Potential felonies by detainees at Yolo County Juvenile Hall — including assaults on staff and an escape — went unreported to the district attorney’s office last year in violation of state law, according to a grand jury report released late last week.
The 11-page report blames “sloppy policies, inconsistent document flow and inadequate staff training” at the county Probation Department, which operates the Woodland facility, for the failure to report all but one of the crimes, according to a news release accompanying the document.
Meanwhile, the grand jury also explored the risks and benefits of the Probation Department’s contract with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, whose detainees — unaccompanied refugee minors between the ages of 14 and 17 — allegedly were responsible for a majority of the offenses.
A citizen complaint prompted the grand jury investigation, which through employee interviews and reviews of various documents and reports revealed there were “at least 10 assaults” on Juvenile Hall staff in 2017, as well as an escape in Vacaville as two youths were being transported to Woodland from a federal court hearing in San Francisco.
The report says the failure to report the potential felonies violated California Welfare and Institutions Code section 653.5, which states that “if it appears to a probation officer that a minor who is at least 14 years of age has committed an offense that qualifies as a felony, the case shall be referred to the prosecuting attorney.”
Asked whether such reports have been more forthcoming as a result of the investigation, Yolo County Chief Deputy District Attorney said the Probation Department has been referring cases involving assaults by minors on Juvenile Hall staff.
“We concur with the need to strengthen training and complete the already underway overhaul of our policies and procedures,” Yolo County public information officer Beth Gabor said Friday.
County Administrator Patrick Blacklock also noted that the Probation Department was in the process of updating its policies and procedures when its efforts were diverted toward an assessment of the ORR contract, which has been in place since 2008.
ORR came under fire last year after an ACLU lawsuit alleged the federal government used unsubstantiated claims of gang affiliation to illegally detain teenagers, many of them Latinos, in “jail-like facilities” in Yolo County and elsewhere.
According to the report, the grand jury found that while the contract provides the county with $2.9 million in annual grant funding to house up to 24 ORR detainees, those youths pose a greater threat of injury to staff, and to the community should further escapes occur, compared to local youths.
The report also says some Juvenile Hall staff speculated that the failure to report the assaults and escape stemmed from “budgetary concerns,” as youths who commit crimes locally become wards of the county, thus shifting financial responsibility from federal to local government.
Yolo County Chief Probation Officer Brent Cardall sought to terminate the ORR contract earlier this year, citing the high number of assaults on staff by ORR youths — 21 during the first quarter of 2018, including kicks, punches, bites and head-buttings.
The county Board of Supervisors declined that request, instead directing Cardall to seek amendments to the contract that would ensure better staff-to-youth ratios at the facility.
Blacklock, the county administrator, said probation officials currently are working with Yolo County Supervisors Jim Provenza and Don Saylor to develop a desired model of staff- and therapist-to-youth ratios and education programs to present to ORR, along with possible funding revisions “so it’s not Yolo County subsidizing the program.”
A report on that effort is expected to go before the Board of Supervisors in the next few weeks, Blacklock said.
The grand jury developed eight recommendations for addressing the issues addressed in its report, including:
• By Dec. 31, 2018, the Probation Department should update and complete the policies and procedure manual pertaining to the JDF. Provisions should be put in place to guarantee continuing updates as needed.
• By Dec. 31, 2018, a strict and formal training curriculum for JDF personnel should be put in place, together with proper record keeping and review to assure that training is comprehensive and effective. Records should include subject, actual hours of in-person training, date of completion and signatures of trainee and trainer.
• By Dec. 31, 2018, audits of training records should be made annually by the Yolo County Human Resources Department. It should be assured that no staff member can be assigned to duties for which he or she is not trained.
• By Oct. 31, 2018, the JDF should convene an advisory committee of staff members, chosen by rank-and-file staff, who are experienced in interacting with juvenile detainees. This committee should work with management to resolve problems with training, staffing, injuries, and lost time.
• Beginning in the first quarter of 2019, the Yolo County Department of Financial Services should audit, at least annually, the effectiveness of the updated procedures related to the control of assets, including money and other property of detainees.
• Effective immediately, the JDF should report all potential felonies committed by juvenile detainees to the Yolo County District Attorney as required by California law and Probation Department policies and procedures.
• By Oct. 31, 2018, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors should review the ORR program, weighing the benefits and risks, and consider whether to continue the program in Yolo County or not.
• The grand jury also reported additional, unrelated findings stemming from the investigation, including employee claims of favoritism stemming from a personal relationship between a senior leader and another supervisory employee; and improper care of cash and other property belonging to Juvenile Hall detainees.
May 18, 2018
Davis Enterprise
By Lauren Keene
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