A BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM - Moving Beyond California’s Failed Youth Correctional System - Preface and Introduction

Oct 15, 2026

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A Blueprint for Reform examines California’s Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) as a youth correctional system marked by abuse, neglect, violence, unsafe medical care, and isolation from families. It frames COVID-19 as a crisis that exposes and intensifies long-standing failures, emphasizing overcrowding, outdated open-dorm layouts, and inadequate health precautions. The report links these conditions to severe physical and psychological risks for youth, staff, and surrounding communities, and outlines urgent policy direction to reduce DJJ populations and protect public health.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Preface

COVID-19 risks escalate in California’s Division of Juvenile Justice

Introduction

The system exposes youth to a violent, prison-like environment

Findings and context from prior research

A BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM Moving Beyond California’s Failed Youth Correctional System Maureen Washburn | Renee Menart | April 2020 PREFACE COVID-19 risks escalate in California’s Division of Juvenile Justice For decades, the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice has monitored California’s state-run youth correctional system, calling attention to patterns of abuse and neglect within Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities. We find that, throughout history, the state system has placed youths’health and safety at risk. Amid the fast-moving COVID-19 crisis, the state must take urgent action to protect young people. The COVID-19 pandemic, on the rise atthe time of this report’s release, brings DJJ’slong-standing issues to light and exacerbates its systemic shortcomings. High levels of violence, poor health care, disconnection from family, and unsanitary conditions present serious physical and psychological risks to youth. COVID-19 has already arrived at DJJ,1 and it is only a matter of time before it further affects youth within the facilities. Prison walls and barbed wire do not stop the spread of illness. Instead, DJJ’s prison-like environment is ripe for disease transmission and the agency is ill-equipped to take necessary health precautions. DJJ’s three correctional facilities violate modern standards that cap facility populations at 150 youth (OJJDP, 1994). With 270 youth confined atthe N.A. Chaderjian facility, 235 at Ventura, and 171 at O.H. Close, the deadly virus can spread quickly and infect large numbers of youth. Worse yet, DJJ continues to use a long-debunked open dormitory layout in two ofits facilities, where dozens of youth are confined in a shared sleeping area (see DJJ at a Glance beginning on page 3) . Substandard medical care in DJJ facilities places youth at heightened risk amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Historically, youth at DJJ have experienced delays when seeking medical attention, and staff Open dormitory at O.H. Close Youth Correctional Facility. “ Youth Testimony " If you weren’t bleeding or dying, you wouldn’t get medical attention.”(CJCJ, 2019) often dismiss serious symptoms. DJJ’s failing healthcare system cannot protect youth from COVID-19, which poses an unprecedented threat of severe illness to youth and young adults (AAP, 2020) . The longer California waits to drastically reduce DJJ's population and implement safety measures, the greater the potential harm to youth and staff. We should not need a pandemic to recognize the inherent flaws of this outdated, crowded, and violent youth correctional system. However, now more than ever, California needs to address DJJ’s shortcomings to slow the spread ofCOVID-19. Beyond increased protections for youth, the state must drastically reduce DJJ’s population by permanently ending new admissions and promoting early release during this crisis (CJCJ, 2020) . State leaders must act quickly to reduce the risk of illness, protect young people, and safeguard our broader communities. 1 As of April 13, 2020, DJJ has two confirmed COVID-19 cases of staff members at the Northern California Youth Correctional Center, where the N.A. Chaderjian and O.H. Close facilities are located (CDCR, 2020c) . INTRODUCTION California’s youth correctional institutions are failing young people and their communities. The system—currently known as the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ)2—exposes youth to a violent, prison-like environment that should shock the consciences of California lawmakers, advocates, and residents. Since the 1890s, the state’s youth correctional institutions have undergone numerous reorganizations, name changes, and renovations in a futile attempt to improve the treatment of youth under state care.3,4 Yet for as long as youth have been confined in California, the state has cycled continuously between reform and scandal, unable to overcome the cruel realities of its youth correctional model (Macallair, 2015) . Young people, the

FAQs

What problem does the report focus on in California’s DJJ facilities?

The report argues that DJJ’s state-run youth correctional system exposes young people to violence, neglect, poor health care, and unsafe living conditions, while failing to provide meaningful rehabilitation.

Why does the report emphasize COVID-19 in relation to DJJ?

It states that the pandemic highlights DJJ’s systemic shortcomings and increases risks through overcrowding, disease-transmission conditions, and insufficient health precautions for youth and staff.

What does the report recommend as key policy actions?

It calls for drastically reducing DJJ’s population by ending new admissions and promoting early release during the crisis, alongside additional protections to slow disease spread and reduce harm.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia