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Supervisors press for tighter oversight of Juvenile Probation Department after juvenile‑hall closure ordinance
Summary
Following the board's June ordinance to close juvenile hall by December 2021, supervisors requested audits, an appropriation ordinance to place non‑salary JPD funds into reserve, and asked the city attorney to draft a prohibition on post‑adjudication incarceration programming at juvenile hall.
Several supervisors on Sept. 17 urged increased oversight and financial controls for the Juvenile Probation Department (JPD) after the board earlier directed closure of juvenile hall by December 2021.
Supervisor Walton, joined by Supervisors Peskin, Haney, Ronan and Feuer, said JPD leadership has pursued programming and spending that conflict with the board’s earlier budget decisions and the closure mandate. Walton said the department had been ‘‘hard at work trying to undermine’’ the board’s closure plan and that certain staffing and budget claims did not align with the approved budget.
Walton and colleagues requested multiple actions: the controller’s office prepare an appropriation ordinance placing the remaining non‑salary JPD budget for fiscal year 2019‑20 into the board’s reserve; the city attorney prepare an ordinance prohibiting the use of juvenile hall (375 Woodside) for any programming that incarcerates youth post‑adjudication; and a stronger public accounting of how JPD is implementing alternatives to incarceration. They said Log Cabin Ranch and other vacant facilities could be used for programming that is not jail‑like.
Supervisors described a perceived pattern of JPD continuing to plan programs that would rely on juvenile hall even after the closure ordinance passed on June 18, 2019. Walton asked for the board to “put that budget under a microscope,” citing declines in juvenile crime and concerns about fiscal stewardship.
No final board vote on these requested measures was recorded in the meeting transcript; supervisors said they will pursue appropriation and ordinance actions and a further hearing to review JPD spending and program implementation.
