State intervention is needed to fix LA county’s probation crisis

OPINION – The California State Auditor’s recent report on Los Angeles County’s Probation Department highlights a critical crisis that demands immediate state intervention. The audit revealed that only $9.7 million of the $88 million allocated for youth rehabilitation since 2021 has been spent, primarily due to the County’s failure to establish essential programs like job training and gang intervention.

For years, the County has blamed probation officers, supervisors, assistant probation directors, special assistants, and probation directors for the department’s shortcomings, but the Auditor’s report makes it clear that the root cause lies with the LA County Board of Supervisors. The delays in spending, failure to implement critical programs, lack of hiring which has resulted in severe understaffing, and lack of oversight are symptoms of deeper issues rooted in the County’s leadership. These problems are too entrenched to be resolved by the same local leaders who have allowed them to persist.

As front-line staff, we witness the devastating impact of understaffing and these delays on a daily basis. The youth at juvenile facilities, including at Barry J. Nidorf and Los Padrinos, are deprived of the support they need, spending their time in inactivity rather than in the promised rehabilitative programs. This inaction has resulted in dangerous conditions, including overdoses and assaults, creating a hazardous environment for both youth and staff.

The crisis extends beyond individual facilities. The systemic issues within the Probation Department are exacerbated by severe understaffing. The department’s sworn workforce has shrunk from 4,400 officers in 2010 to just 2,400 today, making it nearly impossible to support effective rehabilitation programs or ensure safety. The situation is so dire that field officers charged with monitoring probationers on home release are being reassigned to fill staffing gaps in juvenile halls, further straining resources and endangering the safety of the public. Immediate hiring of 750 to 1,000 new officers is necessary to begin addressing these challenges. This is a net figure, as officers are leaving the department in record numbers due to the dire working conditions and the disrespect they face from the County. Without a significant increase in staffing, we cannot hope to improve conditions for either the youth or the officers tasked with their supervision.

Given the severity of the situation, state intervention is necessary to protect the youth and staff caught in this crisis. We urge the state to reconstitute the Probation Services Task Force to investigate these failures and develop solutions that prioritize the needs of justice-involved youth and the officers who supervise them. The Task Force should evaluate the current state of the department, identify systemic barriers to effective rehabilitation, and propose concrete reforms.

A key aspect of these reforms must be resisting the push for privatization, which would likely worsen the situation by prioritizing profits over the well-being of youth and staff. Instead, we must strengthen public oversight and accountability, ensuring that the Probation Department is equipped to fulfill its mission effectively and humanely.

The California State Auditor’s report is not just a critique; it is a call to action. By involving the state and reconstituting the Probation Services Task Force, we can begin to address the root causes of the dysfunction within our Probation Department. Our youth deserve better, our members deserve better, and it is time for the state to step in and help us build a system that works for everyone.

Stacy Ford is president of the LA County Deputy Probation Officers Union, AFSCME Local 685; Regino Torres, Jr., is president of the Supervising Deputy Probation Officers Union, BU 702 – SEIU 721 Joint Council; Frank Paredes is president of the Professional Managers Association, AFSCME Local 1967