Chair highlights declines in OC spray and expanded reentry supports at Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center

The Public Protection Committee heard updates on Thursday from Alameda County Probation, Behavioral Health and medical partners about programming and care at the Juvenile Justice Center and Camp Sweeney, including steps to reduce use of OC spray and bolster reentry services.

Probation’s Assistant Chief Shawna Connor gave a demographic snapshot for the period ending Aug. 31, 2025, saying "between the JJC and Camp Sweeney there were 60 youth in custody," the average age was 17.4 and 48 percent of youth were 18 or older. She said 62 percent of youth were African American and 27 percent Hispanic or Latinx, and Oakland accounted for 42 percent of residents.

The presentation described an "integrated care" model aligning probation, the courts, Alameda County Behavioral Health, the Alameda County Office of Education and community‑based organizations to coordinate case plans, services and reentry. Connor cited a March 2025, $900,000 standard services agreement with Safe Passages to provide navigation, mentorship and barrier‑removal services for youth for up to one year after release; Probation said Safe Passages had served two youth so far and that one youth recidivated early in the program’s ramp‑up.

Behavioral Health Director Juan Taison and partners described expansion of the Guidance Clinic and CalAIM implementation to improve in‑custody treatment and continuity of care. Taison said the county expanded its contract with UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland to $8,800,000 to increase medical staffing and maintain 24/7 coverage, with an explicit focus on supporting CalAIM requirements.

UCSF Pediatrician and JJC medical director Javeh Ross described the medical unit (four pediatricians, a dentist, nurses and discharge coordination) and detailed services including routine screenings, dental and optometry clinics, adolescent primary care and a substance‑use clinic linked with Alameda Health System’s Bridge Clinic to support continuity of addiction care after release.

On use‑of‑force, Probation reported a 15 percent decrease in OC spray as a subset of overall force compared with the prior reporting period, but said there were seasonal spikes over the past summer. Connor said the department implemented a negotiated policy in August 2025 that clarified OC spray is to be used only as a last resort and is prohibited for youth with serious medical conditions, significant mental‑health issues or pregnancy. "OC spray has been deployed approximately 29 percent of the time for all use of force incidents in juvenile hall" during the covered period, she said.

Supervisors pressed presenters on whether recent district attorney practices have led to more transfers of youth to adult court. Probation said it has received requests from the DA’s office for reports used in transfer considerations but "we have not had any young person under this DA be transferred to the adult system," and emphasized its statutory role as an objective reporter to the court.

Committee members asked about reentry timelines and hotspot targeting. Probation described a transition center that begins planning at intake and said post‑disposition placements (camp) typically include months of advance notice that enable planning, while predisposition youth can be less predictable; the department also described a regional youth violence initiative that will target high‑need communities with localized resource centers.

The Chair thanked presenters for "significant progress" and noted continued work to expand staffing and programming. The committee set future meetings, including a joint Public Protection and Health Committee on Sept. 29 and its next regular meeting on Oct. 23.