STATE SPENDING SOARS TO HISTORIC LEVELS AMID REORGANIZATION OF CALIFORNIA’S YOUTH CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM - February 2020 Fact Sheet

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia

The fact sheet outlines a proposed California budget increase for youth correctional institutions known as the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), projecting spending to reach a record $336,000 per youth in FY 2020-21. It links the rise to a planned reorganization transferring responsibility from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to the Health and Human Services Agency. Evidence cited describes ongoing violence and trauma, high rearrest and conviction rates, and outdated facilities, arguing the financial shift ignores larger human costs borne by youth and communities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Overview of the proposed DJJ budget increase

Reorganization of responsibility to HHSA

Documented impacts on youth

Violence, trauma, and institutional conditions

Recidivism outcomes after DJJ

Budget scale and cost trends

Total budget growth and per-youth costs

STATE SPENDING SOARS TO HISTORIC LEVELS AMID REORGANIZATION OF CALIFORNIA’S YOUTH CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM Maureen Washburn, Policy Analyst Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice February 2020 Fact Sheet In January, California Governor Gavin Newsom released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2020-21 and included a substantial increase in spending for the state’s dangerous and prison-like youth correctional institutions, currently known as the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) (CJCJ, 2019; DOF, 2020a) . If approved by the Legislature, state spending on DJJ will reach a record-setting $336,000 per youth in FY 2020-21 with a total budget of nearly $300 million (Figure 1)(DOF, 2020a) . This proposed increase coincides with a planned reorganization of DJJ, which will transfer responsibility for the four state-run youth correctional facilities from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state’s prison system, into the California Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) (DOF, 2019; 2020a) . Figure 1. DJJ total budget | DJJ total budget ( in millions) | $300
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
$0 | | | --- | --- | --- | Source: DOF, 2014-2020; 2020a. *DOF estimates FY 2019-20 costs using population and cost information from the first half of the fiscal year. **Average daily population and the budget total for FY 2020-21 are proposed by Governor Newsom. Despite numerous leadership and name changes throughout DJJ’s decades-long history, recent research indicates that the system continues to expose youth to violence and trauma (CJCJ, 2019). According to DJJ’s own data, staff use physical force against youth at increasingly high rates and young people experience or witness fights, riots, or beatingson a regular basis (CDCR, 2020a; CJCJ, 2019). Youth recently released from the institutions describe having felt isolated at DJJ and unprepared for life after release (CJCJ, 2019). These conditions are endemic to DJJ’s model of juvenile justice, which places large numbers of youth in outdated facilities1 that do not conform to modern best practices (AECF, 2014; CJCJ, 2019). The outcomes for youth sent to DJJ are dismal: 76 percent are rearrested, 51 percent are convicted of a new offense, and 29 percent return to DJJ or a state prison within three years of their initial release (CDCR, 2019) . 1 The facilities were constructed in 1945 (Pine Grove Conservation Camp), 1962 (Ventura Youth Correctional Facility), 1966 (O.H. Close Youth Correctional Facility), and 1991 (N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility) (CDCR, 2020; LAO, 2004) . Although state taxpayers will incur tens of millions of dollars in new costs amid DJJ’s move to HHSA, budget projections fail to account for the far greater human cost of the transition, which will be borne primarily by youth, their families, and their communities. Bolstering DJJ in the FY 2020-21 budget, despite compelling evidence of its failure, would deepen California’s reliance on a broken system and place another generation of young people at risk of harmful state confinement. • The DJJ budget may increase by nearly $100 million amid the agency’s reorganization. Under the Governor’s proposal, DJJ’s annual budget would increase to nearly $300 million in FY 2020-21, a 65 percent rise over FY 2012-13 spending (Figure 1). This upward trend in correctional spending defies existing patterns in the juvenile justice system, which has seen unprecedented declines in youth arrests, referrals to probation, and detentions (BSCC, 2020; DOJ, 2019). For example, between 2012 and 2018, California experienced a 22 percent decline in youth felony arrests and a 20 percent reduction in DJJ’s population (FY 2012-13 vs. FY 2018-19), but state spending on the DJJ institutions rose by 14 percent (DOF, 2014; 2020; DOJ, 2019a) . If the Legislature were to adopt the Governor’s mostrecent budget proposal, the state would increase total spending by approximately $90 million as part ofDJJ’

FAQs

What budget increase does the document project for DJJ in FY 2020-21?

The document projects state spending on DJJ will reach about $336,000 per youth in FY 2020-21, with a total budget of nearly $300 million if approved.

How does the proposed reorganization change responsibility for DJJ facilities?

It would transfer responsibility for the four state-run youth correctional facilities from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to the California Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA).

What outcomes does the document cite for youth sent to DJJ?

It reports that 76% are rearrested, 51% are convicted of a new offense, and 29% return to DJJ or a state prison within three years of initial release.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia