PURPOSE OF ORDER:
State law prohibits the housing of juvenile inmates in any location where contact with adult inmates could occur. This order is written to establish procedures consistent with State Law.
SCOPE OF ORDER:
This order shall apply to all personnel assigned to and/or working in any capacity at Twin Towers Correctional Facility.
ORDER:
To be housed at Twin Towers Correctional Facility, juvenile inmates must be 15-17 years old, certified as unfit for trial in the Juvenile Court System, and remanded to the custody of the Sheriff. There must also be a finding by a judge that the juvenile is a danger to the other inmates or staff at Juvenile Hall, and documentation of his behavior while at Juvenile Hall.
The MCJ Legal Unit for male inmates or the TTCF Prisoner Personnel Unit for female inmates shall maintain a file for each juvenile inmate in our custody. Each file shall contain a copy of the remand order, the results of the fitness hearing, and any court orders pertaining to that juvenile. If no remand order exists or the juvenile’s file is incomplete, the juvenile shall be sent back to Juvenile Hall via IRC. Questions regarding a juvenile’s qualifications for housing at TTCF should be directed to the Juvenile Court Fitness Coordinator at (323) 226-8565.
Custodial personnel assigned to areas where juvenile inmates are housed shall be responsible for ensuring (and documenting) that each juvenile receives the activities, supervision, and privileges to which he is entitled under various sections of Title 15 as described in this Unit Order.
Safety Checks
Whenever a juvenile inmate is housed in this facility, custodial personnel shall make visual safety checks of the juvenile once every thirty (30) minutes. These checks shall be documented on the Juvenile Observation Sheet which shall be attached to the juvenile’s cell door and shall also be noted in the Module’s Title 15 Uniform Daily Activity Log (UDAL). All Juvenile Observation Sheets shall be maintained by TTCF PPO for a period of three years.
Assigned Housing Area
Juveniles shall be housed in single-person cells. They shall be kept out of sight and sound of any and all adult inmates while in their housing area, except when an adult inmate worker is present to perform work necessary for the operation of the module. In this case, the adult inmate worker shall be accompanied “side-by-side” by a deputy or custody assistant to ensure no communications occur between the adult inmate worker and the juvenile inmates. New juvenile inmates shall be placed on lock-down status until they are interviewed and classified by OSJ personnel or TTCF PPO.
Attorney Room
Juvenile inmates shall have access to their attorneys during normal attorney room hours. They shall be treated as high power inmates and handcuffed to the seat in the attorney room. Attorney requests to visit juvenile clients at other times shall be referred to the Watch Commander. Juvenile inmates on disciplinary restriction shall be allowed access to visit their attorney in the attorney room.
Cleanliness
Each juvenile shall be responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of his cell. Cleaning supplies shall be made available for this purpose. However, juveniles shall not be permitted to store cleaning supplies in their cells.
Clothing Exchange
Upon arrival to TTCF, all juvenile inmates shall be issued an immediate “clean” set of outer clothes, and two sets of under-clothes. They also receive one set of: Towel, sheet, blanket, etc. Juvenile inmates shall be included in the weekly clothing exchange provided to all TTCF inmates. Juvenile inmates shall remain in their cells during clothing exchange. This activity shall be logged in the module’s UDAL.
Correspondence
There shall be no limit to the number of letters a juvenile may send or receive. Legal mail sent to public officials, judges, attorneys, elected officials and Departmental executives shall not be read or censored by jail staff members. All incoming/outgoing mail shall be subject to guidelines in Unit Order #5-10-010, Inmate Mail.
Uniform Daily Activity Log & Juvenile Behavior Observation Log
Custodial personnel shall record all Title 15 issues, including movement, activities and safety checks, for juvenile inmates in the assigned modules’ UDAL and Juvenile Behavior Observation Log. A Juvenile Behavior Observation Log shall be kept in each module housing juvenile inmates. Along with Title 15 issues, all notable behavior by juvenile inmates shall be logged in the Juvenile Behavior Observation Log. TTCF PPO shall maintain all Juvenile Behavior Observation Log books for a period of three years.
Discipline
Juvenile inmates shall comply with the same rules and regulations required of adult inmates. Juvenile inmates found guilty of jail rule violations in Sergeant’s Court are subject to loss of privileges and disciplinary confinement. However, they are not subject to the discipline diet. Violators shall be locked in their regularly assigned cells to serve their discipline time.
Unless there is due cause or a compelling need, discipline time shall not exceed five days for any one offense. It shall be the responsibility of the day shift floor sergeant to review, on a daily basis, the discipline status of each juvenile inmate in disciplinary confinement and to make a determination as to whether or not disciplinary confinement shall continue.
If the decision is made to continue disciplinary confinement, the sergeant must explain the reasons to continue the discipline to the juvenile and document the reasons in the UDAL. This documentation shall be in the form of a memo attached to the daily page of the UDAL. A copy of this memo shall be forwarded to the MCJ Legal Unit for male inmates or TTCF PPO for female inmates to be included in that juvenile’s individual file.
Educational Services
Members of the civilian educational staff shall provide educational services to the juvenile inmates on a weekly basis in the form of a self-directed lesson plan to be studied in their cells. Juvenile inmates shall not be permitted access to the school’s office. Testing may be conducted in the recreation rooms if necessary.
NOTE: Whenever a juvenile is in custody, Educational Services shall be notified via e-mail by the assigned supervisor.
Recreation and Telephone Access
Juvenile inmates shall be afforded at least three (3) hours of recreation time per week as well as access to telephones and television as required by CCR Title 15. These activities shall be logged.
Juvenile inmates under the age of sixteen (16) shall be given one (1) hour of day room time every day. This additional time is supplemental to, not in lieu of the normally scheduled recreation time.
Indigent Supplies
Indigent supplies (hygiene kits) shall be distributed twice weekly (NO RAZORS), to each juvenile inmate. This activity shall be logged. Razors shall be provided only during shower time.
Meals
All juvenile inmates shall be fed in their cells, three times daily in conjunction with meals provided to other inmates. The content of these meals shall be determined by the culinary staff. Special diets shall be approved by the medical staff. An adult inmate worker shall serve the food and shall be supervised “side-by-side” by a deputy at all times during the food preparation and serving process. These activities shall be logged.
Medical and Mental Health Services
Initial medical screening shall be conducted by the medical staff at IRC upon receipt of the juvenile. Daily sick call and pill call shall be provided by members of the nursing staff. Doctors and dentists shall examine and treat the juveniles as needed in the
clinic. Members of the mental health staff shall visit weekly all juvenile inmates to ensure their mental well being and identify, monitor, and provide treatment for any juvenile who might be considered a suicide risk. These activities shall be logged in the module’s UDAL and Juvenile Behavior Observation Log.
Movement
Juvenile inmates shall be handcuffed and escorted to and from their destination. This includes anytime they leave their cell, except for showers and recreation room times. Escorting personnel shall endeavor to keep the juvenile isolated from contact with adult inmates as much as possible.
Religious Services
Members of the Chaplain Services shall minister to the needs of all juvenile inmates by visiting them on a weekly basis (minimum).
Reporting Procedures
The Legal Unit shall be responsible for faxing a list of juvenile inmates housed at Twin Towers Correctional Facility to the Probation Department’s Gatekeeper each Friday. Their fax number is (323) 342-9540.
The Legal Unit shall also complete and send form YA 10.402 to the California Youth Authority by the 10th of each month reflecting information from the previous month.
Rewards
In order to encourage positive behavior on the part of the juvenile inmates, additional day room time or freeway time can be provided to those juveniles who keep their cells clean, do not delay module activities, and/or volunteer to do extra work.
Rules
All jail rules applicable to adult inmates shall apply to juvenile inmates as well as the following:
· All juveniles must be fully dressed prior to exiting their cells (except during shower time). Shirts shall be tucked in and pants pulled up.
· No gang scarves, headbands or gang colors shall be permitted.
Segregation
Communications between adult and juvenile inmates are prohibited. Juveniles and adults shall not be placed in the same room except when: awaiting visits or sick call; other movement within the facility; juveniles seeing adult inmate workers at meals or during cleaning; selected program activities pursuant to section 208 of the W.I.C. Anytime a juvenile inmate is to leave his housing area, he shall be escorted by a deputy. Anytime an inmate worker is in the juvenile inmate housing area, he shall be accompanied “side-by-side” by a deputy to prevent any communication from taking place.
Showers
Juvenile inmates shall be allowed to shower daily. Only during his shower time may a juvenile inmate be issued a razor. The razor must be returned at the conclusion of the shower period for proper disposal by the deputy. A razor shall be used only once by one juvenile. All shower activity shall be logged. If a juvenile inmate is deemed suicidal by a mental health staff member, the juvenile will not be given a razor. Refer to CDM 5-01/050.00 Handling of Suicidal Inmates.
Commissary
Juvenile inmates shall receive access to Commissary once each week as stated in TTCF Unit Order #5-23-040, Commissary. NO RAZORS may be purchased. This activity shall also be logged in the UDAL.
Suicide Prevention Program
An initial mental health evaluation shall be conducted at IRC. Mental Health personnel at Twin Towers Correctional Facility shall contact each juvenile inmate on a weekly basis to identify any juvenile who might be exhibiting suicidal tendencies and provide those juveniles with necessary treatment (counseling and/or medication). Juvenile inmates identified as possibly suicidal shall be subject to two safety checks every 30 minutes on an irregular basis. They may be housed in MSB if mental health personnel deem it necessary. The mental health staff shall also be responsible for monitoring the progress of these juveniles and adjusting treatment as necessary.
Transfer To Adult Housing
Once a juvenile inmate reaches his eighteenth birthday, he shall be transferred to an adult housing location. However, before that occurs, the inmate must be interviewed by a member of the mental health staff to determine if the inmate is to be housed in a mental observation cell. If mental observation housing is needed, the name of the inmate and the name of the mental health staff member, and the new housing location shall be noted in the juvenile daily activity log.
If the inmate has been deemed suitable for housing in other than a mental observation housing area, and his security level has been determined by the IRC classification unit and listed on the inmate’s JRC, module personnel shall call IRC, to determine the appropriate housing location. Module personnel shall log the inmate’s transfer and the name of the mental health worker who approved the transfer in the UDAL and Juvenile Behavior Observation Log.
If the inmate has been deemed suitable for housing in other than a mental observation housing area, and the juvenile has not had his security level listed on his JRC, module personnel shall contact IRC classification and provide the necessary information so IRC can determine a security level. The inmate shall then be transferred accordingly. This move shall also be fully documented as noted in the previous paragraph.
The Juvenile Deputy shall generate a memo to MCJ Legal Unit indicating which mental health staff member approved the former juvenile inmate’s move and which employee determined his new housing location. Once that memo is completed and approved by the floor sergeant, and submitted to TTCF PPO or MCJ Legal Unit, the inmate may be moved to his new adult housing location. This information shall be summarized on the UDAL and Juvenile Behavior Observation Log on the date the inmate is moved.
Visiting
Juvenile inmates shall be permitted to visit with their parents or guardians as soon as possible after admission. If the juvenile has been placed in disciplinary isolation, he shall not be eligible for visits. All visits shall be logged. Refer to TTCF Unit Order #5-15-010, Public Visiting.
Notification To Parents Of Injured Juvenile
Pursuant to Section 223(a)(1) of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, any deputy having custody or control of any juvenile inmate who is the victim of a serious offense or injury shall notify the on-duty Watch Commander of the incident after the inmate has received the appropriate medical care.
NOTE: The law defines “serious offense” as any offense that is chargeable as a felony and involves violence against another person. “Serious injury” is defined as any injury or illness that requires hospitalization, is potentially life-threatening, or may permanently impair the use of a major body organ, appendage, or limb.
The Watch Commander shall then contact the Probation Department at (323) 226-8509 (24-hour number), with the juvenile’s name and date of birth. The Probation Department shall locate and provide the name and contact information of the juvenile’s parents or guardians from their records.
The Watch Commander shall then make a reasonable effort to contact the parents and inform them of the juvenile’s status, unless the juvenile requests that his parents NOT be notified or the Chief Probation Officer/Director of the Youth Authority determines such notification would not be in the best interest of the minor (223(a)(1) WIC). A notation shall be made in the Watch Commander’s log that the notification was made, or the reasons why it was not.
When A Juvenile Dies In Custody
When a juvenile dies while in our custody, we are required to submit a report of death to the Attorney General, Department of Justice. A copy of this report shall be forwarded to:
California State Board of Corrections
600 Bercut Drive
Sacramento, CA 95814
Attention: Audrey Bakke
within ten calendar days of the death. “Death in Custody” reports may be obtained by calling the Department of Justice at (916) 227-3720