Los Angeles County is giving its embattled probation director new powers and cutting back on county staff as the agency defies a state order to close Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey due to staffing shortages. agreed to authorize the department to temporarily relocate the department.

Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to declare a “local state of emergency” in response to the impending closure of Los Padrinos, and to release all youth incarcerated at the facility to “the streets.” He argued that extreme measures were justified to avoid forced release. He has been charged with a violent crime.

County officials say the state of emergency will allow them to direct new resources to a persistent staffing crisis that has gone unresolved for years. of planThe plan, created by Superintendent Kathryn Berger and Hilda Solis, will allow Probation Director Guillermo Vieira Rosa to redeploy staff from the county’s vast workforce; Everyone becomes a “disaster.” emergency service worker — and have them support the agency.

“Now is the time to act decisively,” Berger said at a news conference Tuesday. “There are a lot of employees in the Probation Department who simply don’t show up to work.”

The state of emergency was declared after inspectors repeatedly found dangerously understaffed workers, with hundreds of workers taking medical leave or reporting to work due to unsafe conditions. The order comes days after the county ignored the state’s request to close Los Padrinos.

Probation Department spokeswoman Vicki Waters said the emergency order doesn’t mean Los Angeles County Library employees will suddenly have to work as peace officers.

Rather, Viera Rosa would have authority over other county department employees who frequently send employees into the hall for purposes other than security, such as teachers in the county Department of Education and mental health specialists in the Department of Mental Health.

“We need staff, and it’s not just probation officers,” Waters said.

Vieira Rosa estimates that an average of 14% of Los Padrinos’ staff are called in per shift, and that number will increase closer to the weekend.

“It’s a vicious cycle,” Vieira Rosa said. “When you have fewer staff, you can do less, and people feel less safe. …The whole model breaks down.”

According to the motion, the county will also begin paying bonuses of up to $24,000 to employees transferred from other agencies and create a task force to consider ways to bring employees on leave back to work. They are planning to form a group.

Approximately 700 probation officers are on medical leave, including some who have indicated they should not be on medical leave, said Fecia Davenport, the county’s chief executive officer. Ta.

“We’re going to work with departments to really look at each of these.” [medical] Take notes with a fine-tooth comb,” Davenport said.

The plan had been met with skepticism among advocates for incarcerated youth and some on the board, who questioned whether the motion would have the intended effect.

“Today’s motion does not release new powers, specifically for probation officers, that the probation director does not already have,” said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who was the only vote against the plan. said.

“Why don’t we all just come to work?” Supervisor Holly Mitchell agreed.

Superintendent Janice Hahn, whose jurisdiction includes Downey’s Hall, said she respects the independence of other department heads and “doesn’t understand what it means to give the chief probation officer decision-making authority over the department.” said.

This month, Vieira-Rosa, who has been with the county for less than a year and a half, told the board in a short memo that he plans to retire at the end of this year. A week later, he changed his mind and announced his intention to stay. He had irritated some on the board by not showing up for public meetings or private meetings with his bosses, according to people familiar with the sensitive situation, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation.

Horvath and Hahn on Tuesday amended a motion that would require Vieira Rosa to be on-site at Los Padrinos at least once a week and attend any required probation or supervisory board meetings. I submitted a proposal.

“We need to be informed,” Hahn said.

He also called for the release of young people who wear ankle monitors and “do not pose a danger,” including those facing charges of criminal damage to property or shoplifting.

Waters, the Probation Office spokeswoman, said one-third of the youths incarcerated at Los Padrinos (about 80 out of 240) have been charged with murder, attempted murder or manslaughter. Ta. Los Padrinos is home to young people who have not yet been sentenced.

The union representing deputy probation officers did not directly respond to supervisors’ claims that some probation officers are unfairly taking medical leave, but it supported the emergency order and said Los Padrinos’ He said he believes it is necessary to remain open.

Proponents of closing Los Padrinos argue that the county is grossly disregarding the state Board of Supervisors’ findings and stoking fear about the dangers of what would happen to the young people inside if they were released. are.

The California Commission on Community Corrections, which inspects juvenile detention facilities, has set a Dec. 12 deadline to vacate juvenile detention facilities after the county repeatedly failed to address the agency’s staffing crisis. The county refused, arguing that staffing levels were “in accordance with state regulations.”

“This allegation is factually, legally and intellectually dishonest,” said Brooke Harris, executive director of the Pacific Juvenile Advocacy Center and a member of the Probation Board. “Blaming this on the BSCC, whose mission is to inspect juvenile facilities across the state, and on the youth in our county’s care, is a blatant attempt to evade legal responsibility for these horrific failures. It is.”

Araya Blakely, who coaches at Los Padrinos, said the problem goes far beyond occasional staffing issues.

“We are looking at the situation firsthand,” Blakely said. “This motion is a terrible attempt to shift responsibility so that business can continue as usual, while our children suffer.”

The county announced it has appealed the decision to the state Board of Supervisors, which the county said is the first time it has received an appeal in its 13-year history.

The denial of the eviction placed the county in untested legal territory. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Miguel Espinoza ordered the Probation Department to appear in court on Monday to argue why the hall should not be closed. The Los Angeles Public Defender’s Office announced that it will ask the court to remove customers from Los Padrinos in light of the closure order.

“What is happening to our young people is an emergency,” public defender Ricardo Garcia said in a statement. “Our youth should not be placed in dangerous situations and should be immediately placed in appropriate and supportive environments.”

Davenport said county officials do not believe it is necessary to vacate the hall while the appeal is pending.

“I object to the word ‘illegal’ because it assumes this is a crime. This is a civil administrative proceeding,” Davenport said. “While we pursue the appeal, we will have the opportunity to continue operating Los Padrinos until the appeal is finalized.”

The department’s refusal to comply with the state’s orders has led to a mountain of legal liability. The agency is under the oversight of the California Department of Justice and faces thousands of lawsuits estimated at up to $3 billion stemming from sexual assault cases in probation facilities and child shelters. .

On Tuesday, the county agreed to: $30 million settlement The lawsuit is in response to a federal class-action lawsuit filed in 2022 alleging inhumane conditions at two older halls in the county: Central Juvenile Hall and Barry J. Nidorf. Similar staffing issues forced the county to close last year.

The suit alleges that the youths were forced to “relieve” in bottles and milk cartons and were kept in “filthy and unsanitary” conditions infested with cockroaches. In some cases, young people have been forced to defecate in their cells. According to the complaint, lead plaintiff Agustín Herrera said a staff member twisted his arm and tried to bribe him with a hamburger to keep him from filing a complaint.

Scott Rapkin, one of the attorneys in the case, said people who have been in juvenile camps or detention centers in the county since 2014 (about 9,000 people) are entitled to a portion of the settlement. Ta.

“This is a settlement of sufficient size that thousands of young people have actually lived in these horrific conditions and suffered all kinds of abuse, excessive pepper spray, unnecessary shackles, and illegal solitary confinement. “It will provide important justice,” he said. . “This will make a positive difference for a lot of people.”

Rapkin said he had hoped that cutting tens of millions of dollars in checks would force the county to change management of the hall, but the recent unrest at Los Padrinos cast doubt on that. It was done.

“It’s the same kind of fundamental problem,” he said of the problems facing Los Padrinos today. “It’s unfortunate that the Probation Service can’t get its act together.”