On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a recommendation to renovate Camp Joseph Scott, one of the county’s two probation camp for girls.
The $4.5 million project will involve a therapeutic dormitory-style remodel of the Santa Clarita facility similar to the renovations currently underway at Camp Vernon Kilpatrick.
After the remodel, the Camp Scott dormitory building will be able to house 48 girls and young women in a “youth centered and home-like” environment. (Currently Camp Scott has a daily population range between 25-35 girls.)
Within the dormitory, there will be four housing modules, each containing two 6-bed rooms, as well as a living room, bathroom, and laundry room. The dormitory will also have spaces for group counseling, a mental health office, and a medical exam room.
City News Service has more on the probation camp remodel. Here’s a clip:
“The hope of the new design is to … promote a small group, family- type treatment facility, utilizing cottages instead of the current large dormitory design,” said David Mitchell, acting deputy chief of the Juvenile Institutions/Residential Treatment Services Bureau. “This design allows the Department to more effectively provide evidence-based, small group cognitive interventions and pro-social supportive services in a more therapeutic environment.”
The living arrangement is expected to build closer relationships and potentially reduce recidivism.
“Separating the young ladies into small living cottages endorses more personalized interaction with the youth and the staff that provide services to them,” Mitchell said. “The new design will enhance privacy, personal relationships and communication skills between the youth and creates a family- type living environment.”
The camp will also include group counseling rooms, a mental health office and a medical exam room and Mitchell said the design will allow targeted treatment, better integration of services and more family engagement.
During construction, juvenile offenders will be moved to Camp Kenyon Scudder in Santa Clarita. Scudder has capacity for 85 minors and a daily population that ranges between 26 and 32 minors.
Construction is expected to begin in six to nine months and take roughly two years to complete.