California turned the page on juvenile youth prison reform as the state shut down its last three state-run youth lockups on Saturday and passed day-to-day operations of juvenile halls to county probation departments.
The shutdown comes as the state plans to move youth inmates into rehabilitation programs to help decentralizes care of youth offenders and prioritize keeping them closer to home in alternative facilities.
Advocates of this new approach believe it helps children who commit crimes be better served in settings emphasizing education, mental health care, and other supportive services, despite the uncertainty of how this new approach will help troubled youth….