Probation department 'fully intends' to keep Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall 'open and operational'

DOWNEY, Calif. (KABC) -- After Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey was deemed unsuitable to house youth detainees by the state and was ordered to move all juveniles out of the facility by Thursday, the county said it plans to stay put.

"We are appealing the unsuitability finding of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall by the Board of State and Community Corrections through existing regulations, and have further asked them to rescind their unsuitability finding from recent inspections," read a statement issued Thursday by the Los Angeles County Probation Department. "While we fully agree with safety and security standards, we disagree with their application of regulations and overall findings, particularly around staffing ratios. The department fully intends to keep Los Padrinos open and operational."

As it has done in the past, the BSCC recently deemed the facility unsuitable to house youth detainees, and it gave the county until Thursday to correct deficiencies or move the youth out of the facility.

The county, however, has no alternative locations for housing them.

The probation department noted that the juveniles housed at the facility are "for the most part awaiting adjudication and facing very serious offenses."

"For the sake of public safety, these youth would not be eligible to be housed in a less secure facility, and certainly would not benefit with any further disruption to their education and programming opportunities," read the statement.

Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa, who last week announced plans to retire by the end of the year, said he intends to stay on the job with plans to address the issues.

"We face significant challenges, but I believe we are building a strong foundation, and there is more to be done,'' he said in a statement released Tuesday. "I remain fully committed to working with my staff, partners, county and State leaders to ensure we turn the tide on challenges the department has faced."

The county also issued a statement, supporting Viera Rosa's decision to stay on the job.

"If we're going to put our youth who commit crimes, especially violent crimes, in facilities, those facilities need to be safe," said Nathan Hochman, who was recently sworn in as the county's district attorney, when he spoke with Eyewitness News Wednesday. "They need to be healthy, and they need to provide the rehabilitation that the juvenile justice system promises to offenders in order to hopefully rehabilitate these young people."

The state conducted at least nine inspections at Los Padrinos this year, some of them unannounced, ultimately finding that the facility wasn't meeting proper staffing requirements.

Staffing shortages led to issues for youth offenders, such as being late to class, missing medical appointments, eating in their rooms, being confined to their rooms longer than necessary, and canceled recreation programs.

Inspectors said the lack of supervision also led to the walls being covered in graffiti.

In one reported incident, juveniles were confined to their rooms after being pepper-sprayed without being able to immediately rinse off the chemicals in running water, which is required by the state.

"Something tells me this situation didn't occur the day before I showed up," said Hochman. "It's a situation most likely years in the making, but now that I'm here, I'm going to work incredibly hard to see if we can actually deal with this situation right now."

Without court intervention, the facility will be operating illegally if it remains open past Thursday.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.