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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

El Dorado County Grand Jury • 2001-2002

Criminal Justice Committee El Dorado County Juvenile Hall Reason for the Report The California Penal Code requires

Published: September 19, 2001 5 pages

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⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.

⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

Findings 25 findings

This Grand Jury agrees with 98/99 Grand Jury’s Report following Findings and

This Grand Jury agrees with the 99/00 Grand Jury’s Report following Findings and

This Grand Jury agrees with 00/01 Grand Jury’s Report following Findings and

To the staff’s credit, they are trying to function in a very inadequate facility.

Adequate space is not available for programs. For example, counselors are required to meet with wards in a corner of the general-purpose gym.

The Juvenile Hall was designed for 20 wards; the count is typically over 40. Accordingly, all space (living, recreation, program, visiting, administration, food service) is undersized.

The number of wards with mental problems continues to increase.

The number of wards with drug abuse problems is also increasing.

Juveniles who probably should be detained are not being detained because of lack of space. This problem exists in both the South Lake Tahoe and Placerville areas.

F10

There are no rooms to place wards in need of removal from the general population of the Juvenile Hall.

F11

There are some cleanliness issues. For example, the windows need washing, and the kitchen should be cleaner.

F12

Outside and inside recreation space is inadequate.

F13

Several thousand square feet of the facility are being utilized for community programs. This space is found on the lower level of the facility.

F14

The Ward Education Program is outstanding. The teachers have devised methods to individualize programs for wards and methods to interest them and reinforce learning.

F15

The Chief Probation Officer must request waivers from the State Board of Corrections’ Title 15 CCR requirements almost monthly because of the space and staffing problems.

F16

The current problems regarding the serious inadequacy of the facility have a long history of disclosure without having been corrected.

F17

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission are aware of the problems at the Hall and are supportive in developing short-term solutions.

F18

The Probation Department has developed a plan, which the Board of Supervisors (BOS) has adopted, to correct the major juvenile bed deficiencies within the County. The elements of the plan are to: · Build a 40-bed Hall in South Lake Tahoe, the opening of which is anticipated in 2003; · Build a new 40-bed Hall, financing for which has been requested from the State Board of Corrections, next to the main jail in Placerville; and · Renovate the existing Hall to house only 20 wards, in accordance with the original design capacity.

F19

As the county population and its problems grow, the need to provide more juvenile beds and appropriate programs will certainly increase.

F20

Fire doors were propped open on the day of inspection. This was a violation of both Juvenile Hall procedure, and fire and life safety requirements.

F21

The Hall is constructed of non-flammable materials. Any fire, however, would create smoke conditions, which could cause serious harm to anyone in the facility. This potential problem is exacerbated because, within the facility, there are: · No smoke alarms; · No central fire alarm; · No air packs (portable, self-contained breathing apparatus); · No sprinklers; · No training for smoke conditions; and · No centrally controlled unlocking system (each room must be unlocked manually).

F22

The Probation Department staff checks the rooms every 15 minutes, conduct regular security/fire inspections, conduct monthly fire drills, and keep combustible load, such as paper products in wards’ rooms, to a minimum.

F23

In their last inspection reports, the Fire Marshal, the County Delinquency Commission, and the Board of Corrections did not report that the fire and life safety issues, found by this Grand Jury, were a problem. This Grand Jury chooses not to ignore those issues.

F24

Since 1997, there has been a Superior Court Order limiting the number of wards in Juvenile Hall to 40. Any deviation triggers reports to the Court. The Hall count of 40 is frequently exceeded each month.

F25

Renovating Juvenile Hall might mean that the State Board of Corrections would impose 2002 facility standards. The much greater risk, however, is doing nothing about these problems.

Recommendations 9

R1

A sprinkler system should be installed throughout Juvenile Hall.
R2

Air packs should be made available in Juvenile Hall.
R3

Smoke alarms should be appropriately installed in the control room.
R4

A central alarm system should be installed in the Control area of the Hall.
R5

Staff training in the use of air packs during smoke conditions should be conducted.
R6

A centrally controlled unlocking system should be installed in Juvenile Hall.
R7

The BOS should contract with a space management expert to review the current facility and make recommendations about better utilization of the space in the upper and lower levels.
R8

The BOS should continue to pursue the plan described in F18. If the State Board of Corrections decides not to provide funding for the plan this year, alternate sources of funds should be pursued and a request for funding should be made next year (2003).
R9

The Cohen and Associates Report of 2000 needs to be updated. It should set forth current county demographics and future trends. It should include not just numbers of juvenile anticipated to become wards in detention but also other relevant information such as gender, age, type of problems and type of programs that will be needed.

Commendations 1

CM1 Page 5

The El Dorado County Probation Department is well led by experienced, professional supervisors and managers. They know the problems and want them corrected. The line-staff are functioning with an inadequate facility not designed or constructed for the numbers of wards or programs. The educational program for wards is excellent. The Probation Department has developed a plan which should correct the problems by 2006. Responses Required for Findings F5 through F25 El Dorado County Board of Supervisors El Dorado County Probation Department Responses Required for Recommendations R1 through R9 El Dorado County Board of Supervisors El Dorado County Probation Department

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

County of El Dorado Agency

El Dorado County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office