Los Angeles County's probation chief said he plans to leave the troubled agency as the deadline to evacuate Los Padrinos Juvenile Center approaches, sources said, potentially leaving more than 200 incarcerated youths without a place to go. .
Probation Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa sent a brief memo Wednesday to the county Board of Supervisors saying he planned to retire before the end of the year, according to several sources with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. of personnel.
Viera Rosa's unexpected departure would cap a 20-month period during which he failed to reform the troubled agency whose youth centers again face the threat of closure under increasing scrutiny from oversight agencies and the California attorney general's office. The probation department is responsible for supervising both adults on probation and youth in camps and youth homes.
“We have many challenges at the Probation Department and I thank you for taking on this job during some difficult times,” Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes the Downey facility, said in a statement. “I wish him the best.”
The Board of Supervisors scheduled a closed-door meeting with Viera Rosa for Tuesday. Depending on the meeting agenda, the board will conduct an evaluation of the chief's performance and consider candidates to replace him.
Through a probation department spokesman, Viera Rosa declined to comment.
A former member of the California Board of State and Community Corrections, the oversight body that has They repeatedly threatened to close the county's deteriorating youth facilities. — Viera Rosa was tasked with making improvements after his predecessor was shot on the heels of two Times investigations into abuse and mismanagement at the facility.
Instead, Viera Rosa found herself squarely in the crosshairs of the supervisory board she once served on.
He initially joined the county as chief youth operations strategist. Shortly after, an 18-year-old man died of a drug overdose inside the Barry J. Nidorf juvenile facility in Sylmar, following weeks of alarming reports from regulatory agencies about drug use among teenagers at the facility.
Viera Rosa reopened the defunct Los Padrinos youth center, but the facility quickly descended into chaos. In the first month alone, there were riots and an escape attempt, a supervisor was caught bringing a gun onto the grounds, and staff continued to refuse to show up for work.
In October, the state and community corrections board found that Viera Rosa had failed to manage the staffing crisis and that Los Padrinos was no longer safe for young people. The board gave the department until December 12 to relocate more than 200 youth from Los Padrinos.
Viera Rosa has shown little intention to move them, frustrating prison board members who have repeatedly said the agency's facilities are dangerous for youths.
“There is no effort at this time to make any type of plan to relocate the youth detained at Los Padrinos,” board member and deputy public defender Ángeles Zaragoza said at a Nov. 21 meeting where she chastised the county for his “flagrant disregard” of the supervisory board. “I just don't understand how we got here.”
Attorneys for the board said at the meeting that they would consider legal action against the agency if the relocation deadline came and went without movement from the county.
“Everyone on this board is concerned about December 12 and what will happen after December 12,” said board President Linda Penner.
A board spokesman said they were not informed of Viera Rosa's plans to leave the agency.
Not all Viera Rosa bosses took his departure for granted. Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement that she wanted “strong, consistent leadership at the top.”
“I want to explore if there is an opportunity for Probation Department Chief Viera Rosa to continue his service to our county,” he said. “Effective leadership is critical to implementing reforms and ensuring department staff can carry out the important work of rehabilitating and supporting the young people in their care. “The challenges we face are great, but not insurmountable.”
The offices of the other three supervisors either declined to comment or did not comment before publication.
Probation spokeswoman Vicky Waters declined to comment on Viera Rosa's departure, but said the department hopes to avoid closing Los Padrinos by passing another inspection. Inspectors were at Los Padrinos on Thursday, according to the prison board.
“We are confident that the initial improvements implemented will ensure compliance,” Waters said.
