Overview
- State regulators have ordered Los Angeles County to close or significantly improve Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall and Barry J. Nidorf Secure Youth Treatment Facility within 60 days.
- Officials are scrambling to address staffing shortages, safety concerns, and lack of programming at the facilities, which house over 300 youths.
- The decision follows repeated failures to meet state standards, despite previous closures and attempts at reform.
- Los Angeles County plans to use the 60-day window to comply with state requirements, amid criticism of its handling of juvenile detention.
- Stakeholders call for a multi-sector approach to avoid closure and improve conditions for detained youth.