Justice System

The LA Times Editorial Board reiterates its support for ending solitary confinement for young people and calls for the California legislature to pass SB 61 to regulate and document solitary confinement for youth in California.

Justice for Families and the DataCenter will release a new research report, Families Unlocking Futures: Solutions to the Crisis in Juvenile Justice.

The East Bay Express talks with the Ella Baker Center's Rhina Ramos about the alarming number of Oakland Cops who live outside the city of Oakland and the effect it has on community and residents.

Dangerous Time Adds Provision No Longer Allowed in California Youth Prisons, Impacting 1,000 Youth

With SB 1506 (co-sponsored by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights) California Senators had an unprecedented opportunity to create a much needed solution that would save California $200 million per year and make our communities safer. 

Despite ongoing failures and shocking abuse, the Governor once again backed down on his budget proposal to close California’s state youth prisons.

This Los Angeles Times editorial shows strong support for our bill (SB 1363) that would limit the use of solitary confinement in California's youth prisons.

The LA County Board of Supervisors is due to vote this month on approving Baca’s application. But groups like the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the Youth Justice Coalition, and Californians United for a Responsible Budget, are collecting signatures to petition the County Board of Supervisors to vote against the deal.

For the second time in one year, Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed permanently closing the Division of Juvenile Justice, a move that would make California the first state in the nation to eliminate its youth prison system and shift responsibility for the most dangerous young offenders to counties.

California's youth prison system may soon cease to exist, ending a notorious legacy that included 23-hour cell confinements, using cages as punishment for misbehaving and staff beatings, sometimes caught on tape.