The California Youth Authority now called Division of Juvenile Justice, has earned a reputation as a dangerous place for children.

CYA was not set up to house first time juvenile offenders arrested for relatively minor offenses. Many violent gang members, sexual offenders, and other violent and repeat offenders are housed there.

CYA was first opened in 1943 as a reform school. Today it functions similar to adult state prisons. In 1996, more than 10,000 individuals were housed at CYA. At the time, about 8,500 of the individuals were juveniles and 1,500 were young adults.

Over the past eight years, prosecutors have punished more juveniles in adult court. In 2002, the California District Attorneys Association campaigned to get the "Juvenile Crime Initiative" otherwise known as Proposition 21 passed by the voters. Proposition 21 allows the prosecution to longer have to ask the juvenile court judge permission to pursue a criminal case against a child in adult court. Under Proposition 21, children 14 years of age or older charged with committing certain types of serious felonies could be directly prosecuted in adult court. This has contributed to a decline in population at the California Youth Authority which in 2004 only has population of 4,300 compared to over 10,000 inmates 8 years prior.

Accordingly, fewer juveniles are committed to the California Youth Authority and more children are committed to serve time in adult state prisons for much lengthier sentences including life. It costs California $80,000 annually for each child housed at CYA. The CYA houses individuals between the ages of 12-25 and operates eleven locations and four youth forestry camps.

Copyright 2001, George Kita

Every year children and CYA staff reportedly become victims of violent attacks by others while at the California Youth Authority.

In 1996, one inmate murdered a prison guard at the California Youth Authority. The inmate had repeatedly beaten, stabbed and strangled the guard then placed her body in a trash bin then carried it past prison guards before dumping her body in a trash dumpster. The dead body was found in a Pomona Landfill two days later.

In December 2003, one juvenile suffered multiple puncture wounds to his lower leg when a California Youth Authority guard allowed his dog to attack a juvenile inmate who was following orders and lying on the floor. In an effort to clean up its bad image, the California Youth Authority decided to ask Prosecutors to file criminal assault charges against that officer.

Since 1996, 16 children committed suicide. In January 2004, two 18 year olds committed suicide. They could not tolerate the horrible day to day problems at the California Youth Authority. They were found hanging in their cells.

At one CYA facility in Chino, prison guards used mace four times a day on children. Attacks by other inmates occurred 10 times in a day, during a four month period in 2003.

A recent death remains unexplained. The death occured on Sunday September 5, 2004 at N.A. Chaderjain Youth Correctional Facility in Stockton. The cause of death has yet to be determined. This is the same facility where CYA counselors were caught on a videotape punching and kicking two wards in January 2004.

Violence goes all the way up the chain of command.

The Superintendent of Stockton's N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility had his position terminated in August 2005 for reportedly grabbing a handcuffed wards hair and jaw after he was being escorted to another unit after a fight involving 44 youths in May 27, 2005, according to the Inspector General Matthew Cate. The Inspector General concluded that ward was already under safe control when the incident occurred and therefore the incident violated the use of force policy. In addition, the Inspector General concluded that the failure to report the incident by employees who witnessed the incident should be disciplined.

On August 31, 2005, Joseph Daniel Maldonado, 18 of Sacramento hanged himself. His death marks the third death in eighteen months following a poisoning case and a unsolved case at Stockton's Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility.

The San Luis Obispo Grand Jury that examined Paso Robles Youth Correctional Facility in 2000 made a finding that CYA used "excessive chemical restraints."

Children are often treated like animals in a zoo. A state study recently found that children were often "locked in cages as punishment." They would receive their schooling while they were sitting all day in little individualized cages. The state study also found that those with mental problems are "frequently drugged and improperly cared for."

The California Youth Authority has been a failure when it comes to providing treatment and help. At the El Paso de Robles Youth Correctional Facility, the entire medical department staff informed the facility's Superintendent on May 31, 2001 that mental health care services cannot be provided to everyone due to a "virtually intolerable" workload. There was only one full time psychologist and one part time contract psychiatrist to serve 750 wards, 91 of which had histories of suicide attempts and more than 200 wards were on the waiting list.

Concerning the CYA sex offender program, in December of 1999, there were 1,052 sex offenders but only 259 beds. In March 2001 there were 1,102 identified sex offenders in CYA institutions but only 312 in treatment beds. In April of 2002, there were 783 children in need of sex offender treatment but there were only 169 specailized treatment beds.

Children also do not get the minimum required education at the California Youth Authority. The California Education Code section 46141 requires 240 minutes of education per student per day. The California Youth Authority fails to meet this legal requirement. Classes are routinely cancelled at the various CYA institutions. Childen at the Ventura Youth Correctional Factility received only 54% of their required educational curriculum. Approximtely 644 classes were cancelled each month according to the Office of Inspector General Mangagement Review Audit in June 2002. At another CYA facility, children were discouraged to attend school and were required to perform janitorial duties of their units during school hours.

Approximately one third of the CYA high school population receive special education. However, these students do not receive the required individual Educational Plan (IEP) services.

As a result of the CYA abuses and inadequate treatment and living conditions, a lawsuit was filed in January 2003 by the nonprofit Prison Law Office, Disability Rights Advocates with the help of volunteer attorneys against the the California Youth Authority in the case of Farrell vs. Harper. As a result, a consent decree was agreed by the parties in November 2004 and filed with the Superior Court of Alameda County. Donna Brorby was appointed as Special Master. Logan Hopper was hired as an expert in the field of programmatic acccess for children with disabilities. A very important concession that came out was that the CYA is required to develop a formal criteria for accepting children and to comply with Welfare and Institutions Code section 736. More importantly, the consent decree agreement states that the California Youth Authority "shall not accept more wards than can be materially benefitted by the CYA's reformatory and educational discipline, nor shall the CYA acceept wards for whom the CYA does not have adequate facilities."

Despite the November 2004 settlement and consent decree, the CYA continues to fail.

The High School at N.A.Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility in Stockton was stripped of its accreditation in May 2005 by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. All future Diplomas from this Stockton CYA facility will not carry the WASC accreditation. School administrators quit after brief stints on the job. The school has had four principals since 2002. Teachers still don't show up to work. As a result, the school continues to have declining student test scores.

The Whittier Daily News newspaper has reported that State Senator Gloria Romero stated on July 6, 2007 that she has requested the CYA to investigate claims that bodies of 28 deceased wards are buried at the former Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility. The Senator stated she received an anonymous letter from a person who claimed that he or she worked at the CYA. Nelles remained open for 113 years until budget cuts shut it down in 2004. The burials reportedly took place up to the 1930's.

If your child is facing a commitment to the California Youth Authority, contact the Law Offices of George Kita for a free consultation.

If your child is already committed to the California Youth Authority and is not receiving the services he is required under California law, contact Attorney George Kita to discuss the possibility of bringing your child back to Juvenile Court for possible sentencing modification.

More often than not, many juvenile courts refer children to the California Youth Authority because they struggled in rehabilitation at the local level, such as juvenile hall and camp. As a result, the California Youth Authority has become a dumping ground for many children who have relatively minor offenses but who have failed in rehabilitation at the local level.

California Youth Authority has earned a poor reputation. Don't be fooled by the positive spin placed on the "Dvision of Juvenile Justice." DJJ will always be known as the California Youth Authority despite the recent name change this year. Don't be fooled by the positive spin put on the California Youth Authority by the prosecutor.  Simply put, the California Youth Authority is not designed for rehabilitation. The day to day misery is nothing but punishment. It is a state prison for children. Your child would be better off with some other alternative such as camp, suitable placement, a residential drug treatment program or other appropriate program. Contact George Kita, former juvenile Deputy District Attorney for a free consultation at (626) 975-2080 or at (866) 548-2529 or email at juvylawyer@aol.com.  There are other options.