In 1985, the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights division opened an investigation of the San Francisco Youth Center pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). 42 U.S.C. § 1997 et seq. Investigators found the Youth Guidance Center operated in a manner which violated the constitutional rights of juvenile detainees.

Specifically, the Youth Guidance Center imposed unreasonable punishment both by arbitrarily denying juveniles access to toilets and by randomly subjecting juveniles to isolation. The Youth Guidance Center's staff, further, inadequately monitored detainees placed in isolation. The City of San Francisco refused to address these issues formally by entering into a consent decree with the Justice Department.

On June 12, 1991, the Justice Department issues its Notice of Findings. In addition to the constitutional violations, investigators discovered that the facility's fire alarm and prevention system was not functional. The Justice Department recommended that all deficiencies be addressed and renewed its offer to negotiate a consent decree.

We have no further information on the actions taken by either the City or the Justice Department to address these problems.

Elizabeth Chilcoat - 05/18/2006


compress summary