Legislators OK Calif. Juvenile System Reforms

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Legislators passed a reform bill that could dramatically shrink the state’s controversy-plagued juvenile detention system.

After decades of struggling to reform the state’s juvenile justice system, State Assembly Bill 81 mandates that all but the most serious offenders — those convicted of crimes, such as murder, violent carjackings, assault with a firearm and certain sex crimes — would be dealt with in county jurisdictions rather than the state correctional system.

Since 1996, the number of wards held in the state’s eight juvenile centers, which have operated under state court supervision since 2004, has dropped from 10,000 to less than 2,600, officials say.

If approved by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the plan could slash that number by half, as offenders are diverted to county programs, ranging from youth detention and treatment camps to strict after-school education and therapy programs.