Bixby Center Lecture "Reproductive Health of Youth Women in Los Angeles County Probation Camps" by Hailey Jures February 21, 2017

1. Reproductive Health of
Young Women in Los
Angeles County Probation
Camps
Hailey Jures
UCLA Bixby Lecture Series – February 21, 2017

2. Probation Camps
 Photo found at
http://a.scpr.org/i/b5a49fbb6f
9b13efe77971e6f1217ceb/4611
3‐full.jpg

3. Probation Camps
 Photo found at
http://advancementprojectca.
org/wp/wp‐
content/uploads/2015/09/imce
/probation%20image.jpg

4. Demographics
 Conducted 104 semi‐structured interviews with youth at 12
Probation Camps
 Average youth age: 16.9 years old, Range: 14‐19 years old
 88 males, 15 females, 1 decline to answer (at male camp)
 59% Latino, 29% Black, 6% Multi‐racial, 2% American Indian, 2%
White, and 1% API
 70% in their first camp program
 Average interview time was 70 minutes, 31 seconds

5. Living
Conditions
 Dorms & bathrooms are generally uncomfortable, no privacy
 Food generally reviewed well at open camps, poorly at Challenger
 Concerns about portion size and available food to eat
 Water quality concerns at Camps McNair & Onizuka
 Girls had issues with paper underwear, feminine hygiene pads, &
ill‐fitting bras

6. Education
 Most youth liked school, the teachers, and the curriculum
 Youth at certain camps have access to woodshop, cooking classes,
college online courses, and other electives
 Credit recovery programs made graduating high school a reality

7. Programs
 Mixed reviews of group therapies, seemed to depend on
connection with counselors
 Most youth were indifferent to or critiqued the substance abuse
program
 Youth with jobs generally enjoyed them due to either the work
(mainly seen in office orderlies and kitchen patrol) or the perks
(extra food, extra phone calls, etc.)
 Specialized camp programs, FLOW (rapping and music writing
courses), and LA Dads were the best reviewed programs

8. Support
 80% of youth had at least one visit while incarcerated, only 16%
indicated weekly visits
 Phone calls are a weekly occurrence by policy, however length and
frequency vary by camp and PO
 Interestingly, some youth disclosed not wanting family or children
to visit as it would destabilize them. Some also indicated lying to
younger siblings or children telling them they were on vacation or
in boarding school

9. Probation
Staff
 78% of youth had good relationships with their assigned PO
 81% of youth had positive experiences with POs in general
 63% of youth had negative experiences with POs ranging from
minor disagreements to inappropriate behavior to verbal and/or
physical assault

10. Safety &
Discipline
 63% of youth felt that the rules of camp were enforced fairly
 Youth identified unfair practices to include group punishment,
favoritism by staff, militaristic practices, and denial of bathroom
access
 Youth discussed fights and riots in the camp as a normal
occurrence, but not a frequent one
 Many youth discussed instances of being pepper sprayed and/or
physical aggressiveness by staff after pepper spray use

11. Safety &
Discipline
 At the girls’ camps, many youth discussed sexual misconduct as
against the rules, but they also discussed couples in the camps and
how staff let certain couples get away with ‘sexual misconduct’
 74% of youth had been to the SHU; most stating experiences of
indifference as most stayed 24 hours or less
 Some stated liking the SHU because it was the only private time
they ever had
 It seemed that the girls were sent to the SHU for much longer times,
for the reason of ‘punishment,’ and for less serious offenses
 Later validated by the Probation Department as well

12. Social
Dynamics
 52% of youth made friends in camp and 38% did not, 10% gave
mixed responses
 23% said they had ‘associates’ or ‘acquaintances’ at camp
 28% had friends or family members from the outs in camp with
them
 Race is a leading cause of tension at many camps, both with the
youth and the staff.
 31% of youth also discussed how gang activity (intertwined with
racial dynamics) affected daily life at camp

13. Plans After
Release
 44% of youth wanted to go to college
 18% of youth planned to go to a trade school
 29% wanted to finished high school, with no plans of further
education
 9% either had no plans or were unsure of their plans

14. Health
Services
 Overwhelmingly, youth like their individual therapists and mental
health services
 11% were currently or previously on (while under the care of
Probation) medication for depression and/or anxiety
 31% were currently or previously on (while under the care of
Probation) sleeping medication

15. Health
Services
 Birth control policy is not given equitably to young girls as
reactions were varied around access
 A few girls disclosed pasts with miscarriages and/or stillborn
children, some while under care of Probation

16. Promoting
Dignity for
Young Women
& Girls in the
Probation
Camps &
Juvenile Halls
 Motion by Supervisors Mark Ridley‐Thomas & Hilda Solis
 Asked for updated policies on:
 Choices for feminine hygiene, including tampons
 Access to bathroom whenever needed
 Education strategy regarding health, hygiene, & reproductive health
 Better quality hygiene in general (soaps, lotions, deodorant)
 Better quality undergarments
 Education for pregnant young women around prenatal care, delivery
and post‐partum care, maternal‐child education, etc.

17. Questions,
Comments?
 “Recently I’m writing about my experience being incarcerated. So
yeah I’m writing about that, how it’s changed me, it’s looking
forward for a better future.”
 Full Report can be found at http://bit.ly/2fWvqUj