We’re Placing Our Most Serious and Violent Young Adult Offenders Who are the Highest Risk and Have the Greatest Needs in Unchecked Facilities. That Has to Change

By State Senator Bob Archuleta

A year ago, I knew little about California’s Less Restrictive Programs (LRPs). Today, I believe they are exposing a serious gap in our juvenile justice system.

LRPs are designed to help young adults convicted of serious and violent crimes transition from secure detention into privately run settings in the community while still technically in custodywhere they can reconnect with family, education, and rehabilitation. That goal is worth supporting. The problem is that judges often must approve these placements without critical information about whether the facility is safe, properly supervised, or even appropriate for the young adult being placed there.

Current law does not require background checks for operators, consistent safety standards, or meaningful oversight before a placement is approved. In many counties, probation departments do their best to evaluate these facilities, but there is no statewide standard or accountability. That’s a gap in the law.

I discovered this while looking into a program housing justice-involved young adults in a residence on a university sorority row that was publicly advertised as student housing. Some of these facilities receive as much as $30,000 a month in taxpayer funding, yet no one could tell me who had vetted the staff or verified the level of supervision. As a former law enforcement officer, I found that deeply troubling.

When the county takes custody of a young person, it assumes responsibility for that individual’s rehabilitation and for protecting the public. We should not place someone back into the community without first ensuring the placement is safe, appropriate, and capable of meeting that young person’s needs.

That is exactly what SB 1157 does. The bill does not change who qualifies for an LRP or take authority away from judges. It simply requires that judges receive complete information, including safety reviews and background checks, before making a placement decision. It also streamlines the process by allowing courts to make informed decisions in a single hearing instead of multiple proceedings.

This is common sense. We would never accept this level of oversight in a school, foster home, or hospital. We should not accept it simply because these young adults are involved in the justice system. SB 1157 is about transparency, accountability, and protecting both vulnerable young adults and the communities where they are placed. Before someone serving a court-ordered sentence is transferred into one of these programs, we should know the facility has earned the public’s trust.

The question is simple: Who benefits from a system with so little transparency and accountability? Certainly not these young adults, and certainly not the communities we all call home.

Senator Bob Archuleta represents California’s 30th Senate District and is the author of SB 1157.