State OKs reopening of Downey juvenile hall

DOWNEY — State regulators have officially approved the reopening of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey to serve as a replacement for two other county facilities deemed to be unsuitable for housing youth, county officials said Friday.

According to the county Probation Department, the Board of State and Community Corrections has notified the county that Los Padrinos passed its pre- opening inspection, clearing it to house up to 317 "pre-disposition" youth -- those whose criminal cases are still pending. Probation officials said they plan to house no more than 275 to 300 youth at the 26-acre campus.

Construction and probation crews have been working furiously for the past two months to get the facility up to speed in response to the BSCC's ruling in May that Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar and Central Juvenile Hall in Lincoln Heights are both unsuitable for housing pre-disposition youth. The board ordered all detainees to be relocated within 60 days.

The board cited a laundry list of ongoing violations of state standards at the facilities, including sanitary conditions of the housing units, detainees' access to school and other programs and staffing shortfalls.

Prior to that decision by state regulators, the county Board of Supervisors on May 2 approved a plan to relocate all pre-disposition youth to Los Padrinos. Under that plan, Central Juvenile Hall will be used solely as an intake unit and medical and diagnostic/assessment hub for youth, and only post- disposition Secure Youth Track Facility youth will be housed at Nidorf.

Guillermo Viera Rosa, the county's Interim Chief Probation Officer, said in a statement the BSCC approval was a "huge milestone" in the effort to reopen the campus.

"It shows what can happen when colleagues across county departments pull together, focus on a single objective and work as a team with a real sense of urgency and purpose," Viera Rosa said. "Reopening Los Padrinos has been a daunting task, and we are accomplishing it in record time."

Renovation work completed at Los Padrinos included new paint, new flooring, new furnishings, mattresses, fixtures, cameras, interior and exterior lighting upgrades, intercoms, plumbing and partitions for restroom privacy, according to the county.

Los Padrinos was originally opened in 1957. It includes 37 buildings, including 19 living units and nine dormitories, along with a kitchen, classrooms, recreation areas, library, infirmary, laundry, chapel, gym and pool.