County to Plead Case for Funding of Juvenile Hall

With juvenile inmates living in such crowded conditions that rival gang members cannot be separated, Ventura County officials are scheduled to ask the state Board of Corrections today for $40.5 million to build a new youth detention center.

The proposed center would hold up to 420 offenders, more than twice as many as are currently housed in four separate facilities.

Although the county has yet to purchase a site for a new facility, Chief Probation Officer Cal Remington said he is hopeful the board will approve funding. During the presentation in Sacramento, Remington plans to review overcrowding statistics in demonstrating the county’s need.

Those figures show that in 1997 the hall was overcrowded on all but one day of the year, and that 1,360 felony offenders were released early due to space limitations.

An inspection by the Board of Corrections itself called the current Juvenile Hall “antiquated and inadequate from a physical standpoint and in need of replacement.”

Remington also expects to show the committee architectural plans for a new center.

“I have to convince them that if they give us the money, we will complete this on time, and that even though we don’t have a site, the county is so committed to this that we’re going to make it happen,” Remington said.

The competition for funding will be stiff. Forty-five counties have applied for $168 million set aside for juvenile facilities in the current state budget. Those applications add up to $571 million, three times what is available.

“There is a great deal of need for local juvenile detention facility construction and rehabilitation in California,” said Doug Holien, field representative for the Board of Corrections. “Many of the facilities in the state were built in the ‘50s and ‘60s and have outlived their useful life.”

Representatives of the various counties will argue their cases before an executive steering committee appointed by the Board of Corrections. The nine-member steering committee is composed of officials from selected counties, including Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long.

Long is supposed to remain unbiased, but her presence on the committee could benefit the county. “This is not a slam dunk for us, but I think we are in a strong position,” Long said. “I’ve got all fingers and toes crossed for Ventura County.”

By April 15, the committee will recommend which counties should receive funding. The state Board of Corrections will make a final decision by May 20.

The recommendations will be based on several factors, including need, cost effectiveness, potential impact of the project, the construction plan and the commitment by each county. Counties are required to pay 10% of the cost, but the steering committee will favor counties that agree to spend more.

Last month, Ventura County supervisors agreed to pay $23 million of the project’s estimated $64-million cost. The county also set aside $9 million for planning and site preparation.

The county’s presentation will include a personal plea by Superior Court Judge Steven Z. Perren, who presides over Juvenile Court. Perren said he will tell the committee that overcrowding limits services that can benefit juvenile inmates.

“The children are not making it in the community and will fail if we do not make an effort to provide for them,” Perren said recently.

Two sites are under consideration, both in unincorporated, industrial areas of the county outside Camarillo. Each site is between 42 and 50 acres in size.

The estimated price for each site is about $3 million. Chief Deputy Probation Officer Karen Staples said the owners are eager to sell and the county is eager to buy, but negotiations are taking longer than expected.

Long said her only worry about Ventura County’s application is the lack of a site. She fears other steering committee members may favor counties that have already bought land.

“I don’t think it’s a deal killer,” Long said. “But if we are splitting hairs, that may be one that we may split. Because we don’t have full control of a site, we may not have the slim edge. It’s very competitive.”

But she believes the county’s application is strong, because the cost per bed, $94,000, is lower than several counties.

Remington said safety is a major reason to build a new facility. Because 75% of the hall’s population belongs to, or associates with, a gang, corrections officers need to segregate inmates more effectively. There also is a need for more substance-abuse and mental-health treatment programs in the hall, according to a local action plan on juvenile justice.

“Our facility is too small and too old,” Remington said. “We cannot meet the needs of the population we’re dealing with today in the existing institution.”

Juvenile Hall has 84 beds, but houses 109 youths on an average day.

The proposed detention center would be part of a larger juvenile justice complex that officials hope to build within the next decade. That complex would include six juvenile courtrooms and offices for all the court-related agencies, including the district attorney, public defender and probation.

The 60 grant applications submitted by the 45 counties range from $43,000 to $119 million. Most of the counties are asking for funds to renovate current facilities, but several plan new juvenile halls.

Staples of the county Probation Department said it would be nice if the county already had a site. “But I believe Ventura County has a history of coming through with their projects and I think the Board of Corrections is willing to work with us,” she said.

If the state approves Ventura County’s grant application, the county would receive the money this fall and be required to build the center within three years.