BSCC
Tulare Probation (2023-2024 inspection cycle)
Read the report at Tulare Probation ↗
December 18, 2023
Kelly Vernon, Chief Probation Officer
Tulare County Probation Department
3241 West Noble Ave.
Visalia, California 93277P
2023-2024 UNANNOUNCED INSPECTION, WELFARE & INSTITUTIONS CODE
SECTIONS 209 & 885, TULARE COUNTY PROBATION DEPARTMENT DETENTION
FACILITIES
Dear Chief Vernon:
The 2023-2024 Unannounced Inspection of the Tulare County Probation Department has
been completed. A pre-inspection briefing was held on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, and the
following facilities were inspected between Monday, May 15, 2023 and Friday, May 19,
2023:
FACILITY NAME BSCC # FACILITY TYPE
Juvenile Detention Facility 7703 JH
Youth Detention Facility 7704 CAMP
Secure Youth Treatment Facility 7707 SYTF
Juvenile Detention Facility Camp 7708 CAMP
These inspections were conducted pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Sections
209 and 885 to determine compliance with the Minimum Standards for Juvenile Detention
Facilities as outlined in Titles 15 and 24, California Code of Regulations. In addition, Board
of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) staff conducted compliance monitoring
pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 209(f) and the federal Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) requirements for separation between juveniles
and adults.
INSPECTION RESULTS
We identified no items of noncompliance with Title 15 Minimum Standards. The focus of
the inspection was to evaluate staffing patterns related to youth detention and
commitment housing. The agency has 13 newly hired Probation Correction Officers
(PCO) as well as a plan to provide Crossover Core Training to Probation Officers who
have not completed PCO Core, to further assist with youth supervision responsibilities.
Refer to the attached Title 15 Procedures Checklist for detailed information.
No items of noncompliance were identified with Title 24 Minimum Standards. We
evaluated the facility plan for housing as improvements and modifications are made, with
a schedule for completion in March 2024. The increase in staffing will allow the agency
to classify and house youth in separate pods, which is the intent of the varied programs
Kelly Vernon, Chief Probation Officer
Page 2
for detained youth. A Living Area Space Evaluation (LASE) will be updated in April 2024
with a targeted inspection, verifying the rated capacity for each program.
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act Compliance Monitoring
No violations of the JJDPA have been identified, and no areas of noncompliance were
noted.
An Exit Briefing with your staff was held on Wednesday, December 13, 2023; BSCC staff
presented an inspection overview and discussed technical assistance and best practice
recommendations.
* * *
Please email me at elizabeth.gong@bscc.ca.gov or call (916) 704-2503 if you have any
questions.
Sincerely,
ELIZABETH GONG
Field Representative
Facilities Standards and Operations Division
Enclosures
Cc: Presiding Judge, Tulare County Juvenile Court*
Chair, Juvenile Justice Commission, Tulare County*
Chair, Board of Supervisors, Tulare County*
County Administrator, Tulare County*
Greg Powers, Division Manager, Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facilities
*Copies of the inspection are available upon request or online at www.bscc.ca.gov.
7703+ Tulare Probation CAMP JH SYTF Unannounced LTR 23-24
JUVENILE HALLS, SPECIAL PURPOSE JUVENILE HALLS AND CAMPS
Board of State and Community Corrections
PROCEDURES CHECKLIST 1, 2
BSCC Code: 7703
FACILITY NAME: Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facility FACILITY TYPE: JH
PERSON(S) INTERVIEWED: Greg Powers, Division Manager; Jerrod Kerrigan, Supervising Probation Officer (SPO) –
Operations; Chris Cook, SPO – Programs; Velasquez, Program Deputy Probation Officer; Gus Gaston, Probation
Corrections officer (PCO) III; Yoceon Rodriguez, PCO II; Youth: Frankie, age 18 (SYTF); Jacob, age 18 (Long-Term
Program - JDFC
FIELD REPRESENTATIVE: Elizabeth Gong DATE: December 13, 2023
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
1321 STAFFING
Section 2.1(F)(1)
Each juvenile facility shall:
(a) have an adequate number of personnel sufficient to
The Juvenile Facilities (JF) have one Division
carry out the overall facility operation and its
Manager, three Supervising Probation
programming, to provide for safety and security of youth
Officers, 13 Institution Supervisors, four
and staff, and meet established standards and
Probation Corrections Officer (PCO) IIIs, 28
regulations;
Probation Corrections Officer I/IIs, four
transportation staff, six Intake officers, 13
Detention Services Officers, and 10 kitchen
and laundry staff.
The agency has hired 13 new PCO staff,
leaving 30 vacancies, 24 of which are for a
Leave of Absence or frozen positions. These
new staff will be going to Core training in
☒ ☐ ☐
January, providing a substantial increase in
the facility staff series.
The 85 Deputy Probation Officers (DPO)
continue to be mandated shifts in the facility.
Half of these officers are PCO core trained,
and the others will be completing Crossover
Core beginning in January. This will allow all
DPOs to be able to work sole supervision
with youth.
Currently, the DPO schedule is based on
seniority and these staff have the option of
working overtime or instead of their
scheduled field day.
(b) ensure that no required services shall be denied
because of insufficient numbers of staff on duty absent Section 2.1(F)(2)
☒ ☐ ☐
exigent circumstances;
1 This document is intended for use as a tool during the inspection process; this worksheet may not contain each Title 15 regulation that is required. Additionally,
many regulations on this worksheet are SUMMARIES of the regulation; the text on this worksheet may not contain the entire text of the actual regulation. Please
refer to the complete California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Minimum Standards for Local Facilities, Division 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter 5 for the complete list and
text of regulations.
2 This is a modified version of the Procedures Checklist and is only intended for use with the 2023 Unannounced Inspection of the Tulare County Juvenile Detention
Facility Juvenile Hall.
7703 Tulare Juvenile Detention Facility PRO 23-24 Page 1 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(c) have a sufficient number of supervisory level staff to
ensure adequate supervision of all staff members; Section 2.1(F)(3)
There is a minimum of one Institutional
☒ ☐ ☐ Supervisor (IS) on duty at all times, however,
we note since the IS series works 12-hour
shifts, there are typically two on duty each
shift.
(d) have a clearly identified person on duty at all times
who is responsible for operations and activities and has Section 2.1(F)(4)
completed the Juvenile Corrections Officer Core Course ☒ ☐ ☐
and PC 832 training;
(e) have at least one staff member present on each living
unit whenever there are youth in the living unit; Section 2.1(F)(5)
Because of increased staffing, the agency
was able to move SYTF and Long-Term
Commitments (JDFC) to their Pod/Unit after
☒ ☐ ☐
a series of improvements were made to the
physical plant. More moves should be
completed by March 2024 to allow Pod 5, the
Juvenile Detention Facility Pre-Disposition
Pod, to house only this population.
(f) have sufficient food service personnel relative to the
number and security of living units, including staff Section 2.1(F)(6)
qualified and available to: plan menus meeting nutritional
requirements of youth; provide kitchen supervision; direct There is a Food Services Manager, four
food preparation and servings; conduct related training ☒ ☐ ☐ cooks, a stock clerk/warehouse staff, and
programs for culinary staff; and maintain necessary three laundry technicians assigned to the
records; or, a facility may serve food that meets nutritional facility.
standards prepared by an outside source;
(g) have sufficient administrative, clerical, recreational,
medical, dental, mental health, building maintenance, Section 2.1(F)(7)
transportation, control room, facility security and other
support staff for the efficient management of the facility, The facility is sufficiently staffed for its
and to ensure that youth supervision staff shall not be population. Wellpath provides 24-hour per
diverted from supervising youth; and, day medical services, seven days a week.
Precision Psychiatric Services via Kaweah
Hospital provides Mental Health Services
Monday through Friday, but is available 24
hours a day, via on-call. There is a Clinician,
☒ ☐ ☐ Discharge Planner (LVN), and Medical
Assistant scheduled during the week and a
psychiatrist on site on Mondays.
Phoenix House staff and the Program
Specialist provide programming for staff to
facilitate operational needs. There is
ancillary sufficient staff to ensure no services
for the youth population are diverted from
youth supervision staff responsibilities.
(h) assign sufficient youth supervision staff to provide
continuous wide awake supervision of youth, subject to Section 2.1(F)(8)
temporary variations in staff assignments to meet special ☒ ☐ ☐
program needs. Staffing shall be in compliance with a
minimum youth-staff ratio for the following facility types:
7703 Tulare Juvenile Detention Facility PRO 23-24 Page 2 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(1) Juvenile Halls
(A) during the hours that youth are awake, one wide- Section 2.1 (B)
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for
each 10 youth in detention; The agency has moved the Long-Term
Youth/JDFC, and SYTF youth, to Pod 2. Pod
5 now houses all detention youth and the
YDF population, which is short and mid-term
commitments. Once the new PCO staff are
core-trained, which will coincide with
☒ ☐ ☐ improvements being made to Pod 1, YDF
and JDFC youth will move to Pod 1. This will
leave Pod 5 to house strictly Detention youth,
as designed.
Units A and B hose male Max Security, and
General Population (GP) detention youth.
Unit D has female detention youth and Unit C
houses YDF commitments.
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake Section 2.1(C)
☒ ☐ ☐
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth in detention;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the Section 2.1
number of youth in detention, unless an arrangement
has been made for backup support services which Staff schedules continue to include a
☒ ☐ ☐
allow for immediate response to emergencies; and, minimum of eight youth supervision staff on
duty during sleeping hours, well beyond the
minimum required ratio.
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☒ ☐ ☐ Section 2.1(D)
facility.
(E) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of Section 2.1(G)
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☒ ☐ ☐
kitchen or maintenance shall not be classified as
youth supervision staff positions.
(2) Special Purpose Juvenile Halls
(A) during hours that youth are awake, one wide- This facility is not an SPJH, therefore, the
☐ ☐ ☒
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for balance of this section will be left blank.
each 10 youth in detention;
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake
☐ ☐ ☒
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth in detention;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the
number of youth in detention, unless an arrangement ☐ ☐ ☒
has been made for backup support services which
allow for immediate response to emergencies; and,
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☐ ☐ ☒
facility.
7703 Tulare Juvenile Detention Facility PRO 23-24 Page 3 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(E) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☐ ☐ ☒
kitchen or maintenance shall not be classified as
youth supervision staff positions.
(3) Camps
(A) during the hours that youth are awake, one wide- This facility is not a Camp; therefore, the
☐ ☐ ☒
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for balance of this section will be left blank.
each 15 youth in the camp population;
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake
☐ ☐ ☒
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth present in the facility;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the
number of youth in residence, unless arrangements ☐ ☐ ☒
have been made for backup support services which
allow for immediate response to emergencies;
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☐ ☐ ☒
facility;
(E) in addition to the minimum staff to youth ratio
required in (h)(3)(A)-(B), consideration shall be given
to the size, design, and location of the camp; types of
youth committed to the camp; and the function of the ☐ ☐ ☒
camp in determining the level of supervision
necessary to maintain the safety and welfare of youth
and staff;
(F) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☐ ☐ ☒
farm, forestry, kitchen or maintenance shall not be
classified as youth supervision staff positions.
7703 Tulare Juvenile Detention Facility PRO 23-24 Page 4 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
JUVENILE HALLS, SPECIAL PURPOSE JUVENILE HALLS AND CAMPS
Board of State and Community Corrections
PROCEDURES CHECKLIST 1, 2
BSCC Code: 7704
FACILITY NAME: Tulare County Youth Facility FACILITY TYPE: CAMP
PERSON(S) INTERVIEWED: Greg Powers, Division Manager; Jerrod Kerrigan, Supervising Probation Officer (SPO) –
Operations; Chris Cook, SPO – Programs; Velasquez, Program Deputy Probation Officer; Gus Gaston, Probation
Corrections officer (PCO) III; Yoceon Rodriguez, PCO II; Youth: Frankie, age 18 (SYTF); Jacob, age 18 (JDFC)
FIELD REPRESENTATIVE: Elizabeth Gong DATE: December 13, 2023
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
1321 STAFFING
Section 2.1(F)(1)
Each juvenile facility shall:
(a) have an adequate number of personnel sufficient to
The Juvenile Facilities (JF) have one Division
carry out the overall facility operation and its
Manager, three Supervising Probation
programming, to provide for safety and security of youth
Officers, 13 Institution Supervisors, four
and staff, and meet established standards and
Probation Corrections Officer (PCO) IIIs, 28
regulations;
Probation Corrections Officer I/IIs, four
transportation staff, six Intake officers, 13
Detention Services Officers, and 10 kitchen
and laundry staff.
The agency has hired 13 new PCO staff,
leaving 30 vacancies, 24 of which are for a
Leave of Absence or frozen positions. These
new staff will be going to Core training in
☒ ☐ ☐ January, providing a substantial increase in
the PCO staff series.
The 85 Deputy Probation Officers (DPO)
continue to be mandated shifts in the facility.
Half of these officers are PCO core trained,
and the others will be completing Crossover
Core beginning in January. This will allow all
DPOs to be able to work sole supervision
with youth until the PCO series has sufficient
staffing to meet the population’s needs.
Currently, the DPO schedule is based on
seniority and these staff have the option of
working overtime or in lieu of their scheduled
field day.
(b) ensure that no required services shall be denied
because of insufficient numbers of staff on duty absent ☒ ☐ ☐ Section 2.1(F)(2)
exigent circumstances;
1 This document is intended for use as a tool during the inspection process; this worksheet may not contain each Title 15 regulation that is required. Additionally,
many regulations on this worksheet are SUMMARIES of the regulation; the text on this worksheet may not contain the entire text of the actual regulation. Please
refer to the complete California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Minimum Standards for Local Facilities, Division 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter 5 for the complete list and
text of regulations.
2 This is a modified version of the Procedures Checklist and is only intended for use with the 2023 Unannounced Inspection of the Tulare County Youth Detention
Facility Camp.
7704 Tulare County Youth Facility CAMP PRO 23-24 Page 1 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(c) have a sufficient number of supervisory level staff to
ensure adequate supervision of all staff members; Section 2.1(F)(3)
There is a minimum of one Institutional
☒ ☐ ☐
Supervisor on duty at all times, however, we
note since the IS series works 12-hour shifts,
there are typically 2 on duty each shift.
(d) have a clearly identified person on duty at all times
who is responsible for operations and activities and has Section 2.1(F)(4)
completed the Juvenile Corrections Officer Core Course ☒ ☐ ☐
and PC 832 training;
(e) have at least one staff member present on each living
unit whenever there are youth in the living unit; Section 2.1(F)(5)
Because of increased staffing, the agency
was able to move SYTF and Long-Term
Commitments (JDFC) to their Pod/Unit after
a series of improvements were made to the
☒ ☐ ☐ physical plant. More moves should be
completed by March 2024 to allow Pod 5, the
Juvenile Detention Facility Pre-Disposition
Pod, to house only this population, and Pod
2, to house SYTF youth. Both Commitment
programs, JDFC and YDF, will take over Pod
1.
(f) have sufficient food service personnel relative to the
number and security of living units, including staff Section 2.1(F)(6)
qualified and available to: plan menus meeting nutritional
requirements of youth; provide kitchen supervision; direct There is a Food Services Manager, four
food preparation and servings; conduct related training ☒ ☐ ☐ cooks, a stock clerk/Warehouse staff, and
programs for culinary staff; and maintain necessary three laundry technicians assigned to the
records; or, a facility may serve food that meets nutritional facility.
standards prepared by an outside source;
(g) have sufficient administrative, clerical, recreational,
medical, dental, mental health, building maintenance, Section 2.1(F)(7)
transportation, control room, facility security and other
support staff for the efficient management of the facility, The facility is sufficiently staffed for its
and to ensure that youth supervision staff shall not be population. Wellpath provides 24-hour per
diverted from supervising youth; and, day medical services, seven days a week.
Precision Psychiatric Services via Kaweah
Hospital provides Mental Health Services
Monday through Friday, but is available 24
hours a day, via on-call. There is a Clinician,
☒ ☐ ☐ Discharge Planner (LVN), and Medical
Assistant scheduled during the week and a
Psychiatrist on site on Mondays.
Phoenix House staff and the Program
Specialist provide programming in order for
staff to facilitate operational needs. There
are sufficient staff to ensure no services for
the youth population are diverted from youth
supervision staff responsibilities.
7704 Tulare County Youth Facility CAMP PRO 23-24 Page 2 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(h) assign sufficient youth supervision staff to provide
continuous wide awake supervision of youth, subject to Section 2.1(F)(8)
temporary variations in staff assignments to meet special ☒ ☐ ☐
program needs. Staffing shall be in compliance with a
minimum youth-staff ratio for the following facility types:
(1) Juvenile Halls
(A) during the hours that youth are awake, one wide- The YDF is not a Juvenile Hall program.
☐ ☐ ☒
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for each
10 youth in detention;
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake
☐ ☐ ☒
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth in detention;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the
number of youth in detention, unless an arrangement ☐ ☐ ☒
has been made for backup support services which
allow for immediate response to emergencies; and,
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☐ ☐ ☒
facility.
(E) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☐ ☐ ☒
kitchen or maintenance shall not be classified as
youth supervision staff positions.
(2) Special Purpose Juvenile Halls
(A) during hours that youth are awake, one wide- This facility is not an SPJH, therefore, the
☐ ☐ ☒
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for balance of this section will be left blank.
each 10 youth in detention;
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake
☐ ☐ ☒
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth in detention;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the
number of youth in detention, unless an arrangement ☐ ☐ ☒
has been made for backup support services which
allow for immediate response to emergencies; and,
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☐ ☐ ☒
facility.
(E) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☐ ☐ ☒
kitchen or maintenance shall not be classified as
youth supervision staff positions.
(3) Camps
(A) during the hours that youth are awake, one wide- Section 2.1(B)
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for
each 15 youth in the camp population; The Youth Detention Facility is a Camp
program, however, due to population and
☒ ☐ ☐ Pod 1 Maintenance, YDF youth continue to
be housed in Pod 5, Unit D. The
modifications and improvements to Pod 1
should be completed in March 2024, which
will allow YDF to move into two of their units.
7704 Tulare County Youth Facility CAMP PRO 23-24 Page 3 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake Section 2.1(C)
☒ ☐ ☐
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth present in the facility;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the Section 2.1
number of youth in residence, unless arrangements
have been made for backup support services which We reviewed the staff schedules and roster,
allow for immediate response to emergencies; ☒ ☐ ☐ noting there are at minimum eight youth
supervision staff on duty during the sleeping
hours, well beyond the minimum required
ratio.
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☒ ☐ ☐ Section 2.1(D)
facility;
(E) in addition to the minimum staff to youth ratio
required in (h)(3)(A)-(B), consideration shall be given Section 2.1(H)
to the size, design, and location of the camp; types of
youth committed to the camp; and the function of the YDF youth will occupy two units in Pod 1 in
camp in determining the level of supervision early Spring; and are currently housed in Unit
☒ ☐ ☐
necessary to maintain the safety and welfare of youth C of Pod 5 pending completion of
and staff; maintenance. The 30 available beds when
the YDF moves will continue to house short
and mid-term committed youth.
(F) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of Section 2.1(G)
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☒ ☐ ☐
farm, forestry, kitchen or maintenance shall not be
classified as youth supervision staff positions.
7704 Tulare County Youth Facility CAMP PRO 23-24 Page 4 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
JUVENILE HALLS, SPECIAL PURPOSE JUVENILE HALLS AND CAMPS
Board of State and Community Corrections
PROCEDURES CHECKLIST 1, 2
BSCC Code: 7707
FACILITY NAME: Tulare Secure Youth Treatment Facility FACILITY TYPE: SYTF
PERSON(S) INTERVIEWED: Greg Powers, Division Manager; Jerrod Kerrigan, Supervising Probation Officer (SPO) –
Operations; Chris Cook, SPO – Programs; Velasquez, Program Deputy Probation Officer; Gus Gaston, Probation
Corrections officer (PCO) III; Yoceon Rodriguez, PCO II; Youth: Frankie, age 18 (SYTF); Jacob, age 18 (JDFC).
FIELD REPRESENTATIVE: Elizabeth Gong DATE: December 13, 2023
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
1321 STAFFING
Each juvenile facility shall: Section 2.1(F)(1)
(a) have an adequate number of personnel sufficient to
carry out the overall facility operation and its The Juvenile Facilities (JF) have one Division
programming, to provide for safety and security of youth Manager, three Supervising Probation
and staff, and meet established standards and Officers, 13 Institution Supervisors, four
regulations; Probation Corrections Officer (PCO) IIIs, 41
Probation Corrections Officer I/IIs, four
transportation staff, six Intake officers, 13
Detention Services Officers, and 10 kitchen
and laundry staff.
The agency has hired 13 new PCO staff,
leaving 30 vacancies, 24 of which are for a
Leave of Absence or frozen positions. These
new staff will be going to Core training in
☒ ☐ ☐
January, providing a substantial increase in
the PCO staff series.
The 85 Deputy Probation Officers (DPO)
continue to be mandated shifts in the facility.
Half of these officers are PCO core trained,
and the others will be completing Crossover
Core beginning in January. This will allow all
DPOs to be able to work sole supervision
with youth until the PCO series has sufficient
staffing to meet the population’s needs.
Currently, the DPO schedule is based on
seniority and these staff have the option of
working overtime or in lieu of their scheduled
field day.
1 This document is intended for use as a tool during the inspection process; this worksheet may not contain each Title 15 regulation that is required. Additionally,
many regulations on this worksheet are SUMMARIES of the regulation; the text on this worksheet may not contain the entire text of the actual regulation. Please
refer to the complete California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Minimum Standards for Local Facilities, Division 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter 5 for the complete list and
text of regulations.
2 This is a modified version of the Procedures Checklist and is only intended for use with the 2023 Unannounced Inspection of the Tulare County Secure Youth
Treatment Facility.
7707 Tulare Secure Youth Treatment Facility SYTF PRO 23-24 Page 1 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(b) ensure that no required services shall be denied
because of insufficient numbers of staff on duty absent ☒ ☐ ☐ Section 2.1(F)(2)
exigent circumstances;
(c) have a sufficient number of supervisory level staff to
ensure adequate supervision of all staff members; Section 2.1(F)(3)
There is a minimum of one Institutional
☒ ☐ ☐
Supervisor on duty at all times, however, we
note since the IS series works 12-hour shifts,
there are typically two on duty each shift.
(d) have a clearly identified person on duty at all times
who is responsible for operations and activities and has Section 2.1(F)(4)
completed the Juvenile Corrections Officer Core Course ☒ ☐ ☐
and PC 832 training;
(e) have at least one staff member present on each living
unit whenever there are youth in the living unit; Section 2.1(F)(5)
Because of increased staffing, the agency
was able to move SYTF and Long-Term
Commitments (JDFC) to their Pod/Unit after
a series of improvements were made to the
☒ ☐ ☐ physical plant. More moves should be
completed by March 2024 to allow Pod 5, the
Juvenile Detention Facility Pre-Disposition
Pod, to house only this population, and Pod
2, to house SYTF youth. Both Commitment
programs, JDFC and YDF, will take over Pod
1.
(f) have sufficient food service personnel relative to the
number and security of living units, including staff Section 2.1(F)(6)
qualified and available to: plan menus meeting nutritional
requirements of youth; provide kitchen supervision; direct There is a Food Services Manager, four
food preparation and servings; conduct related training ☒ ☐ ☐ cooks, a stock clerk/Warehouse staff, and
programs for culinary staff; and maintain necessary three laundry technicians assigned to the
records; or, a facility may serve food that meets nutritional facility.
standards prepared by an outside source;
7707 Tulare Secure Youth Treatment Facility SYTF PRO 23-24 Page 2 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(g) have sufficient administrative, clerical, recreational,
medical, dental, mental health, building maintenance, Section 2.1(F)(7)
transportation, control room, facility security and other
support staff for the efficient management of the facility, The facility is sufficiently staffed for its
and to ensure that youth supervision staff shall not be population. Wellpath provides 24-hour per
diverted from supervising youth; and, day medical services, seven days a week.
Precision Psychiatric Services via Kaweah
Hospital provides Mental Health Services
Monday through Friday, but is available 24
hours a day, via on-call. There is a Clinician,
☒ ☐ ☐ Discharge Planner (LVN), and Medical
Assistant scheduled during the week and a
psychiatrist on site on Mondays.
Phoenix House staff and the Program
Specialist provide programming in order for
staff to facilitate operational needs. There is
ancillary sufficient staff to ensure no services
for the youth population are diverted from
youth supervision staff responsibilities.
(h) assign sufficient youth supervision staff to provide
continuous wide awake supervision of youth, subject to Section 2.1(F)(8)
temporary variations in staff assignments to meet special ☒ ☐ ☐
program needs. Staffing shall be in compliance with a
minimum youth-staff ratio for the following facility types:
(1) Juvenile Halls
(A) during the hours that youth are awake, one wide- Section 2.1 (B)
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for
each 10 youth in detention; The SYTF population has moved to Pod 2,
Units C and D. It is the plan to keep this Pod
designated for SYTF solely. Currently, YDFC
☒ ☐ ☐ youth (long-term commitments) are in unit A,
pending completion of maintenance in Pod 1.
However, once all facility modifications are
completed (March 2024), Units A and B will
be used only for overflow for JDFC and YDF
youth who will primarily be housed in Pod 1.
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake Section 2.1(C)
☒ ☐ ☐
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth in detention;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the Section 2.1
number of youth in detention, unless an arrangement
has been made for backup support services which We reviewed the staff schedules and roster,
☒ ☐ ☐
allow for immediate response to emergencies; and, noting there are at minimum eight youth
supervision staff on duty during sleeping
hours.
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☒ ☐ ☐ Section 2.1(D)
facility.
(E) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of Section 2.1(G)
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☒ ☐ ☐
kitchen or maintenance shall not be classified as
youth supervision staff positions.
7707 Tulare Secure Youth Treatment Facility SYTF PRO 23-24 Page 3 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(2) Special Purpose Juvenile Halls
(A) during hours that youth are awake, one wide- This facility is not an SPJH, therefore, the
☐ ☐ ☒
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for balance of this section will be left blank.
each 10 youth in detention;
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake
☐ ☐ ☒
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth in detention;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the
number of youth in detention, unless an arrangement ☐ ☐ ☒
has been made for backup support services which
allow for immediate response to emergencies; and,
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☐ ☐ ☒
facility.
(E) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☐ ☐ ☒
kitchen or maintenance shall not be classified as
youth supervision staff positions.
(3) Camps
(A) during the hours that youth are awake, one wide- This facility is not a Camp; therefore, the
☐ ☐ ☒
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for balance of this section will be left blank.
each 15 youth in the camp population;
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake
☐ ☐ ☒
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth present in the facility;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the
number of youth in residence, unless arrangements ☐ ☐ ☒
have been made for backup support services which
allow for immediate response to emergencies;
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☐ ☐ ☒
facility;
(E) in addition to the minimum staff to youth ratio
required in (h)(3)(A)-(B), consideration shall be given
to the size, design, and location of the camp; types of
youth committed to the camp; and the function of the ☐ ☐ ☒
camp in determining the level of supervision
necessary to maintain the safety and welfare of youth
and staff;
(F) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☐ ☐ ☒
farm, forestry, kitchen or maintenance shall not be
classified as youth supervision staff positions.
7707 Tulare Secure Youth Treatment Facility SYTF PRO 23-24 Page 4 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
JUVENILE HALLS, SPECIAL PURPOSE JUVENILE HALLS AND CAMPS
Board of State and Community Corrections
PROCEDURES CHECKLIST 1, 2
BSCC Code: 7708
FACILITY NAME: Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facility Camp FACILITY TYPE: CAMP
PERSON(S) INTERVIEWED: Greg Powers, Division Manager; Jerrod Kerrigan, Supervising Probation Officer (SPO) –
Operations; Chris Cook, SPO – Programs; Velasquez, Program Deputy Probation Officer; Gus Gaston, Probation
Corrections officer (PCO) III; Yoceon Rodriguez, PCO II; Youth: Frankie, age 18 (SYTF); Jacob, age 18 (JDFC).
FIELD REPRESENTATIVE: Elizabeth Gong DATE: December 13, 2023
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
1321 STAFFING
Section 2.1(F)(1)
Each juvenile facility shall:
(a) have an adequate number of personnel sufficient to
The Juvenile Facilities (JF) have one Division
carry out the overall facility operation and its
Manager, three Supervising Probation
programming, to provide for safety and security of youth
Officers, 13 Institution Supervisors, four
and staff, and meet established standards and
Probation Corrections Officer (PCO) IIIs, 28
regulations;
Probation Corrections Officer I/IIs, four
transportation staff, six Intake officers, 13
Detention Services Officers, and 10 kitchen
and laundry staff.
The agency has hired 13 new PCO staff,
leaving 30 vacancies, 24 of which are for a
Leave of Absences or frozen positions.
These new staff will be going to Core training
☒ ☐ ☐ in January, providing a substantial increase in
the PCO staff series.
The 85 Deputy Probation Officers (DPO)
continue to be mandated shifts in the facility.
Half of these officers are PCO core trained,
and the others will be completing Crossover
Core beginning in January. This will allow all
DPOs to be able to work sole supervision
with youth until the PCO series has sufficient
staffing to meet the population’s needs.
Currently, the DPO schedule is based on
seniority and these staff have the option of
working overtime or in lieu of their scheduled
field day.
(b) ensure that no required services shall be denied
because of insufficient numbers of staff on duty absent ☒ ☐ ☐ Section 2.1(F)(2)
exigent circumstances;
1 This document is intended for use as a tool during the inspection process; this worksheet may not contain each Title 15 regulation that is required. Additionally,
many regulations on this worksheet are SUMMARIES of the regulation; the text on this worksheet may not contain the entire text of the actual regulation. Please
refer to the complete California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Minimum Standards for Local Facilities, Division 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter 5 for the complete list and
text of regulations.
2 This is a modified version of the Procedures Checklist and is only intended for use with the 2023 Unannounced Inspection of the Tulare County Juvenile Detention
Facility Camp.
7708 Tulare Juvenile Detention Facility Camp CAMP PRO 23-24 Page 1 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(c) have a sufficient number of supervisory level staff to
ensure adequate supervision of all staff members; Section 2.1(F)(3)
There is a minimum of one Institutional
☒ ☐ ☐ Supervisor (IS) on duty at all times, however,
we note since the IS series works 12-hour
shifts, there are typically two on duty each
shift.
(d) have a clearly identified person on duty at all times
who is responsible for operations and activities and has Section 2.1(F)(4)
completed the Juvenile Corrections Officer Core Course ☒ ☐ ☐
and PC 832 training;
(e) have at least one staff member present on each living
unit whenever there are youth in the living unit; ☒ ☐ ☐ Section 2.1(F)(5)
(f) have sufficient food service personnel relative to the
number and security of living units, including staff Section 2.1(F)(6)
qualified and available to: plan menus meeting nutritional
requirements of youth; provide kitchen supervision; direct There is a Food Services Manager, four
food preparation and servings; conduct related training ☒ ☐ ☐ cooks, a stock clerk/warehouse staff, and
programs for culinary staff; and maintain necessary three laundry technicians assigned to the
records; or, a facility may serve food that meets nutritional facility.
standards prepared by an outside source;
(g) have sufficient administrative, clerical, recreational,
medical, dental, mental health, building maintenance, Section 2.1(F)(7)
transportation, control room, facility security and other
support staff for the efficient management of the facility, The facility is sufficiently staffed for its
and to ensure that youth supervision staff shall not be population. Wellpath provides 24-hour per
diverted from supervising youth; and, day medical services, seven days a week.
Precision Psychiatric Services via Kaweah
Hospital provides Mental Health Services
Monday through Friday, but is available 24
hours a day, via on-call. There is a Clinician,
☒ ☐ ☐ Discharge Planner (LVN), and Medical
Assistant scheduled during the week and a
psychiatrist on site on Mondays.
Phoenix House staff and the Program
Specialist provide programming in order for
staff to facilitate operational needs. There
are sufficient staff to ensure no services for
the youth population are diverted from youth
supervision staff responsibilities.
(h) assign sufficient youth supervision staff to provide
continuous wide awake supervision of youth, subject to Section 2.1(F)(8)
temporary variations in staff assignments to meet special ☒ ☐ ☐
program needs. Staffing shall be in compliance with a
minimum youth-staff ratio for the following facility types:
(1) Juvenile Halls
(A) during the hours that youth are awake, one wide- The JDFC is not a Juvenile Hall program.
☐ ☐ ☒
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for each
10 youth in detention;
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake
☐ ☐ ☒
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth in detention;
7708 Tulare Juvenile Detention Facility Camp CAMP PRO 23-24 Page 2 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the
number of youth in detention, unless an arrangement ☐ ☐ ☒
has been made for backup support services which
allow for immediate response to emergencies; and,
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☐ ☐ ☒
facility.
(E) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☐ ☐ ☒
kitchen or maintenance shall not be classified as
youth supervision staff positions.
(2) Special Purpose Juvenile Halls
(A) during hours that youth are awake, one wide- This facility is not an SPJH, therefore, the
☐ ☐ ☒
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for balance of this section will be left blank.
each 10 youth in detention;
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake
☐ ☐ ☒
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth in detention;
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the
number of youth in detention, unless an arrangement ☐ ☐ ☒
has been made for backup support services which
allow for immediate response to emergencies; and,
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☐ ☐ ☒
facility.
(E) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☐ ☐ ☒
kitchen or maintenance shall not be classified as
youth supervision staff positions.
(3) Camps
(A) during the hours that youth are awake, one wide- Section 2.1(B)
awake youth supervision staff member on duty for
each 15 youth in the camp population; The Juvenile Detention Facility Camp is the
agency’s Long-Term Camp Program. These
youth have been moved to Pod 2, newly
refurbished, temporarily until maintenance is
☒ ☐ ☐ completed in Pod 1. By early Spring, both
YDF and JDFC Camp Programs will occupy
Pod 1, leaving SYTF youth in Pod 2 and
Detention youth in Pod 5.
Staffing in the facility is compliant with the
Camp 1:15 required ratio.
(B) during the hours that youth are confined to their
room for the purpose of sleeping, one wide-awake Section 2.1(C)
☒ ☐ ☐
youth supervision staff member on duty for each 30
youth present in the facility;
7708 Tulare Juvenile Detention Facility Camp CAMP PRO 23-24 Page 3 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot
TITLE 15 SECTION YES NO N/A P/P REFERENCE – COMMENTS
(C) at least two wide-awake youth supervision staff
members on duty at all times, regardless of the Section 2.1
number of youth in residence, unless arrangements
have been made for backup support services which We reviewed the staff schedules and roster,
allow for immediate response to emergencies; ☒ ☐ ☐ noting there are at minimum eight youth
supervision staff on duty during the sleeping
hours, well beyond the minimum required
ratio.
(D) at least one youth supervision staff member on
duty who is the same gender as youth housed in the ☒ ☐ ☐ Section 2.1(D)
facility;
(E) in addition to the minimum staff to youth ratio
required in (h)(3)(A)-(B), consideration shall be given Section 2.1(H)
to the size, design, and location of the camp; types of
youth committed to the camp; and the function of the JDFC youth will occupy two units in Pod 1 in
☒ ☐ ☐
camp in determining the level of supervision March 2024; and are currently housed in Unit
necessary to maintain the safety and welfare of youth A of Pod 2 pending completion of
and staff; maintenance and improvements.
(F) personnel with primary responsibility for other
duties such as administration, supervision of Section 2.1(G)
personnel, academic or trade instruction, clerical, ☒ ☐ ☐
farm, forestry, kitchen or maintenance shall not be
classified as youth supervision staff positions.
7708 Tulare Juvenile Detention Facility Camp CAMP PRO 23-24 Page 4 of 4 A453 JUV PRO eff. 1/2019 (23-24).dot