Community groups rallied outside the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday demanding the youth at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall be released.
Los Padrinos, the county’s largest juvenile hall, has repeatedly been declared unsafe by state regulators in recent years. After failing another inspection in October, the state ordered the facility to be closed by Thursday, with Attorney General Rob Bonta blasting the “continued deterioration” of conditions.
However, the probation department doesn’t appear ready to meet that deadline, with the county saying there’s nowhere to transfer the more than 200 youth detained there.
At Tuesday’s rally, activists called on the county to follow through on closing the facility and let the children inside go free.
“Our youth inside are suffering. It’s not safe for them currently in Los Padrinos,” an organizer with the Youth Justice Coalition told KNX News’ Karen Adams. “I know the board is like, okay, where should we send them? But I’m like, where they're at now is dangerous, so why not give us an opportunity to support them?”
Floyd Harge, who spent two years in Los Padrinos, said the staffing issues at the facility led to a fight club-type culture.
“A lot of times I had to fight for what I needed,” he said. “Basically like, if I wanted some noodles, they were like, go fight a kid for it.”
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While the rally took place, the Board of Supervisors met in a closed session with the head of the probation department, which is in charge of Los Padrinos. He plans to resign at the end of the year.
If Los Padrinos isn’t closed by Thursday’s deadline, the state and several community groups say they plan to take legal action.
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