08:08 AM PDT on Monday, August 15, 2011
By JOHN ASBURY
Staff Writer jasbury@pe.com
When a Riverside County civil grand jury looked at the Twin Pines Ranch boys probation camp more than a year ago, it found dilapidated buildings, leaky pipes and health code violations.
The jurors also took issue with the per-capita spending and the fact the facility, a last-chance destination for delinquent boys sent there by the juvenile court system, was operating at about 50 percent capacity.
But since the critical report, the staff and residents of the 64-year-old site in the mountains south of Banning have renovated it into a pastoral ranch that more resembles a summer camp or college campus.
Officials say the picture today is far different than a year ago. Bathrooms were repaired. In the kitchen and dining hall, where the grand jury found conditions that "make cleaning and sanitation difficult," significant work has been done.
Efforts have gone further. The residents have turned dirt lots into manicured lawns. Under way is a remodel of the boys bunkhouse.
The efforts are part of the work program that, along with school instruction, make up rehabilitation efforts for the boys placed at Twin Pines.
The ranch houses offenders from age 15 to 18 who are taken out of their home to complete a six-month to one-year program. Their crimes range from habitual misdemeanors to felonies. It is up to a judge to determine whether someone should be sent to Juvenile Hall, where the average stay is less than a month, or a longer-term camp.
In the past year, Twin Pines has shifted from military-style routines to a greater focus on academics and job skills.
Officials from the Riverside County Probation Department, which operates the ranch, say its rehabilitation programs justify the cost of running Twin Pines.
"We're not here to punish these boys, we're here to get them back on track," said Chris Wright , assistant director of the Probation Department's Youthful Offender Program. "We don't care what brought them here. Everyone deserves a second chance."
Ranch officials said they hear success stories regularly from former residents who return to visit. Men have relayed stories of earning college degrees and building professional careers. One teen was being scouted by the NFL.
RANCH'S MISSION
The boys sent to Twin Pines are held to a strict daily schedule. Two hours of schoolwork include instruction and independent study to finish high school courses. They spend another two hours learning skills such as woodcarving, cooking or auto mechanics that can help them make careers.
The rest of their day, the boys spend time doing work around the 1,100-acre ranch, such as landscaping, cleaning and painting.
The majority of the ranch's food is grown on site, with livestock, as part of an agricultural program.
"This teaches them the skills they need for job placement as soon as they can get out of here," Wright said. It also instills in them a good work ethic and sense of pride at their accomplishments, he said.
Twin Pines residents have competed against other schools in CIF football and a championship baseball program.
They also are drug tested regularly. Twin Pines has an on-site substance abuse counselor and psychologist.
Families visit the ranch every Sunday.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_twinpines15.4596b8.html
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