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Juvenile Solitary Confinement Has Been Banned In L.A. County
http://laist.com/2016/05/03/juvenile_solitary.phpThe Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to permanently ban the use of juvenile solitary confinement in Los Angeles County. The motion was sponsored by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl and Supervisor Hilda Solis.
L.A. County oversees the nation's largest juvenile justice system; the county's three juvenile halls and thirteen juvenile camps which approximately 1,200 youth. A report from March said the conditions at Central Juvenile Hall were as bad as a "third world country prison."
The use of restrictive isolation housing for juveniles will now only be allowed in "very rare" circumstances when a juvenile must be separated from others as "a temporary response to behavior that poses a serious and immediate risk of physical harm to any person." Even then, "the placement should be brief, designed as a 'cool down' period, and done only in consultation with a mental health professional," according to the motion. County juvenile justice facilities will now "achieve safety through relationship-building, trauma-informed care, positive youth development, small and therapeutic group settings, high-quality education, a relational approach to supervision, and an integrated group treatment model," according to the motion.
Voluminous studies have shown that placing juveniles in solitary confinement not only causes long-lasting psychological damage but also leads to higher recidivism rates. Data from the Campaign for Youth Justice reflects just how grave that damage can be: 19 times more likely to commit suicide in isolation than in general population, and approximately half of all suicides in the juvenile justice system take place when a young person is held in "room confinement."
L.A. County oversees the nation's largest juvenile justice system; the county's three juvenile halls and thirteen juvenile camps which approximately 1,200 youth. A report from March said the conditions at Central Juvenile Hall were as bad as a "third world country prison."
The use of restrictive isolation housing for juveniles will now only be allowed in "very rare" circumstances when a juvenile must be separated from others as "a temporary response to behavior that poses a serious and immediate risk of physical harm to any person." Even then, "the placement should be brief, designed as a 'cool down' period, and done only in consultation with a mental health professional," according to the motion. County juvenile justice facilities will now "achieve safety through relationship-building, trauma-informed care, positive youth development, small and therapeutic group settings, high-quality education, a relational approach to supervision, and an integrated group treatment model," according to the motion.
Voluminous studies have shown that placing juveniles in solitary confinement not only causes long-lasting psychological damage but also leads to higher recidivism rates. Data from the Campaign for Youth Justice reflects just how grave that damage can be: 19 times more likely to commit suicide in isolation than in general population, and approximately half of all suicides in the juvenile justice system take place when a young person is held in "room confinement."
