As an organization, we are in the middle of a three-year strategic plan to pursue a movement-building strategy that will bring people together to advance child-centered public policy, informed by racial equity and the lived experience of children and youth.
Many county juvenile facilities charge high prices and profit from phone calls to fund their operation. Parents and young people pay the price. Learn how much California parents pay to talk to their children who are locked up.
Learn more about SB 439 and view a profile of younger children's justice involvement in Los Angeles County.
On September 30, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 439 to establish a minimum age of 12 years old for prosecuting youth in juvenile court in California, except in the most serious cases of murder and forcible rape. In response to the passage, the Board of Supervisors (Board) unanimously adopted a motion to set a minimum age for Los Angeles County’s juvenile justice system. The motion directs the Department of Health Services Office of Diversion and Reentry’s Division (ODR’s) of Youth Diversion and Development (YDD) to develop a comprehensive plan to divert younger children from juvenile court jurisdiction and detention.
On behalf of criminal and juvenile justice advocates, community organizers, directly impacted individuals—many of whom have been incarcerated in local jails and juvenile facilities—and families of individuals currently incarcerated, we urge the Board of State and Community Correction to adopt immediately the following measures to protect the health and well-being of our loved ones who are incarcerated or work inside county adult and juvenile detention facilities.
“New Rights for Youth in Juvenile Halls, Camps & Ranches” arms young people, their families and advocates with the knowledge they need to protect the rights, health, education and safety of our young people locked up in local juvenile facilities. The new rights highlighted in this publication become effective Jan. 1, 2019 and are the result of 1½ years of advocacy by CDF-CA with statewide partners and formerly incarcerated individuals and family members. Read more
“Unhidden Figures: Examining the Characteristics of Justice-Involved Students in Los Angeles County ” sheds light on justice-involved students in LA County by sharing information on their array of identities and needs. CDF-CA has centralized a set of descriptive data in a robust manner to help spark conversations with students, educators, parents, community leaders, researchers, advocates, and decision-makers about how we may best serve justice involved youth in an education setting. Download
"Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act in Los Angeles: A Case Study on Advocacy and Collaborative Reform," written by CDF-CA in partnership with Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Urban Peace Institute and Youth Justice Coalition, tracks the history of the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention ACT (JJCPA) in California, and more specifically, chronicles strategies used in LA County to improve community involvement in JJCPA governance and spending. Examining the strategies and impact of JJCPA programs is critical to ensuring that both a county and its Probation Department are in keeping with updated research and wisdom about what works to promote youth well-being and public safety.
The most important voices in guiding and informing the LA Model and any juvenile justice reform in this country are youth who have experienced the system. In this policy brief, five young people--in partnership with CDF-CA's policy researchers--share their own unique experiences inside probation camps and amplify key recommendations from an important UCLA focus group study on how to improve conditions inside Los Angeles County's camps. This brief weighs in on the debate around what works, what does not work, and what should be changed in juvenile justice facilities, while bringing to light the voices, experiences and ideas for change of those who have experienced the system.