Juvenile Camps Get Reprieve

SACRAMENTO —  By unanimous vote, the Assembly gave final legislative approval Tuesday to keep California’s county-run youth offender camps in business and at the same time save the jobs of more than 1,000 Los Angeles County youth camp employees.

The measure passed 68 to 0 in the normally divisive lower house.

Gov. Pete Wilson said he is prepared to sign the legislation in time to avert the layoffs and demotions at the county Probation Department, which are scheduled to take effect Monday.

“We are very pleased,” Wilson said. “This is certainly good news for Los Angeles County, which was threatened with a loss of several juvenile facilities.”

An emotional Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) said the success of his bill meant much to youngsters needing guidance, and to himself.

On a recent visit with inmates at one of Los Angeles County’s 19 camps, Villaraigosa said he “shared the pain of their upbringing.” A product of a home without a father, he said, “I saw myself in the eyes of those young boys.”

The state’s county camps get high marks from state and county officials, who point out that 70% of youths confined to California Youth Authority facilities return after committing further offenses, while only 25% return to the county camps.

The measure appropriates $32.7 million for maintenance of the county camps, of which Los Angeles County is expected to receive by far the largest share, about $19 million.

Wilson had signaled his willingness to sign the camps bill provided the Legislature also sent him another measure--which the governor had been seeking since last year--allowing counties to reduce welfare to the indigent poor and spend less on road maintenance and mental health treatment.

With a final vote of approval in the state Senate on Tuesday, Wilson achieved his aims in a bill by Sen. Rob Hurtt (R-Garden Grove).

The Hurtt measure also changes the formula by which counties are charged for sending juvenile offenders to state institutions. Mainly, the measure provides a cost incentive to counties for confining less serious offenders locally, thus cutting the average $31,000 per inmate per year incurred by the California Youth Authority.