California to move young offenders out of largest, harshest youth prison - San Jose Mercury News:
"The woeful conditions inside the California youth prisons, and their questionable public safety value, were highlighted in a 2004 Mercury News series. The series included reports from Stark and the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione, which will soon assume the dubious title of the state's most violent youth prison.
Warner insists state custody will always be needed for the most serious and violent offenders, who typically suffer from severe mental illnesses, childhood trauma and addictions — those deemed too difficult for counties to handle. But due to falling crime rates and far fewer state commitments, the youth prison population has plunged in recent years — from 5,500 in 2004 to the current 1,680.
Warner said closing Stark allowed him to cut costs systemwide that have shot up to a record-breaking $250,000 per ward, per year. In addition to the expense of overhauling mental health, education and treatment programs, until recently the system was bloated with more than 4,300 staff overseeing 2,000 offenders statewide."
"The woeful conditions inside the California youth prisons, and their questionable public safety value, were highlighted in a 2004 Mercury News series. The series included reports from Stark and the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione, which will soon assume the dubious title of the state's most violent youth prison.
Warner insists state custody will always be needed for the most serious and violent offenders, who typically suffer from severe mental illnesses, childhood trauma and addictions — those deemed too difficult for counties to handle. But due to falling crime rates and far fewer state commitments, the youth prison population has plunged in recent years — from 5,500 in 2004 to the current 1,680.
Warner said closing Stark allowed him to cut costs systemwide that have shot up to a record-breaking $250,000 per ward, per year. In addition to the expense of overhauling mental health, education and treatment programs, until recently the system was bloated with more than 4,300 staff overseeing 2,000 offenders statewide."
