Dear Merced County community,
In 2023, the California Department of Juvenile Justice ceased all its operations, a large-scale effort led by folks directly impacted by the juvenile justice system. A collective of communities accomplished this by organizing for years to pass SB823. This resulted in the closure of the state’s youth prisons, which had operated for generations. When they closed, the youth who were incarcerated in those facilities were sent back to their counties of origin. In addition, this state-level policy ensured that future youth who would otherwise have been sent to a youth prison remained in their counties of origin. The goal of these efforts was to ensure that youth stay connected and receive support from their families and local community-based organizations.
The DJJ closure opened up a couple of revenue streams to the Merced County Probation Department and its partners. These newly-opened revenue streams were created to fund the incarceration and rehabilitation of its youth offenders. By law, the county is required to either facilitate programs meant to help heal the youth or fund community-based organizations to provide this service.
This is where things get interesting for Merced County and several other counties in the state. The community-based organizations (CBO’s) in Merced County have not been informed by the system that they can serve the justice-impacted population. As a result of CBO’s absence from the table, a for-profit entity has stepped in and has been funded with millions of dollars since SB823 was implemented. GEO Group, the for-profit entity, has been, and still is, providing most of the state-mandated services to youth and some adults navigating the justice system. Either through our local facilities or through the re-entry program they oversee, GEO Group has a large presence in the rehabilitation process.
As many of you are aware, GEO Group is in the private prison industry. They are also funded to oversee the incarceration of the migrants who have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A for-profit entity that profits from the incarceration of young people should have no space in our community.
This does not align with our values as a community. Most of the services that GEO provides do not require a special degree or years of higher education. They use evidence based curriculums that any individual or community-based organization can get certified in.
Recently, the youth in Merced have been involved in the fight against President Donald Trump and his racist policies that have targeted the hard-working migrant communities. I am calling out to the community-based organizations and encouraging them to follow the youth. It is time for local CBO’s to stand on business and start the process of rehabilitating our youth. These youth in the juvenile justice system are our children, our students, and our neighbors who will become the spouses and parents of the community. We should be the ones to invest in them, not a for-profit corporation.
The youth from Youth Leadership Institute’s Concrete Rose program have started a community research project to measure the impact of the services provided to youth who are or have been a part of the justice system. In addition, Concrete Rose is offering community court support to any family with a loved one involved in the criminal court through a part of the program, called participatory defense. Navigating the court system is a very stressful time for those affected. Lastly, Concrete Rose will be holding townhalls for local community-based organizations so they can learn about the available opportunities, with the hope of providing competition to GEO Group, because these are our young people, and they should be served by us. WE HEAL US!!!
For more information, email Jesse Ornelas at jornelas@yli.org.
Jesse Ornelas is the Merced County director of programs for Youth Leadership Institute. He previously served on the Merced City Council from 2020-2024.