

The Governor's Proposal:

Fully Realign Juvenile Justice to Counties. The DJJ would stop receiving new wards on January 1, 2013, though DJJ would continue to house wards admitted to its facilities prior to this date until they are released. After all wards are released from DJJ, counties would be responsible for managing all offenders adjudicated in juvenile courts.

Provide Funding to Counties. The Governor proposes to provide counties with an unspecified amount of ongoing funding beginning in 2013-14 to help them manage the increase in juvenile caseload resulting from the realignment. The Governor also proposes a one-time $10 million General Fund augmentation in 2011-12 to help counties plan for their increased caseload.

Delay Collection of Enacted Fees. Current law requires counties, as of January 1, 2012, to reimburse the state $125,000 per year for each juvenile offender committed by the courts to DJJ. The Governor has delayed the collection of these fees, and proposes to continue delaying collection for an unspecified period, perhaps indefinitely. The administration estimates that this provision would have benefited the General Fund by $60 million in 2011-12 and $125 million in 2012-13...

2012-2013 LAO Report: Completing Juvenile Justice Realignment

Over the past 16 years, the Legislature has enacted various measures which realigned to counties a significant share of responsibility for managing juvenile offenders. Under current law, only juveniles adjudicated for a serious, violent, or sex offense can be sent to state facilities by the juvenile courts. As a result, 99 percent of juvenile offenders are housed or supervised by counties.

Juvenile Justice Realignment in 2012

By Brian Heller de Leon

Policy and Government Outreach Coordinator, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice

Selena Teji, J.D. Communications Specialist, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice

“The purpose of this publication is to recommend a full juvenile justice realignment plan in the 2012-13 budget cycle. The Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF) budget triggers implemented on January 1, 2012, highlight the unsustainable costs of maintaining a dual juvenile justice system in California.

DJF’s current recidivism rate of 80% and continued scrutiny under the Farrell lawsuit both demonstrate the limited success the state has at rehabilitating youthful offenders (CDCR, 2010, p.10).”

CCPOA Weekly Update: January 6, 2011

Federal Corrections Reports

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Follow-Up: Review of Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility

The follow-up audit was performed because of numerous serious problems identified in an earlier management review audit of the Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility by the Office of the Inspector General. The follow-up audit found that Superintendent Crawford has made significant progress in imporoving the operation of the Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility, but also identified continuing deficiencies in some areas.