Youth Authority
Your June 13 article on the Arizona Boys Ranch quoted one probation officer as saying that juveniles sent to the California Youth Authority are “learning how to be a criminal. No matter what happened at the Boys Ranch, the fact is that kids stand a better chance to get their stuff together there than at the CYA.”
CYA takes juveniles who have failed at every level of the criminal justice system, including the Arizona Boys Ranch, and we succeed in turning more than half of these youths away from crime. CYA’s recidivism rate is the lowest it has been in nearly 20 years and well below the national average. It’s unrealistic to think we could turn every young criminal into a law-abiding citizen, but juveniles sent to the CYA can--and do--turn their lives around.
FRANCISCO J. ALARCON, Dir.
Dept. of the Youth Authority
Sacramento
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