Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall

A report from a local oversight group described abysmal conditions for young people incarcerated in a Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall.

Los Angeles County has averted the closure of its two juvenile halls, but must address new problems that surfaced in a recent inspection.

Before the coronavirus pandemic tore across the globe, a Southern California mom spent her Sundays performing a special kind of devotion, visiting her youngest son in a juvenile jail. Taking time off from driving for DoorDash to travel the 50 miles from her home near Redondo Beach to Los Angeles County’s Barry J.

At a recent meeting of the Los Angeles County Probation Commission, tensions about how the county is implementing an alternative to solitary confinement in local juvenile detention centers boiled over during the questioning of a senior member of the Probation Department.

Just a few years after Los Angeles County exited a monitoring agreement with the Department of Justice, the county’s probation department has seen a return of rampant use of pepper spray in settling altercations and other misbehavior at juvenile detention facilities.

The number of cases involving staff use of force at Los Angeles County juvenile halls has risen over the past seven months, according to information presented at a meeting today of the Los Angeles County Probation Commission.