Los Angeles County Elects Former State Adult Probation Superintendent as Interim Probation Superintendent – ​​Daily News

Guillermo Viera Rosa, the strategist hired less than a month ago by Los Angeles County to overhaul its ailing juvenile detention center, is at least temporarily the new interim chief probation officer in the nation’s largest probation. He will lead the agency, county officials announced Thursday. , 11 May.

A 27-year veteran in the field of corrections, Viera Rosa previously headed the California Department of Adult Parole Services and is a former ex-officio member of state and local boards of corrections. The state regulator is currently planning to close LA County prisons. juvenile hall. With her 5,520 staff, the County Probation Service oversees 28,917 formerly incarcerated adults, 492 youths in detention, and approximately 2,000 youths on probation at home or in foster care. increase.

Puerto Rican-born Viera Rosa began working in the field as a part-time reserve deputy probation officer at the San Bernardino County Juvenile Detention Center and took over the role. Karen FletcherI submitted my resignation letter at the beginning of the month.

In a statement, Viera Rosa said she was very honored to be selected.

“This puts me in charge of the entire department, and I am committed to restructuring our youth services to meet state standards in the long term while adopting a ‘care first’ model for our county’s youth. I just want to let everyone know that we will continue to work hard, ‘justice,'” he said.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors removed Viera Rosa from state positions in mid-April to serve as the newly created chief strategist for juvenile affairs, ordering her to turn around the county’s failed juvenile detention centers. Earlier this year, State and Local Board of Corrections Inspectors They found poor conditions at two of the county’s major institutions, the Barry J. Nidoof Juvenile Detention Center in Sylmar and the Central Juvenile Detention Center in Lincoln Heights.

Meanwhile, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge said: California Department of Justice Complaint This would force the county to comply with the terms of the Consent Act, which calls for better medical care, educational programs, and juvenile training school staffing.

Continued staffing shortages have resulted in young people missing school, visitation cancellations, excessive curfews and lack of time outdoors. BSCC inspectors reportedly found that some teens and young adults were urinating in their rooms at night because there weren’t enough employees on the late shift to take them to the bathroom. It is said that at the same time, drugs keep flowing At least four overdoses have occurred in the past two months, including: There was a fatal accident a few days ago Promotion of Viera Rosa.

BSCC staff made the following recommendations at the May 23 board meeting: Declare both facilities ‘unsuitable’ for juvenile detentiona designation that requires the county to close these facilities within 60 days if they fail to pass new inspections.

Under the proposed solution, the probation service would transfer all of the prone young people (about 339 unsentenced detainees) to the previously closed Los Padrinos juvenile detention center in Downey. hopes for Authorities hope that by consolidating most of the juvenile training school staff into one location, they will be able to make better use of the available staff.

Once enacted, Nidolph will only house people detained in secure juvenile treatment facilities, while Central will be used as a reception center for law enforcement and for medical services.

In a statement, Gov. Viela Rosa said the county is working around the clock to prepare Los Padrinos for youth accommodation and plans to adhere to the expected 60-day schedule from the BSCC. rice field. “Because it is right.”

“We are not going back,” he said. “We agree with the BSCC staff conclusion that we should leave Central and Nidolph. We are doing everything in our power to meet this very tight deadline. Our youth and staff deserve nothing more.We are committed to a safe and secure environment that gives the youth who are dedicated to our care a clear path to rehabilitation. We are doing our best to provide the environment.”

Vieira Rosa was less committed to the reduced period when she spoke with the Los Angeles County Probation Board a few hours ago. The commission is considering a motion asking the county to close the cities of Nidolph and Chubu “as soon as possible” and consider other alternatives such as early release or sending the boys to other counties to reduce the overall population. but did not act. A more manageable level.

Commissioner Sean Garcia-Reese, who said he visited Los Padrinos this week, expressed concern about the current capacity.

“It looked like maybe 120 young people could move there soon,” Garcia-Rees said.

Vieira Rosa told the commission that the county was preparing in case the BSCC made a ruling to the contrary, but did not give details or timing as he did not want to preempt the decision. . He believed the best approach would be a phased transition over an extended period of time and hoped BSCC would work with the county to give it more time.

“Moving to Los Padrinos, a former juvenile detention center, gives us a way forward to provide the right environment for meaningful rehabilitation for young people,” he said. “This is a very large site and a small population, so we can focus on probation.”