Showdown looms after judge sets hearing to close troubled L.A. juvenile hall

One day after the L.A. County probation department refused a state oversight body’s order to shut down a long-troubled youth facility, an L.A. County judge reopened the door to closing Los Padrinos juvenile hall.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Miguel Espinoza ordered the probation department to appear in court Dec. 23 to argue why the troubled Downey hall should not be closed down, with the roughly 260 young people inside relocated to safer facilities.

The judge’s order could force county officials to move youths at Los Padrinos to lower-security camps, home confinement or possibly to juvenile halls in adjacent counties.

The development comes a day after the probation department flouted an order by the California Board of State and Community Corrections to empty Los Padrinos by Dec. 12. Espinoza wrote in his order that by continuing to operate the hall despite the state order, the county is in violation of state law.

A spokesperson for the probation department said Friday that the agency “strongly believes our staffing at Los Padrinos is compliant with state regulations, and have appealed the BSCC’s recent findings.”

“We’re currently evaluating Judge Espinoza’s order and will respond as required,” the spokesperson’s statement said. “We also will continue working with our leaders and partners to minimize impact to public safety and the youth in our care.”

The state board, which oversees juvenile halls across California, ordered the Downey facility shut down by Dec. 12 after regulators found it “unsuitable” in October to house youths, primarily due to issues with staffing. The agency has struggled for years to properly staff its facilities, with officers refusing to come to work, citing dangerous conditions or remaining on medical leave long term.

The state oversight board gave the probation department 60 days to fix the problem or close the hall. The failure of an 11th-hour inspection last week left them seemingly with no option other than to shutter Los Padrinos, which had been open less than a year and a half.

However, the department has refused to vacate, saying they plan to “appeal” the state oversight board’s findings. The probation chief’s second in command, Kimberly Epps, told a county oversight body Thursday that the agency provides “a safe, secure and rehabilitative environment for all youth in our care” and “respectfully” disagreed with their findings.

The department seemed ready to refuse the state orders long before its final inspection failure. Earlier this week, The Times obtained a recording of Epps telling probation staff weeks ago that she would ignore any order to close down Los Padrinos.

“We’re not moving. You’re going to have to put our stuff on the curb,” she said, according to the recording.

The L.A. public defender’s office has said the agency will ask the courts to remove all 107 of its clients from Los Padrinos in light of the shutdown order.

The district attorney’s office said they were aware of the judge’s ruling and will be submitting a brief on the matter by Dec. 19.

Public Defender Ricardo Garcia said in a statement Friday afternoon he was “heartened by the Court’s decision to prioritize the well-being of our youth and ensure that they receive the safety and care they deserve.”

Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes the Downey hall, said she agreed with the agency’s refusal to move youths out, as the core problems were not with the facility but rather with the staff.

“Relocating them from Los Padrinos is not going to be better for them. We have done it in the past and it has only caused more chaos and harm,” she said. “The reality is that many probation officers are not showing up to work, and that puts an unfair burden on those who do and undermines the rehabilitation of the youth.”