LA County set to reopen Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey after CA rules 2 other facilities unfit

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles County has been having crews work for two months to get Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey reopened.

The move comes after the state ruled in May that the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and Central Juvenile Hall in Lincoln Heights were unsuitable to house youth offenders and were ordered to close.

When it reopens, Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall will be able to house more than 300 youth offenders.

Before the ordered closures, the state had ordered L.A. County juvenile halls to be improved, but problems remained. Drugs found their way into facilities, and severe staffing shortages caused problems as well.

The state ordered the closures in response to the continued problems.