California has long been recognized among the nation for its investment in and the priority it has assigned to providing its citizens with affordable access to higher education. However, as a result of the race to incarcerate over the past three decades, California has considerably expanded the budget allocation for corrections while simultaneously cutting the funds spent on higher education. In comparison to other states, California has the largest population, the most students in college, and…
Blog Feb 9, 2012
Ventura YCF: A stain on California
Is this really what our taxpayer dollars are paying for? Lino Silva is one of the 344 juveniles currently incarcerated at the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility, a 98-year-old youth facility that is crumbling beyond repair. Facing inhumane and dangerous conditions, and under the threat of reprisals from guards, Lino launched a petition drive through Change.org to improve basic living standards at the Ventura facility. Titled “A Stain on California,” Lino’s petition states…
CJCJ’s article, “Maximizing Mental Health Services for Justice-Involved Youth Using Diverse Funding,” authored by Emily Luhrs and Selena Teji, was recently published in the Jan/Feb edition of the Offender Programs Report . The Offender Programs Report is a national journal for practitioners that is “devoted exclusively to innovative programs, management strategies and legal developments in offender rehabilitation.” The article highlights two of CJCJ’s model juvenile justice…
A new report out from the Vera institute conducts a state-by-state analysis of ballooning corrections budgets, far greater than previously reported. Overall, states’ corrections budgets have quadrupled over the last 20 years while funding for education and preventative services has either stagnated or been cut dramatically. When additional corrections costs are considered such as retirement health care for employees, pensions, prisoner health care, and current employee benefits, taxpayers are…
Blog Jan 31, 2012
DJF culture shift absent as lawsuit continues
As of January 2012, three of California’s Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF) remain, O.H. Close Youth Correctional Facility (OHCYCF), N.A. Chaderjian (NACYCF) in Stockton, CA and Ventura Youth Correctional Facility (VYCF) in Ventura, California. The Southern Reception Center closed down at the end of the 2011, transferring the remaining youth and 77 staff to VYCF, now the only DJF facility in southern California. Already plagued with abuses and strained past capacity, VYCF continues to…