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California's youth prisons promote violence and relapse - Close them down!

Target: California Legislators & Governor Schwarzenegger
Sponsored by: Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

California's youth prison system is broken. It has systematically failed to rehabilitate or educate the 2,600 youth in its charge. In February, California's Inspector General reported that shocking conditions and neglect of youth persist despite court-ordered improvements and years-old recommendations.

California youth prisons:

have been the subject of scandal for decades, with astronomical rates of violence and suicide;
fail to rehabilitate: 74% of young people reoffend; [1]
cost taxpayers more than $216,000 per youth per year; and
wasted $100 million in failed reform efforts last year.

It's time for California to shut down an antiquated system whose costs in lives and dollars can no longer be tolerated!

A new bill in the Assembly, AB 1655, will provide the first crucial step in dismantling a broken system and replacing it with smaller, community based facilities that will rehabilitate our youth, increase public safety, and save taxpayers and the state millions of dollars.

Join the fight: Help increase public safety and reduce crime in your community. Sign the petition today and demand that young people get the resources they need to turn their lives around, and not just survive but succeed in their lives!

[1] In contrast, the therapeutic, regionalized services provided in Missouri have produced a 15.7% recidivism rate, while costing the state only $26,811 per youth. This success has been duplicated in many other states that follow a similar model.

deadline: 5-1-2008
goal: 3,000

2,617
signatures!

Sign Petition! see who signed this

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Success! Legislation to close California's youth prisons passed the first hurdle to becoming law. The Public Safety committee voted to close the Division of Juvenile Justice and return the youth to smaller facilities close to their families. This bill will now be heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Thank you for your interest. Please click here for more petitions.

Dear Governor & Legislators,

[Your comment here]

The Division of Juvenile Justice has failed our youth, failed our state, and failed the public. It is time to close this institution and transition to a model that has proven to be far more effective in helping young people turn their lives around. Experts agree that local and regional, therapeutic centers for young people work far better for less money than warehouse prisons in rehabilitating youth.

With its population at an all time low and its cost at an all time high, now is the time to close the failing DJJ.

We must support the rehabilitation of young people. Assembly Bill 1655 promises a safer public and help for young people to get out and stay out of the justice system.

Please support AB 1655. You will not only vote for the end of a long-time crippled system, but also for public safety, by healing [or restoring] youth in trouble.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

We signed the “California's youth prisons promote violence and relapse - Close them down!” petition!

# 2,617:

7:34 pm PST, Jan 5, Name not displayed, New York

# 2,616:

5:04 pm PST, Jan 3, Dawee Van, Michigan

# 2,615:

4:51 pm PST, Jan 3, Andrea Gant, New Jersey

# 2,614:

8:28 pm PST, Dec 30, Dana Yandle, North Carolina

# 2,613:

11:30 am PST, Dec 30, Rebecca Castaneda, Florida

# 2,612:

5:54 pm PST, Dec 29, Crystal LA, Arizona

# 2,611:

1:33 am PST, Dec 29, Simos Tarabatzis, Greece

# 2,610:

8:16 pm PST, Dec 13, Linda Hughes, Florida

# 2,609:

5:35 pm PST, Dec 13, Felice Eliscu, Wisconsin
Your system does not work!

# 2,608:

3:37 pm PST, Dec 8, Jessica Souza, Arkansas

# 2,607:

12:11 pm PST, Dec 8, Merry Loscalzo-Stumpf, Iowa

# 2,606:

8:44 am PST, Dec 8, John Lewis Sr., Arkansas
You wonder why our prison's are full. Now you know.

# 2,605:

4:55 pm PST, Nov 28, Karen Gray, Indiana

# 2,604:

8:04 pm PST, Nov 26, Name not displayed, Maine

# 2,603:

6:36 pm PST, Nov 19, Sara Gracia, California
I have been a youth counselor for the last seven years. Kids can change, but not when we send them to the most violent of places.

# 2,602:

12:32 pm PDT, Oct 25, Joost Vandeputte, Belgium

# 2,601:

7:18 pm PDT, Oct 24, Robyn Nienau, California
Most troubled youth don't have a reason to stay out of trouble,give them hope give them an education, give them a future! Thats what they need not jail.

# 2,600:

4:33 pm PDT, Oct 22, Name not displayed, California

# 2,599:

4:35 am PDT, Oct 21, Name not displayed, Sweden

# 2,598:

11:24 pm PDT, Oct 17, Robert Lindsay, California

# 2,597:

5:09 am PDT, Oct 9, Michael Rabasco, Minnesota

# 2,596:

4:52 am PDT, Oct 5, Terri Fearon, Australia

# 2,595:

1:39 am PDT, Oct 4, Regina Wirth, Germany

# 2,594:

9:26 pm PDT, Oct 3, Crystal Price, Tennessee

# 2,593:

11:15 pm PDT, Oct 2, Nathan Revercomb, Colorado

# 2,592:

10:43 pm PDT, Oct 1, Sophie Szeferowicz, France

# 2,591:

11:14 am PDT, Oct 1, Catherine Smalley, United Kingdom

# 2,590:

12:39 pm PDT, Sep 26, Name not displayed, Indiana
If kids just sit in prison, what are they going to do when they get out? Get job and be productive parts of society? Probably not! Let's educate them!

# 2,589:

9:38 am PDT, Sep 25, Elina Bjorvik, Norway

# 2,588:

10:41 am PDT, Sep 23, BiLL Fowlie, Maine

# 2,587:

7:29 am PDT, Sep 17, Elizabeth Brawn, Australia

# 2,586:

2:42 am PDT, Sep 16, Name not displayed, Illinois

# 2,585:

1:44 pm PDT, Sep 11, Susan S., California
Sending juveniles to jail only turns these kids into "cold", "defensive" and "violent" citizens. They are almost guaranteed to come out and be repeat offenders.

# 2,584:

8:34 pm PDT, Sep 8, Timothy J. Demme, Vermont
In contrast, the therapeutic, regionalized services provided in Missouri have produced a 15.7% recidivism rate, while costing the state only $26,811 per youth. This success has been duplicated in many other states that follow a similar model.

# 2,583:

4:06 pm PDT, Sep 7, Jessica Cresseveur, Indiana

# 2,582:

10:35 am PDT, Sep 7, Margaret Gotsch, New York

# 2,581:

5:09 pm PDT, Sep 2, Kyna Crain, Illinois

# 2,580:

8:10 am PDT, Sep 2, Tonya Woodham, Alabama

# 2,579:

11:16 am PDT, Sep 1, Name not displayed, California

# 2,578:

1:05 am PDT, Sep 1, C. Romanelli, Illinois

# 2,577:

1:14 pm PDT, Aug 31, Kaytie Irvine, California

# 2,576:

4:41 am PDT, Aug 31, Christina Graybill, California

# 2,575:

4:35 pm PDT, Aug 30, Nora Ni., Arizona

# 2,574:

7:56 pm PDT, Aug 29, Roxie Schliesmann, Wisconsin

# 2,573:

3:53 pm PDT, Aug 29, Selena Millman, Ohio

# 2,572:

1:04 am PDT, Aug 29, Kataba Porchia, Texas

# 2,571:

9:17 pm PDT, Aug 28, Dee C, New York

# 2,570:

3:17 pm PDT, Aug 28, Darren Kirby, United Kingdom

# 2,569:

10:42 am PDT, Aug 28, Mary Owens, Georgia

# 2,568:

5:10 pm PDT, Aug 27, Sherry P, Ohio

# 2,567:

4:14 pm PDT, Aug 27, Sophia Dalle, New York

# 2,566:

1:05 pm PDT, Aug 27, Phyllis Pleasants, Virginia

# 2,565:

11:09 am PDT, Aug 27, Tru Samuels, MD, Pennsylvania

# 2,564:

11:07 am PDT, Aug 27, Charles Chiusano, Florida

# 2,563:

7:32 am PDT, Aug 27, Simone Rodrigues Fernandes, Brazil
I NEED HELP, YOU NEED, HELP ALL NEED HELP!

# 2,562:

8:30 pm PDT, Aug 26, Mauricio Ocampo, Mexico

# 2,561:

7:58 pm PDT, Aug 26, Brenda Vazquez, Massachusetts

# 2,560:

5:45 pm PDT, Aug 26, Jeannette Yafanaro, Costa Rica

# 2,559:

8:57 am PDT, Aug 26, Felisa Whitfield, Massachusetts

# 2,558:

11:00 pm PDT, Aug 25, Mohammad Abujabara, Kuwait

# 2,557:

8:31 pm PDT, Aug 25, Priya Amaresan, India

# 2,556:

7:55 pm PDT, Aug 25, William Harper, Georgia

# 2,555:

6:06 pm PDT, Aug 25, RED Hippie McGee, Indiana

# 2,554:

5:09 pm PDT, Aug 25, Orlin Larsen, California

# 2,553:

2:06 pm PDT, Aug 25, Carol Bischoff, Netherlands

# 2,552:

1:53 pm PDT, Aug 25, Tawnya Shields, Mississippi

# 2,551:

11:56 am PDT, Aug 25, Margaret Baylor, Florida

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