LA County’s largest juvenile hall ordered to close due to ‘unsuitable’ conditions

DOWNEY, Calif. - A state regulator declared Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey must close in 60 days because of unsafe conditions caused by staffing shortages.

Los Padrinos is Los Angeles County’s largest juvenile hall and houses about 300 young people. The county’s probation department said in a statement that it’s working to resolve issues found in the state regulator’s action plan.

"We are disappointed with the BSCC’s decision today to find the County’s Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall unsuitable. The County remains fully committed to resolving all the deficiencies identified in its Corrective Action Plan. The Probation Department has, in fact, increased staffing levels at the facility by actively recruiting new personnel, conducting training academies, reallocating officers from field assignments, and utilizing overtime," the LA County Probation Department said in a statement.

The statement continued to say, "There will be no immediate impact to families, and we will continue to provide services.  We are committed to transforming our juvenile institution into a safe and nurturing environment for the youth entrusted in our care while we endeavor to demonstrate unequivocally to the BSCC that we are meeting all statutory requirements."

Los Padrinos houses pre-disposition youth detainees awaiting resolution of their court cases,

Understaffing has allegedly been an ongoing issue at the facility. In February, the juvenile hall was also ordered to close, along with the Barry J. Nidorf Secure Treatment Facility in Sylmar. 

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 2 LA County juvenile detention centers deemed 'unsuitable' to house youth, officials say

At the time, Los Padrinos was found to have significantly more issues, with noncompliance found in staffing levels, fire safety plans, safety checks, room confinement procedures, use of force training, searches, education programs, youth access to programs and recreation and disciplinary procedures.

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However, the process previously stopped when the county managed to boost staffing levels ahead of an April deadline. 

City News Service contributed to this report.