VENTURA COUNTY NEWS : Move Will Ease Overcrowding at Juvenile Hall : Corrections: Nonviolent offenders in restitution program will live at Camarillo Airport site until county facility is built in 2003.

With construction of a new juvenile detention center still three years away, Ventura County probation officials are moving nonviolent offenders housed at the Juvenile Hall complex to Camarillo Airport in an effort to ease overcrowding.

The transfer of the county’s Juvenile Restitution Project will cost about $2 million and is expected to be completed by the new year, officials said.

The move will create space for 20 more inmates at Juvenile Hall, officials said. In addition, the new airport facility will include 16 extra bunks and offer more counseling and vocational services.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to expand the program,” said Patrick Neil, who will take over as division manager of the restitution project in January. “And it’s going to be a nice stopgap to get us through the next few years at least.”

Last May, the state awarded Ventura County a $40.5-million grant to construct a Juvenile Hall, designed to house up to 420 offenders--more than twice the number now housed in four facilities. But officials had to take immediate measures to ease crowding, because the building will not be completed until May 2003.

“We just cannot wait three years to get some of this done,” said Chris Weidenheimer, division manager at Juvenile Hall. “We are in a desperate situation right now, and the 36 extra beds will at least allow us to get by for the next three to four years.”

Although Juvenile Hall has only 84 beds, it houses an average of 109 inmates daily. The highest number of inmates on a single day was 132. And in 1997, the facility was at or over capacity all but one day of the year.

The Juvenile Restitution Project also faces overcrowding in its 24-bed facility. There is frequently a waiting list of seven or eight youthful offenders.

The extra Juvenile Hall beds will be used primarily for inmates about to be released. To ease their transition back into the community, they will receive anti-gang and substance-abuse counseling, as well as classes in parenting and job readiness.

The move will enable the county to offer more education programs at both Juvenile Hall and the Juvenile Restitution Project. Juvenile Hall will get a fifth classroom and an activity room, to be used for group counseling or seminars. The Juvenile Restitution Project will get a second classroom and a second activity room.

Paying Back Victims

Started in 1979, the Juvenile Restitution Project serves primarily nonviolent teen offenders who are ordered by the court to pay restitution to their victims. The program emphasizes community service, education and job training.

Currently, it is a minimum-security facility behind Juvenile Hall that houses male and female inmates, ages 15 to 18. During their 60- to 120-day sentences, the youths attend school, complete service hours and work in nearby restaurants or retail stores. Eighty percent of each paycheck goes to pay fines or restitution.

“The goals are to increase their awareness and accountability, to allow them to raise money to pay their victims and to help them develop the skills they need to live independently,” said Nancy Pierce, division manager for the restitution program.

The program serves youths who present the least risk to the community, Pierce said.

“These are basically the kids who don’t have a lot of violence in their past and who don’t have a lot of mental health problems and really can be out in the community,” she said.

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But because of space limitations, there are some teens convicted of assault with a deadly weapon who are in the Juvenile Restitution Project, said Jamie Ortiz, supervising deputy probation officer.

County residents should not be concerned about teen offenders working in the community, Ortiz said. “If they are out there, at least they are spending time in constructive ways. If they have a job where they are working eight hours a day, then they don’t have time to get in trouble.”

Santos, 17, works 28 hours a week at a local fast-food restaurant. Although he wishes he didn’t have to use his paycheck for restitution, he knows he has to pay his debt.

“JRP is the bomb,” said Santos, whose last name is withheld because he is a minor. “This program’s way better than Juvenile Hall. You go to work; you come home.”

When the youths are not at their jobs, they work on their high school credits at the facility. On a recent day, teacher Mitzie Brown helped one teen prepare for the high school equivalency exam. Each year, about 17 youths in the program take and pass the exam.

As she reviewed synonyms and antonyms, Brown told the teen, “This teaches you more words. It could help you get a job, because you’ll know more words when you are in a job interview.”

Paul, 17, said the project is a “good place to straighten up,” because he can get school credits and job skills.

The teen offenders also complete community service hours. If the sentence is for 60 days, the youths usually are required to do 120 hours of community work.

Digging the Dirt

Often, they complete their hours at the Cornucopia Garden in Ventura, where they rake dirt, paint toolsheds and grow vegetables for the homeless. In the last 15 months, Juvenile Restitution Project teens have spent almost 2,000 hours working at the community garden.

Last week, five teens dressed in bright orange vests pulled weeds and cleared their plot. As one 17-year-old inmate filled a wheelbarrow with dirt, he said he looked forward to planting peas, carrots and tomatoes. “I didn’t really know anything about planting,” he said. “Now, I’ve kind of learned a lot, and I’m sure I’ll learn more.”

Corrections Services Officer Rudy Lopez, who supervises the community work, said most of the teens take pride in their work at the garden.

“It gives these guys an opportunity to learn about gardening,” he said. “And then they see the results. It’s a way to get these kids motivated.”

But Mike, 17, said even though being in the garden is better than just sitting in his room, he doesn’t like working for free.

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When the Juvenile Restitution Project moves to Camarillo, it will change in several ways. The two-story facility will be medium security and will house only males. The teenage girls who are currently sentenced to the project will serve their time at Colston Youth Center in Ventura.

The sentences will be longer--between 120 and 180 days--to provide more counseling and programs. Neil said he plans to focus on teaching the inmates how to live independently and how to get and keep jobs.

The location of the new facility--near a movie theater and the outlet center--will benefit youths in the program, he said.

“There is a lot of commerce around here, so it could be a really dynamic area to support 40 kids who’ll be out looking for entry-level jobs,” he said.

When the new juvenile detention center is completed in 2003, he said, the county can use the project building as office space or another correctional facility.

“It’s going to have a lot of versatility in the future for us,” he said, “in addition to meeting the needs for juveniles now.”