The drastic drop in population at the William F. James Boys
Ranch in Morgan Hill is either a seasonal blip or a the result of a
dramatic policy change within the Santa Clara County Department of
Probation.
The drastic drop in population at the William F. James Boys Ranch in Morgan Hill is either a seasonal blip or a the result of a dramatic policy change within the Santa Clara County Department of Probation. It just depends who you ask.
There are currently only 46 wards at the Malaguerra Avenue ranch, which can hold as many as 96 boys between the ages of 15 and 18. Chief Probation Officer Sheila Mitchell said the population shift – there were 69 wards in late July – is nothing more than a seasonal adjustment that will correct itself once school starts. She said more kids end up in the juvenile justice system during the school year because school officials are among the biggest reporters of juvenile crime.
“It happens every summer. When kids go back to school we see it increase,” Mitchell said.
But public defenders and prosecutors say they notice a definite difference in the way probation officials decide who should be sent to the ranch. Judges have the final say in placements, but their orders typically echo probation recommendations, which are crafted with input from attorneys, psychologists and other youth experts.
“Without a doubt,” said David Soares, the supervising attorney for the district attorney’s juvenile department. “It’s a transitional policy, while they revamp their program, but I think they’re doing a very careful job making their assessments. … There are a number of kids who were previously sent to the ranch who are wisely not being sent to the ranch.”
The population dip comes as probation officials finish work on new programs intended to reduce the number of runaways and recidivism. Mitchell would not comment on specific tenets of the new programs, but said they are based on the so-called “Missouri Model” of rehabilitation and will incorporate more counseling and family involvement and enhanced aftercare re-entry programs.
Judge Richard Loftus, head of the Santa Clara County Superior Court juvenile division, praised the job officers are doing, but said he hasn’t perceived a change in direction.
“It’s being done in a very thoughtful kind of way with a lot of participation from people who have a good fix on what we need to do in a program like this,” he said. “The more options we have, the better job we can do matching the kids up with particular programs.”
One of the options will be longer sentences, averaging 180 to 240 days, as opposed to the current 120-day terms. Also, youths charged with certain offenses may automatically be barred from the ranch.
Sylvia Perez, supervising attorney for the juvenile unit of the county public defender’s office, said probation officers are reacting to pressure from homeowners who live around the ranch and considering changes that may be detrimental to offenders. She said longer, indeterminate terms worry public defenders, as does the possibility that offenders will be judged only on the charges against them.
“Although formal criteria have not yet been adopted, I believe probation is much more strict in scrutinizing ranch commitments,” Perez said. “At this point it’s unclear what the consequences are for kids.”
On one hand, Perez said, she’s seen youth who in the past were remanded to the ranch sent to community-based alternatives, such as special schools and out-patient treatment programs. But she also said that youths are shipped to more restrictive facilities like those of the California Youth Authority.
“It could be a very good thing, particularly if kids are given services at home,” Perez said. “If instead, kids are sent out of state or committed to the juvenile hall for a long time, then it’s a bad thing. It’s misguided to reduce the population. Missouri doesn’t work just for low-risk kids. It applies across the board and to high-risk youth with serious problems.”
