Coronavirus outbreak: Advocates call on California governor to help incarcerated youths

Advocacy groups and others Friday called for the governor's office to respond to a coronavirus outbreak in California's youth correctional facilities.

Some took to Twitter, posting with the hashtag #StopCovid19inDJJ, saying hundreds of California’s most vulnerable youths are "sitting ducks." A coalition of groups called the California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice also posted a petition online at actionnetwork.org.

As of last week, Ventura County Public Health said 39 youths and eight employees had tested positive at the youth prison near Camarillo. Two weeks earlier, the first positive case at the site, called the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility, was reported to public health officials.

On Friday, county officials clarified that one of the youths apparently had been counted twice and adjusted the number to 38 youths and eight employees, according to the latest report to public health.

Friday's "Day of Action" was organized to press the governor and state leaders to protect youths at Division of Juvenile Justice facilities but also to inform the public about current conditions, said Renee Menart, communications and policy analyst with the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.

"Essentially, this is really an opportunity to stand together and let our state leaders know that we care about youth at DJJ," she said. "That we see them even though they're behind closed doors and high walls."

Coronavirus:Update: Intakes suspended in Ventura, Stockton as COVID-19 cases climb at youth prison

The San Francisco-based organization, one of several involved, has called for the state to consider early releases similar to those happening for thousands of adult inmates during the pandemic.

The DJJ has not released the number of positive cases among youths by facility, figures that are provided for inmates in California's adult prisons. Instead, they have disclosed only a cumulative total for all of its facilities statewide.

As of Thursday, it reported 65 youths had tested positive for COVID-19 within its facilities. Along with the local site for around 270 youths, it has a correctional complex in Stockton and a fire camp in Northern California.

Youths who test positive are housed separately in medical isolation or quarantined in their housing units, according to the agency. Youths in those units are monitored for fever and oxygen saturation levels twice a day.

Related:County reports 21 coronavirus cases at a youth prison near Camarillo; more tests pending

Along with regular screening for temperatures or symptoms, the DJJ said it is conducting all-staff testing every two weeks.  At the Ventura County facility, those tests started in mid-July, days before the first case in the outbreak there.

Last week, the DJJ also announced it would temporarily stop taking in new youths, something first halted in March by the governor. Intakes at the juvenile facilities had resumed May 26 until they were temporarily suspended again after the outbreak.

No volunteers or visitors have been allowed in the facilities since March to minimize exposure, according to a statement from the agency.

The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice said it has heard from some inside the facility as well as family members, raising concerns about current safety protocols as well as a reliance on isolation to manage the virus.

Youths not only need to be protected from COVID-19 itself but also from restrictive measures that could be harmful to their mental and emotional well-being, Menart said. 

That's why one of the groups' primary calls was to consider releasing youths, including those at higher risk of severe illness, she said. It could help the individuals, as well as allow for social distancing inside the facilities. 

Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.