Los Angeles County’s chief probation officer says he plans to leave the troubled probation department as the deadline for removal from Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall approaches, leaving more than 200 incarcerated youth with nowhere to go. Sources said that there is a sex.

Probation Director Guillermo Vieira Rosa sent a short memo to the county Board of Supervisors Wednesday saying he plans to retire by the end of the year, according to people who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. .

Vieira Rosa’s unexpected departure 20 months During his term, he failed to reform the juvenile detention center, which has come under increased scrutiny from regulators and the California Attorney General’s Office, and which has once again put the detention center under threat of closure. county probation department They are responsible for supervising both adult parolees and youth in juvenile halls and detention centers.

Superintendent Janice Hahn, whose district includes Downey’s Los Padrinos facility, said in a statement: “The Probation Department has many challenges ahead of its time, and I am grateful to them for taking on this work at a difficult time.” said. “I wish him luck.”

The Supervisory Board scheduled a closed meeting with Vieira Rosa. Tuesday. According to the meeting agenda, the board will conduct a performance evaluation of the chief and consider candidates for his replacement.

Vieira-Rosa, through a spokesperson for the Probation Department, declined to comment.

Former member of the California State and Community Corrections Board. repeatedly threatened to shut down the county’s aging juvenile facility. — Vieira Rosa was tasked with leading improvements after his predecessor was fired On the heels of two Times investigations into abuse and mismanagement.

Instead, Vieira Rosa found himself squarely in the crosshairs of the oversight committee he once sat on.

He initially joined the county as chief strategist for juvenile activities. Shortly after, an 18-year-old boy died of a drug overdose at the Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Detention Center in Sylmar. It comes after weeks of alarming reports from regulators about drug use among teenagers in the facility.

Viera Rosa reopened the defunct Los Padrinos juvenile detention center, but the facility quickly fell into disarray. In the first month alone, there were riots and escapes, supervisors were arrested for bringing guns on the job, and employees continued to refuse to come to work.

In October, the State and Local Board of Corrections I found Viera Rosa Failure to address the staffing crisis meant that Los Padrinos was no longer safe for young people. The board ordered the department to relocate more than 200 young people from Los Padrinos by December 12.

Vieira Rosa has shown little intention of moving them, frustrating corrections board members who have repeatedly said the department’s facilities are dangerous for young people.

“At this time, there is no effort to develop any plans to relocate the youth detained at Los Padrinos,” board member and acting public defender Angeles Zaragoza said at the Nov. 21 meeting, adding that the county criticized. It is a “blatant disregard” of the supervisory board. “I’m at a loss as to how we got here.”

Attorneys for the commission said at the meeting that they would consider legal action against the agency if the relocation deadline passes without transfer from the county.

“Everyone on the board is concerned about December 12th and what will happen after December 12th,” Board President Linda Penner said.

A board spokesperson said the company had not been informed of Vieira-Rosa’s plans to leave the company.

Not all Viera Rosa bosses treated his departure as a done deal. Supervisor Kathryn Berger said in a statement that she wants “strong and consistent leadership at the top.”

“I would like to explore opportunities for Probation Director Viera Rosa to continue his service to our county,” she said. “Effective leadership is essential to implement reforms and ensure the Department’s staff can do their important work of rehabilitating and supporting young people in our care.The Challenges We Face is big, but not insurmountable.”

Three other regulators either declined to comment or did not comment before publication.

Probation Department spokeswoman Vicki Waters declined to comment on Vieira Rosa’s departure, but said the department hopes to avoid closing Los Padrinos by passing another inspection. The inspector was at Los Padrinos on Thursday, according to the Board of Corrections.

“We are confident that the improvements implemented initially will ensure compliance,” Waters said.

The president of the union representing rank-and-file probation officers, who have expressed dissatisfaction with both the probation department’s leadership and oversight board for years, welcomed Vieira-Rosa’s announcement.

“Under his leadership there has been failure after failure,” Stacey Ford, president of local labor union AFSCME 685, said in a statement. “People leave good jobs not because they don’t like their jobs, but because of bad leadership. Under his leadership, police officers were forced into retirement, police officers were sent home on sick leave, and police officers were sent home on sick leave. They were forced to work in toxic and unsafe working conditions, and many police officers resigned due to the abuse.