Concerned that the minds of young people are not yet fully developed, many in the juvenile justice system are advocating for laws that would emphasize reform rather than punishment. California juvenile felony sentencing is one of the areas that youth advocates are focusing on, particularly in terms of the potential for developing career criminals.

Three Strikes

In April 2021, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón announced that he was backing pending legislation that would prevent “strikes” from counting toward sentencing enhancement for juveniles. California’s “three strikes” law is currently designed such that it can lead to prison sentences of life for repeat serious offenders, including youthful offenders.

State law treats these “strikes” for juveniles aged 16 and over the same as for adults. In such cases, a second strike would double the underlying sentence and a third felony can result in a life sentence for a youth. Gascón emphasized that ““The juvenile system is based on rehabilitation, not on punishment.” He also pointed out that juvenile offenders do not have the same constitutional protection as adults, including the right to a jury trial.

Still Need Guidance

In supporting the legislation, clinical psychologist Rahn Minagawa stated that young people, particularly those age 16 and 17, “are not fully developed adults.” They are much more likely to be driven by impulse or by peers in their behavior. To toughen their punishment for things they did as a juvenile is “just inherently unfair,” he notes.

State Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) also pointed out that “treating 18- and 19-year-olds as adults makes no … sense in the criminal context.” Skinner introduced Senate Bill 889 in 2020, proposing that the reach of the state’s juvenile justice system be expanded to treat individuals under the age of 21 as minors. Skinner stated that the bill was proposed in “recognition that people under 21 still need guidance.” She pointed out that other laws, including restrictions on purchasing alcohol and tobacco, require an individual to be 21 at the “adult or responsible age.”

Brian Richart, president of the Chief Probation Officers of California, said that “the science says (those) between 18 and 24 have less than fully developed prefrontal cortexes. Their decision making is inhibited. They act impulsively and we know this, yet we treat them as if they are fully developed.”

California Juvenile Felonies

In 2018, 17,200 minors under the age of 17 were arrested for felonies in California. More than half of those were Black and 36% were Latino. In addition, approximately 14,400 individuals aged 18 and 19 were arrested on felony charges. Although raising the age of those tried in juvenile courts could potentially send thousands of new inmates to fill juvenile facilities, these young people would probably be held much longer if sent to adult facilities.

Senate Bill 823

Under Senate Bill 823, the state legislature closed the Division of Juvenile Justice within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, effective July 1, 2021, and transferred the responsibility for youth who were wards of the court to county governments. The bill offers the opportunity for local probation departments to create a rehabilitation program, along with other interventions, that meets the needs of youth and young adults who would have been housed at regional centers operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Youth will remain closer to their families and communities while participating in a secure rehabilitation program.

The bill also extends the age of local juvenile court jurisdiction to 23 or 25 and repealed provisions that allowed juveniles to be detained in adult facilities. A new statewide oversight body has also been created, the Office of Youth and Community Restoration within the California Health and Human Services Agency. The mission of this oversight body is to “promote trauma responsive, culturally informed services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system.”

The Juvenile Assessment and Intervention System (JAIS) has determined the needs of the youth committed to the Division of Juvenile Justice between 2015 and 2019, including the facts that:

• 86% had behavioral health needs including, depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, and impulse control.
• 63% had needs related to building and maintaining pro-social relationships, meaning that their peer group was negative, delinquent, and/or abusive.
• 59% had chronic parental or family problems.
• 48% had substance use issues that contributed to the youth’s legal difficulties.
• Only 17% of youth at DJJ had significant criminal orientation, described as criminal behavior being an acceptable and a common part of the youth’s life.

Orange County Juvenile Defense Attorney

Please contact the Law Offices of Katie Walsh if your son or daughter is in legal trouble or faces school expulsion. Attorney Walsh has the expertise to advocate for your loved one’s well-being successfully. For a free consultation, call Katie Walsh at (714) 351-0178.

At high schools across America, suspension and expulsion should only be a last resort. Young people who act up in class or break school policies are often dealing with problems at home. They may also be contending with emotional and mental health problems that inhibit their ability to stay focused.

When school districts remove children from the classroom, it can put teens on a path toward more significant problems in the future. No longer receiving support from educators, suspended and expelled youths are at considerable risk of engaging in activities that can land them in handcuffs. Student’s removals are the beginning of the school-to-prison pipeline.

School districts that take measures to keep youths in class have an opportunity to affect change. Helping students understand why their behavior is problematic, and what they can do to cope with their feelings, is essential. When young people are given the tools to respond to situations in healthy ways, they are less likely to get into more trouble down the road.

Many U.S. schools are moving away from resorting to using punitive disciplinary actions. Research shows that student bodies benefit from providing support programs. Providing teenagers access to counselors and psychologists is a step towards reducing problems in the classroom. The data indicates that intervention programs are more effective at encouraging adolescents to change their behavior than removing them from class.

Intervention Programs Reduce Suspension and Expulsion Rates

The Antelope Valley Union High School District in northern Los Angeles County has taken steps in reducing class removals. In the last decade, the district’s suspension rate fell 47%, and the expulsion rate dropped 79%, according to the Antelope Valley Press. Educators were able to achieve this feat by implementing intervention programs.

Instead of resorting to suspension and expulsion, schools attempt to address the unique needs of students first. When a teenage boy or girl gets in trouble, the AVUHSD relies on a discipline matrix to help determine what level of intervention is warranted. The district had student support centers, and four social workers were hired to work with at-risk youths.

Youths who are directed to AVUHSD support centers, work with counselors, psychologists, and social workers. They have opportunities to discuss what is happening outside of school; they can learn coping mechanisms that are less disruptive to the class. The goal is to help at-risk teens learn from their mistakes and excel.

“When a student has to be removed from class they are placed in an environment where their social and emotional needs are met,” said a district official said. “The goal is addressing it and getting them back in the classroom.”

Support centers have paid off; from 2017-18 to 2018-19, suspensions decreased 13% and expulsions 31%.

Orange County Juvenile Attorney

If your son or daughter is in trouble at school, and facing a school expulsion hearing, The Law Offices of Katie Walsh can help. It is vital to have an attorney who can advocate for your family. Juvenile defender Katie Walsh as a school expulsion lawyer has handled thousands of cases and may be able to negotiate alternatives to expulsion.

Please contact our office today for a free consultation. Call Today (714) 351-0178

California Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Sr. is requesting $100 million to assist young people who find themselves on the wrong side of the Law. The money will support the Youth Reinvestment Fund, a proposal that would specifically help vulnerable youth populations, including minorities, children with disabilities, girls, LGBTQ youth, and foster children, according to a press release. Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer points to research indicating that diversion and mentoring programs produced $3.36 of benefits for every dollar spent, reducing crime and saving taxpayers money.

“Research has shown that non-detention alternatives, particularly for low-level offenses, are more appropriate responses to curb delinquent behavior, avoiding pushing youth deeper into the juvenile justice system, writes Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer. “Most importantly, communities that have intentional diversion programs show improved outcomes for youth and public safety.”

The proposal relies on trauma-informed, community and health-based interventions, instead of incarceration. Last week, Youth Reinvestment Fund advocates joined forces in Sacramento to lobby for the funds which they believe will help thousands of at-risk youths avoid detention, The Chronicles for Social Change reports. Supporters hope for a different outcome than last year when a similar version fell short.

Youth Reinvestment Fund

Jones-Sawyer, who represents South Los Angeles, Florence-Firestone, Walnut Park, and a portion of Huntington Park, is confident that funding community organizations to work with at-risk youth will pay off immensely in the long run. If the budget proposal is approved, the assemblymember says it will keep 10,000 young people from arrest, detention, and incarceration each year.

“When we incarcerate young people, that’s about $200,000 to $300,000 per year, per kid,” said Jones-Sawyer. “With this $100 million, I could save the taxpayers maybe $8 to 10 billion.”

The Youth Reinvestment Fund would apportion:

• $10 million for Tribal Diversion Programs for Native American youth.
• $15 million for social workers to assist minors in juvenile or criminal court, within the public defenders office.
• $75 million would fund local diversion programs and community-based services for at-risk youth over a 3-year grant period.

One of the critical components of the Youth Reinvestment Fund is hiring more social workers to help out in public defenders’ offices. As it stands right now, only three counties (Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Contra Costa) have social workers on site in public defender’s offices. Even still, Jones-Sawyer notes that there are not enough social workers to participate in every case, according to the article. Brendon Woods, head of the Alameda County Public Defender’s office, says that when young people have the help of social workers, it reduces recidivism rates.

“The ones that do have social workers have tremendous success in terms of advocating for their youth, finding alternatives to incarceration, getting them into community-based programs,” Woods said. “It is almost night and day compared to the services that are provided to youth when social workers are involved as opposed to when they are not.”

Juvenile Defense Attorney

The Law Offices of Katie Walsh specialize in juvenile law. If your son or daughter is facing criminal charges, Attorney Walsh can assist you and your family in several ways. Please contact our office for a free consultation.