CALIFORNIA’S DIVISION OF JUVENILE JUSTICE FAILS TO PROTECT YOUTH AMID COVID-19 - November 2020 Fact Sheet

Oct 15, 2026

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California’s Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) faces severe COVID-19 risk to incarcerated youth amid a rapidly spreading outbreak. During the summer 2020 first-wave crisis, the system failed to control transmission, reaching one in twelve youth infected and ranking Ventura among top facilities by case counts. A second wave followed quickly after publication, with 15% of DJJ testing positive, driven by density, open dormitories, and inadequate handling of sick or quarantined youth. Independent information sources are used due to limited facility-level reporting.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background

COVID-19 risk and consequences

Data gaps and sources

Lessons and required prevention measures

CALIFORNIA’S DIVISION OF JUVENILE JUSTICE FAILS TO PROTECT YOUTH AMID COVID-19 Maureen Washburn, Policy Analyst Renée Menart, Communications and Policy Analyst Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice November 2020 Fact Sheet Introduction As COVID-19 cases surge worldwide, young people in California’s state-run youth correctional system, the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), remain at high risk of contracting the deadly virus.1 During a first-wave outbreak in June and July of 2020, DJJ was unable to control COVID-19’s rapid spread, resulting in the infection of one in twelve youth (Figure 1) (CDCR, 2020) .2 By the end of the summer, DJJ had one of the highest coronavirus case counts in the nation, with its Ventura Youth Correctional Facility (“Ventura”) ranking sixth among over one thousand youth facilities (Rovner, 2020) . COVID-19 spread quickly through DJJ due to its cramped living conditions and slow, inadequate responses to the emergency. The system’s failure to curb an initial outbreak serves as a warning. DJJ’s second COVID-19 crisis could be catastrophic, endangering youth, staff, and nearby communities. California must heed the lessons of this December 15, 2020 Update COVID-19 has returned to DJJ. The state began reporting new youth cases mere days after CJCJ published this fact sheet. A major second-wave outbreak is now ravaging several facilities, including at least one open dormitory living unit. In total, 15 percent of the DJJ population have tested positive for the virus, including 49 youth who tested positive in the weeks since publication. DJJ’s high population density, open dormitories, and poor treatment of sick or quarantined youth are placing hundreds at risk. summer to ensure that youth are kept safe – both from the deadly virus and the devastating effects of isolation. Figure 1. Reported youth COVID-19 cases in California’s Division of Juvenile Justice, Summer 2020 | Cumu lat ive case count | 80
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| | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | Source: CDCR, 2020; Fremon, 2020. Note: Some intermediate data points may be missing as data needed to be retrieved and recorded manually from DJJ’s website on a daily basis. 1 This report was amended on December 15, 2020 to include data on DJJ’s second COVID-19 outbreak, which began in late November. 2 At the time of publication (November 12, 2020), approximately 9 percent of youth (70 out of 768) and 51 staff had tested positive (CDCR, 2020; 2020a; 2020b. However, within one month (December 14, 2020), DJJ was reporting 49 new cases, bringing its total to 119 or nearly one in six youth in the institutions. DJJ, and the state prison system that oversees it (The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation), cannot afford to repeat the summer’s significant missteps. State errors contributed to 91 deaths and over 20,000 coronavirus cases among incarcerated adults, confined youth, and prison staff (CDCR, 2020c; 2020a; 2020) . An appellate court has sharply criticized the state prison system’s “deliberate indifference” in the face of rising COVID-19 cases and ordered San Quentin State Prison to halve its population (In re Von Staich, 2020) . As the prison system scrambles to respond to the pandemic in its adult institutions, it must also address the failings within its youth division. Only after adopting science-based prevention measures and reducing population density can DJJ begin to offer basic protections to its youth. This fact sheet reports on DJJ’s handling ofa COVID-19 outbreak that took place during the summer of 2020. That crisis, like many health and safety emergencies3 before it, was cloaked in secrecy. DJJ is one of the only correctional agencies in the state of California that does not provide data on COVID-19 cases by facility and has not revealed its testing numbers. In the absence of official information, we rely on alternative sources to c

FAQs

What went wrong during DJJ’s first COVID-19 outbreak in 2020?

DJJ was unable to control the rapid spread, driven by cramped living conditions and slow, inadequate emergency responses, leading to infections among youth.

How did the second wave after the fact sheet change the situation?

New cases were reported mere days after publication, and a major second-wave outbreak spread across multiple facilities, including open dormitory units, resulting in 15% of the DJJ population testing positive.

Why does the fact sheet rely on sources beyond official DJJ data?

DJJ does not provide facility-level COVID-19 case data or testing numbers, so the analysis uses alternative sources including official information obtained via public records requests, conversations with leaders, and personal accounts from families and advocates.

Oct 15, 2026

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