A California bill that could direct hundreds of millions of dollars to the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles is one step away from becoming law—but opponents of the bill argue that legislators should instead focus on reforming the system’s policies that allegedly harm the youth.
Assembly Bill 695—introduced in February by Assemblywoman Blanca Pacheco (D-Downey)—would give the Board of State and Community Corrections the ability to give state grants to a “county of the first class”—defined as having a population of more than 4 million—for construction improvements to the county’s juvenile facilities. Los Angeles County is the only county in the state with over 4 million people.
