Punishment Vs. Healing: Rethinking Title 15

Do you know what the BSCC is?  Most people in the state don't, especially in Alameda County.

The Board of State and Community Corrections, also known as BSCC, sets the standards for how juvenile halls, camps, ranches, and Secure Youth Treatment Facilities (SYTFs) operate across California. Everything from food, quality of sleep, medical care, visitation, and use of force. All of these conditions are regulated under what's called Title 15 of California’s Code of Regulations

These regulations decide whether facilities operate like a place of healing or a place of punishment. No one can rehabilitate in a facility where youth are having a hard time accessing adequate meals, sleep, and hygiene. Youth are also vulnerable to experiencing excessive use of force, such as the use of chemical spray as a de-escalation tactic.

Right now, these regulations are being revised.

Here’s where the issue is.

The stakes of what the BSCC is deciding are high. The standards being adopted under Title 15 will also apply to SYTF’s.Instead of creating a separate set of standards for Secure Youth Treatment Facilities (SYTFs), they are basically treating them like they’re the same thing as regular juvenile halls.

But they’re not the same in practice.

Here’s the difference in real terms. Juvenile halls were originally designed for short stays, like when a young person is waiting for court or serving a short commitment. Think weeks or maybe a few months.

The issue is that many counties, including Alameda County, house SYTF units inside juvenile halls. Physically, they might look the same. But functionally, they are no longer meant for short-term holding. SYTFs were created after California closed the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), the state’s youth prison system. They are intended to be long-term treatment-focused facilities for youth who otherwise would have been sent to state prison. A young person can now be committed to an SYTF for up to seven years, or up to the age of 25

The same minimum standards for food, bedding, programming, and use of force apply to both. There’s no distinction between someone staying 60 days and someone spending most of their youth there. There are no stronger requirements to reflect long-term confinement. So let’s reiterate all of this. A building designed for temporary holding now becomes a place where a teenager might spend the next seven years, but the rules and standards still reflect short-term detention.

The regulations do not guarantee daily fresh fruits and vegetables. Youth input on meals is only required “where practicable,” which essentially means it can be ignored. Requests for vegan or vegetarian diets can be denied. Some facilities can even continue contracting to deliver food from county jails.