El Paso De Robles
October 27, 2009
Environmental review launched for proposed boys school conversion
Officials from the state and the three neighboring counties who are working to convert the former El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility into a low-level, adult inmate prison, Cal Fire camp and new re-entry facility convened at the Paso Robles Library/Hall Conference Center last week to launch public scoping meetings for an Environmental Impact Report being developed for the proposed Paso Robles property.
Environmental work for the project, which sits on 160 acres at 4545 Airport Road, will include identifying possible traffic impacts to Airport Road and address other environmental issues including water, the effects of a lethal fence around its perimeter on bird deaths and the overall impact of the project on recreation citywide.
Only about five members of the public including former El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility superintendent Dave Bacigalupo and other former boys school employees were in attendance for the meeting…
LINK - PasoRoblesPress.com
August 13, 2008
Re-entry prison plan at former Paso Robles boys school gets bigger
Discussion of whether to put a re-entry prison on state-owned land in Paso Robles is heating up again as corrections officials consider a new round of grant funding, and such a facility could be twice as large as previously proposed.
Sheriff's Department officials in Santa Barbara County now want to be part of a 500-bed re-entry prison that would be located in Paso Robles.
A previous proposal for the Paso Robles site called for a 250-bed facility to house inmates from San Luis Obispo and San Benito counties (50 of them would be from San Benito)…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
August 6, 2008
Paso Robles boys school in ‘warm’ closure
El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility officially shut its doors on July 31 for what state officials referred to as a "warm closure" with most of its existing employees landing jobs in San Luis Obispo, Soledad and Salinas.
Spokeswoman Josi Slonski said the majority of the Paso Robles boys school staff was placed within the adult division of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at California Men's Colony, CDCR's Correctional Training Facility in Soledad and Salinas Valley State Prison.
Effective Aug. 1, an estimated five employees were to stay at the facility including maintenance personnel to keep the institution running, Slonski said. Effective last Friday, the institution was officially to be referred to as the Estrella Correctional Facility and shed its former name…
LINK - AtascaderoNews.com
June 24, 2008
Officials, employees bid fond farewell to boys school
After more than six decades of exemplary service to youthful offenders and the community at large, it was bittersweet last Friday for many of the staff past and present, family, and officials who convened at the El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility for a final farewell closing ceremony.
An estimated 1,000 people braved the intense heat, exchanging hugs and handshakes to recognize the facility's upcoming closure and commend those who contributed to its long history…
LINK - PasoRoblesPress.com
June 17, 2008
Boys School to host closing ceremony
High-ranking state officials from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will visit El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility this Friday, June 20 for a closing ceremony. The ceremony comes in light of an upcoming July 31 closure, whereby the facility will undergo a facelift to be repurposed to house 1,000 inmates in a low-level adult prison for people 50 years or older and Cal Fire camp on its 150-acre site…
…Immediately following the announcement of the proposed closure last January, the facility housed an estimated 350 employees. As of press time, around 100 of those employees had left the facility and may have relocated elsewhere, according to Josi Slonski, spokeswoman…
LINK - PasoRoblesPress.com
May 9, 2008
County just misses cut for women’s jail funding; status of re-rentry facility in Paso unknown
San Luis Obispo County lost out on a $25.1 million grant that county officials had hoped to use for a new women's jail.
The state Correctional Standards Authority on Thursday preliminarily doled out $650 million in grants to eight counties of similar or larger size. San Luis Obispo County was ninth on the list.
The announcement is a blow to the women's jail project, which has been a focus of Sheriff Pat Hedges because the current jail is too small. County officials said the $30 million to $40 million project likely will be put on hold…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
May 2, 2008
Paso’s ‘prisons’ could expand above estimate
I think I can now fairly say that both North County cities, Atascadero and Paso Robles, are about equal to each other in many respects.
For example, Paso is now fretting about the proposed prison complex that looms in its future. And Atascadero is debating the proposed Wal- Mart that hangs over its future. Paso Robles already has a Wal-Mart, while Atascadero already has a hospital for the criminal mentally ill. And state prison officials are striving to calm Paso Robles' prison worries, while Wal- Mart representatives are trying to calm Atascadero's big-box jitters.
There is a difference, though. The state can pretty much put a prison wherever it wants, no matter what a little city like Paso Robles says…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
April 30, 2008
Paso Robles: Re-entry prison idea up in the air
It is nearly certain that a 900-inmate state prison and 100-inmate fire camp will be hosted at the closing El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility site, attendees of two public meetings this week learned. But the fate of a proposed regional re-entry prison — with 250 inmates who would be paroled to San Luis Obispo County and San Benito County — is up in the air.
Re-entry prisons are places where inmates within one year of their release date receive training, education and counseling to help them prepare for their release into everyday life.
Several things must happen for the re-entry plan — part of a statewide effort to cut down on inmates returning to jail after they are released — to move forward…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
April 29, 2008
Some answers given to residents about future of Paso boys school
Paso Roblans concerned about the state's plans for the next life of the El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility got the change to question state officials for the first time Monday night.
The meeting, attended by about 75 people, was the first of two. A second session is today at 11 a.m. at Paso Robles City Hall.
There are three options for the site's future, which all could move forward: a 900-inmate medium security state prison; 250 inmate state re-entry facility for prisoners nearing their parole dates; and a 100-inmate fire camp…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
March 22, 2008
ASH watching Paso for ripple effects
Administrators and union leaders at Atascadero State Hospital are monitoring plans for a new correctional facility in Paso Robles, but say it's too early to tell whether the proposals could trigger a renewed exodus of mental health workers from ASH.
The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has outlined a plan that would transform El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility on Airport Road into a prison as soon as next year. The boys school is expected to close July 31 because of state budget cuts.
State officials say building a larger prison will help alleviate overcrowding in other facilities. The plans for a 1,000- inmate prison, a fire camp with low-level adult inmates and a state re-entry facility for prisoners within one year of parole are all under review by state and local officials…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
March 19, 2008
Prison in Paso called top priority for state; said extremely likely to become a reality
A 1,000-bed state prison for medium-risk of fenders proposed in Paso Robles is a high priority for the state and extremely likely to become a reality, officials said Tuesday night.
A design team visited the boys school site last week to draw up plans for using the buildings for the new prison, which would require additional fencing and guard towers.
The news came as the City Council peppered two high-level corrections staffers with hard questions about the future of the El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility, which will close by the end of July, at its Tuesday night meeting.
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com (San Luis Obispo County News)
March 10, 2008
Paso facility exodus begins
The youth correctional facility in Paso Robles will remain open through July, but some of the 350 employees who will be displaced are already leaving their positions.
"Employees are jumping ship and going to other facilities," said Christopher Dunn, a bargaining unit representative for the teachers, nurses, dental assistants and office workers at the facility. The state has promised to help the employees find other jobs in the wake of the impending closure. Dunn said he knows of at least six workers who already have found other jobs on their own, without transfer placement assistance.
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
February 6, 2008
Re-entry Facility is Mystery for Paso
Paso Robles officials are struggling to find answers to their questions about a re-entry facility for state prison parolees that could be housed at what's now El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility. The city is suddenly in the middle of a statewide effort to revamp the way prisoners are paroled into their communities, officials said Tuesday night at a City Council meeting, and it needs more information before deciding whether Paso Robles would welcome such a facility…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
January 20, 2008
Could a state prison replace boys school?
A proposal by Sheriff Pat Hedges to use the soon-to-close El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility as a state prison re- entry facility has angered Paso Robles city officials. The city learned of the plan earlier this week, said City Manager Jim App, when Hedges told Paso Robles police Chief Lisa Solomon about it at a meeting. The idea could help the county receive state funds for a separate project to build a women's jail…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
January 9, 2008
Special Report: State Closing 2 Youth Prisons
Last week we posted 2 articles about the DJJ closings at El Paso de Robles and Dewitt. Below are some articles gathered over the weekend where CCPOA officers and representatives were quoted, expressing the feelings of the union on these closures:
- Dewitt Youth Prison to Close (Quote: Lance Corcoran)
Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said the state officials did not consider its employees - some with years of service - who may now end up driving up to 50 miles for work. Corcoran said he also feared the wards would be crowded together in an attempt to save money: "As usual, this is about short-term dollars, not long-term solutions." FULL ARTICLE - Recordnet.com - Two Youth Prisons to Close (Quote: Ryan Sherman)
Ryan Sherman, a spokesman for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which represents the youth correctional counselors who staff the juvenile facilities, said that shutting the two prisons doesn't fit with Juvenile Justice's stated goal to break down its remaining population into smaller living units that ultimately would require more overall space. Sherman also said transfers are going to force some youth counselors to take jobs in state prisons working with adults… FULL ARTICLE - SacBee.com - Paso Youth Facility to Close (Quote: Louie Adame)
Louie Adame, a state vice president for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, said the union expects to discuss employment options for his 157 members at the facility. Adame said he expects the state will be able to relocate the workers who want to move within the system. But local options are limited. "There will be plenty of jobs," he said. "It's a matter of how much it disrupts their lives" to move… FULL ARTICLE - SanLuisObispo.com - Youth Correctional Facility Closing in Paso Robles (Quote: Robert Dean)
"We're here for our people and we will see them through the negotiation process that has to take place before any of this is final," said Robert Dean of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assocation… FULL ARTICLE - KSBY.com
January 9, 2008
Assemblyman Suggests El Paso Staff go to Atascadero State Hospital
BREAKING NEWS: Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee would like to see some of the 350 jobs that will be lost when the El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility closes this summer absorbed into vacancies at Atascadero State Hospital. It was announced last week that the youth facility would close no later than July 31…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
January 7, 2008
State to Close 2 Juvenile Prisons
State prison officials announced today that they are shutting down two of the state's eight remaining juvenile prisons, one of them in Stockton and another in Paso Robles…
LINK - SacBee.com
January 5, 2008
El Paso de Robles Correctional Facility to Close in July
The El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility is set to close in July, its 350 or so employees were told Thursday, because of state budget cuts and declining ward populations. The former California Youth Authority facility is scheduled for closing as part of cuts contained in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's draft 2008- 09 budget…
LINK - SanLuisObispo.com
December 1, 2000
23-and-1 Program Review: CYA Facilities
At the request of Inspector General Steve White, the Office of the Inspector General conducted a review of the California Youth Authority's program for confining wards in their cells for 23 hours a day because of behavioral and psychological problems. Under the so-called 23-and-1 program, wards are confined to their cells for the entire day except for one hour for large muscle exercise under close supervision. Inspector General White ordered the review after persistent complaints from wards that they are placed under such detention for prolonged periods for unexplained and sometime poorly documented reasons. The purpose of the review is to provide the California Youth Authority management with the information needed to better manage the 23-and-1 program. The review by the Office of the Inspector General encompassed six California Youth Authority facilities: El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility, Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility, Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility, Preston Youth Correctional Facility, Southern Youth Correctional Reception Center-Clinic, and N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility, which at the time of the review housed a total of 4,483 wards.
