Committee hears juvenile custodial grievance data; supervisors ask for clearer appeal tracking

Probation staff on Wednesday briefed the Public Safety and Justice Committee on juvenile custodial grievances filed between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, and described grievance and appeal procedures used in juvenile hall and at William F. James Ranch.

Deputy Chief Jill Ugalde (Probation Department) said the grievance process includes an initial response within three days, immediate handling of health-and-safety issues, and a final resolution within 10 days. If a youth disagrees with the final resolution, staff said a hearing is available where youth may call witnesses and present a case before management.

The committee pressed for data showing how many youth who disagreed with grievance resolutions pursued formal appeals and what outcomes those appeals produced. Supervisor Lee asked whether the department had figures showing how many dissatisfied youths filed appeals; probation staff reported that for the reporting period there were no appeals recorded but acknowledged that further clarification was needed.

Why it matters: supervisors and advocates said that counting only initial grievance outcomes is not sufficient. They asked probation to report back with breakdowns showing who was satisfied initially, who filed appeals, and what findings the appeals produced. Independent Defender Sylvia Perez McDonald and others said the county should ensure youth know their appeal rights and that the process is accessible and developmentally appropriate.

The committee also discussed the substantive composition of grievances. Probation's operational manager said many complaints at James Ranch related to food or other daily-life issues rather than Title 15 or health-and-safety matters, and that some unfounded findings reflected behavioral-management consequences (PBIS point deductions) rather than systemic violations.

Public comment included Xavier (Javier) Espana, a person formerly held at juvenile hall, who said he recalled being told which counselors were "cool" and which were not, and raised concern that youth sometimes do not file grievances because of fear of retaliation or because the appeal process is difficult to navigate. "One of the first things I remember being told when I got in that facility was which CEOs or counselors are cool and which ones are not to be messed with," Espana said.

Committee action: Supervisor Lee moved to receive the grievance report; the committee approved the motion. Supervisors requested that future grievance reports include longer historical data, disaggregations so the committee could see trends over time, and an itemized list of which dissatisfied youth subsequently filed appeals and the outcomes of those appeals.

Next steps: Probation agreed it could provide the requested breakdowns and to improve data collection methods and to return with clarified, cleaned data in future reports so the committee can monitor trends and follow-through on grievance appeals.