LOS ANGELES – A judge Friday rejected — for now — a request by state Attorney General Rob Bonta to establish a receivership for Los Angeles County’s troubled juvenile detention facilities, but left open the possibility of reconsidering the request following a contempt hearing later this month that could lead to financial penalties against the county.
Bonta filed the receivership request in July, pointing to ongoing issues with the county’s management of the Los Padrinos and Barry J. Nidorf juvenile halls, citing youth-on-youth violence and drug overdoses at Los Padrinos. Bonta called the issues “system failures … that put lives at risk.” Both Los Padrinos and Nidorf have been deemed by state regulators to be unsuitable to house youth detainees.
Bonta accused the county of failing to comply with a series of court judgments and orders regarding management of the facilities dating back to 2021. He said the county remained out of compliance with 75% of the court judgment provisions.
A receivership would have placed control of the juvenile halls — which are run by the county Probation Department — into the hands of an appointed officer of the court.
But following a hearing downtown, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Peter Hernandez finalized an earlier tentative ruling in which he said the state had not yet exhausted all other potential remedies for bringing the county into compliance with earlier court rulings related to management of the juvenile halls. Hernandez also questioned whether appointing a receiver “would provide a different result than already exists.”
“For example, the receiver’s ability to move and remove staff to comply with the staffing directives will be limited by the existing legal framework that (the county Probation Department) is working under,” Hernandez wrote in the decision.
Hernandez, however, noted that despite the receivership motion being denied, “this matter does not end today.” He scheduled a contempt hearing for Oct. 27 to get more input from county probation officials on efforts to bring the system into compliance with earlier court rulings. A contempt of court ruling could lead to significant financial penalties against the county.
“The court is cognizant that plaintiff did provide some evidence indicating a systemic failure by defendant to comply with the most basic of tasks set forth in the judgment,” Hernandez wrote. “To the extent the court was not proactive in its approach, the instant motion has alerted this court to exercise its ability to alter defendant’s noncompliance with the judgment. Going forward, the court expects all parties to have an `all-hands’ mentality.”
Hernandez suggested that following additional hearings, the receivership proposal could be reconsidered.
The county Probation Department issued a statement following the court ruling and vowing to work with the judge, the state and other to establish “realistic” standards with the “shared goal of creating safe, rehabilitative environments for all youth in Los Angeles County’s care.”
“We agree with the court that this process should move expeditiously and that greater clarity is needed to define what full compliance means and how success should be measured,” according to the Probation Department. “The department remains fully committed to making the necessary changes to bring our juvenile institutions to where they need to be. However, to achieve that goal, we must have both the authority and support to remove barriers that hinder progress rather than perpetuate no-win situations.”
Los Padrinos has come under fire repeatedly since it was opened in 2023 to house youth transferred from two other facilities deemed unsuitable for youth detention. The Downey facility itself has been deemed unsuitable on multiple occasions by state regulators, and it continues to operate under an unsuitability declaration.
A Los Angeles juvenile court judge in May approved a Probation Department plan to draw down the number of youth housed at the facility, which has been plagued with issues stemming mostly from short-staffing, along with concerns about detainees not being transported to classes or medical appointments.
In March, 30 county probation officers were hit with criminal charges stemming from allegations that so-called “gladiator fights” were being staged among the youth detainees while officers looked on.
In early July, an outside contractor was caught allegedly bringing Xanax pills into the Los Padrinos.
Alejandro Lopez, 21, of Downey, an employee of the nonprofit organization Student Nest, was charged with one felony count each of bringing or sending a controlled substance into a juvenile hall or camp and possession for sale of a designated controlled substance, officials announced earlier this month.
It is also alleged that Lopez induced others, including Los Padrinos ward, to participate in the scheme.
Two days after Lopez was arrested, at least nine people, including one youth detainee, were taken to a hospital following exposure to an unknown substance at Los Padrinos.
Another contract worker was detained earlier this year after trying to a bring a concealed blade into the facility. The employee, who was hired through Apple One to work with the county Department of Youth Development, was escorted from the premises and ordered not to return while the matter was investigated. A search of his belongings also revealed a canister of pepper spray.
Both the spray and the knife were seized as evidence.
