CDF-CA Youth Justice

Abolish our current juvenile carceral system and reinvest in community-based opportunities for healing and growth for our young people and their families.  

The Problem

Los Angeles County spends $570 million to incarcerate and surveil our young people, despite a long, documented history of sexually, emotionally and physically harming the young people in their care. Probation unions, media and many mainstream narratives have focused on how the young people currently under Probation supervision are a different breed, dangerous, murderers, monsters. This language prevents young people and their families from building out and accessing alternatives rooted in transformative justice and healing. 

The abuses faced by youth in LA’s halls and camps are not happening because the probation department lacks funds or training; LA County has poured resources into this department for decades, but conditions have only worsened despite reduced populations and year over year increases in funding. 

While these issues plague Los Angeles County at an unprecedented rate, the abuses are emblematic of the entire juvenile system in California. The abuses are systemic and deep-rooted in the culture of incarceration and Probation.  

Our Vision

Our Youth Justice team envisions and works toward a future where children, youth and their families are free from systems of surveillance and control and live with dignity, hope, and joy. 

The Solution

The myriad of oppressive systems that criminalize and devalue Black and Brown youth often hide behind legal technicalities and statutes that were written in the heyday of mass incarceration. For systemic transformation to occur, these laws need to be called out, amended or superseded for us to build new, care-first policies and we must shift power by building a coalition of advocates, system-impacted youth and their families to challenge our state’s continued investment in the control and surveillance of Black and brown youth. 

Youth Justice Director Milinda Kakani Testifying before Senate Sub-committee on CA’s Juvenile Justice System

Our Director of Youth Justice at CDF-CA, Milinda Kakani, provided testimony to the California Senate Budget Subcommittee during its Oversight of Juvenile Justice Realignment hearing. Her observations on the state of California’s juvenile justice system since the passing of Senate Bill 823 and the closure of the Division of Juvenile Justice came just one day before a state board decided that two of Los Angeles County’s juvenile facilities are unsuitable to house youth due to substandard conditions. 

Kakani has called attention to the abhorrent conditions of Los Angeles County’s juvenile detention halls for years. Staff callouts at the facilities have caused young people to miss school, programming, and recreational time routinely. There have even been reports of youth urinating in their own cells overnight because staff will not take them to restrooms. 

“SB 823 was an acknowledgment that our juvenile carceral system cannot care for our young people in a way that does not compound their trauma, thereby undermining public safety,” Kakani said. “Creating a funding stream rooted in public health and the humanity of our young people was the right step. Unfortunately, relying on Probation Departments to implement this vision has only resulted in a replication of Division of Juvenile Justice in our counties. We cannot fund or train our way out of culture of control and exploitation.” 

Kakani’s testimony comes as California State Assemblymembers consider whether to infuse Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls with another $1 billion worth of structural improvements this session. It must be noted the overwhelming majority of violations observed by state officials in facilities have not been connected to their structural integrity. Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar misguided bill to renovate Los Angeles County’s juvenile facilities physically. The opposition to that bill was also spearheaded by CDF-CA’s Youth Justice team.