SANTA CLARA COUNTY SECURE YOUTH TREATMENT FACILITY INSPECTION REPORT

SAN JOSÉ, California (October 22, 2024):  Santa Clara County’s Juvenile Justice Commission has published its inspection report of the County’s Secure Youth Treatment Facility (SYTF). It is a program for youth and young adults up to the age of 25, started in July 2021 following the closure of Department of Corrections Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities. Counties were given relatively short notice of the closure of the DJJ facilities and provided with few guidelines on how to develop their alternative to the DJJ program. Youth who were housed with the DJJ were returned to their home counties. Santa Clara County opted to house the returnees in vacant units within Juvenile Hall.

Youth who would previously have been sent to a DJJ facility are now sentenced to the SYTF program.  It places a heavy emphasis on education, vocational training, and rehabilitation and now includes a step-down level, located at the County’s James Ranch, which allows the youth more autonomy as they work towards returning to the community.  The Commission found the program to be well run with many opportunities for youth within a supportive environment.

For further inquiries, please email: sccjjc@gmail.com.