Title
Chief Administrative Office and Probation Department recommending the Board authorize the Chair to sign a letter to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission in response to their 2019 Juvenile Treatment Center Inspection Report.
FUNDING: N/A
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In accordance with California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 225 through 231, each county shall have a Juvenile Justice Commission. The El Dorado County JJDPC serves as this body. One of this body's duties is to annually inspect all facilities within the county that have detained a minor for more than 24 hours. The JJDPC issued its 2019 Facility Inspection Report on June 30, 2019. The inspection report noted two material deficiencies at the South Lake Tahoe Juvenile Treatment Center (JTC):
1) The outside exercise lawn and landscaping is depressing and dirty, with long-dead sod and clods of bare mud and dirt. The space is insufficiently landscaped to accommodate Title 15 large muscle exercise under the current conditions.
2) The covered recreation space is typically very cold, as SLT JTC Temperatures annually average from 23 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Facility construction dates back to original, turn-of-the-century approved design with large gaps between the roofline and top of the enclosure walls. The building is frequently exposed to freezing winds and snow of the High Sierras, accelerated with climate change resulting in snow through July. The space is insufficiently heated to accommodate Title 15 large muscle exercise under many conditions.
The Commission requested a response from the Board of Supervisors by August 31, 2019. The attached letter describes the efforts by the Probation Department and the CAO-Facilities Division to address the deficiencies. To improve the outside exercise area, new sod will be installed, at an approximate cost of $9,000. More time will be required for Probation and Facilities to identify a suitable solution for the covered recreat...
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