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Board Eliminates Use of Pepper Spray

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to eliminate the use of chemical spray in all county juvenile probation facilities by December 2019.

For the past two years, CDF-CA has been working with advocates across the state to implement both statewide and local prohibitions against the traumatic, harmful and inhumane use of chemical spray against our incarcerated young people. The February vote brings LA County in line with 35 other states and four other California counties who already ban chemical spray in their facilities. The harmful nature of chemical spray makes its use barbaric and counterproductive to the rehabilitative goals of the juvenile justice system.

Details on the degrading use of chemical spray in LA County (including the spraying of a youth engaged in self-harming behavior) can be found in a recent investigative report by the Los Angeles County Office of Inspector General. CDF-CA lauds the bold actions of the LA County Board of Supervisors and looks forward to working with the Los Angeles Probation Department and other stakeholders to implement the mandated ban in a way that protects the safety of both youth and staff.

More Featured Updates

CDF Freedom Schools Spotlight: Roberts Family Development Center

If you are dedicated to our mission of caring for every child, we’d love to have you join our team. CDF-CA is hiring for two positions: director of legislative advocacy and coalition coordinator.

Jun 19, 2019|Categories: Featured Update|

New Report: U.S. Can Lift 5.5. Million Children Out of Poverty Right Now

America can immediately lift millions of children out of poverty and reduce child poverty by 57 percent by making modest investments in policies that work, according to a new report released today by the Children’s Defense Fund. Ending Child Poverty Now, the second edition of a groundbreaking report first released in 2015, details the devastating impacts of poverty on children and our nation. It outlines nine policy improvements that, enacted together, would benefit 95 percent of all poor children, lifting 5.5 million of them out of poverty entirely. In California, home to 1.6 million poor children, the child poverty rate was reduced by 65%.

Apr 30, 2019|Categories: Media Release|Tags: , , , , |

Big win for youth justice in LA County

Earlier this week, Los Angeles County’s Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC) adopted a budget that makes a landmark reinvestment of nearly $7 million of funding from probation to community-based youth development supports.

Apr 19, 2019|Categories: Articles, Featured Update|Tags: |

Board Vote Gives Youth Advocates Power

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to give a group of youth experts and advocates the power to determine how tens of millions of dollars that are supposed to be used on young people gets spent

Mar 28, 2019|Categories: Featured Update|

A Healthier Start to Life

In February, CDF-CA and others joined Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) at a press conference to announce the introduction of AB 875 to reestablish “Healthy Start.” Healthy Start

Mar 25, 2019|Categories: Featured Update|Tags: |

Take action to protect children, not guns!

A few weeks ago, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act (H.R.8) passed the House of Representatives to strengthen background checks and keep guns out of the hands of those who would use them to harm our children and communities.

Mar 21, 2019|Categories: Featured Update|

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