Three of the teen suspects were on “active searchable probation” and one was wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor at the time of the arrests.

Robert Medellin, who has worked as a youth counselor for about 18 years, was charged with assault by a public official for an April 14 attack inside a Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall building.

A single mother of five is looking for answers after a counselor allegedly broke her son’s arm while trying to break up a fight at Juvenile Hall.

A garden inside the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall has become a source of solace for teens locked in an otherwise regimented existence.

Two sons of a Bangladesh-born San Jose couple shot to death in their home on Sunday have been booked on murder charges.

With new school board members being sworn in this month, county Board of Education trustee Joseph Di Salvo presents his list of key goals for the next two years.

A 50-year-old troubled-youth ranch is getting a $27 million upgrade, about half funded by a state grant and the rest by Santa Clara County.

The number of sexual abuse cases involving kids behind bars nearly doubled last year when compared to 2011. The disturbing increase occurred in spite of declining populations at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall and William F. James Ranch. A report on sexual assaults involving incarcerated youth will go before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Also on the agenda are a number of health and public safety contracts up for renewal.

“Scared Straight”, the popular 1978 documentary by Arnold Shapiro, has been brought to television as “Beyond Scared Straight.” I avoided watching the new reality television series because all the research shows the scare tactics of taking kids to jail for a day does not work. I was hoping that after one season the show would die and just go away. Unfortunately, it is back for a new season. 

Many juvenile offender services are not effective and some methods, like “shock incarceration treatment,” such as Scared Straight, actually worsen anti-social behavior. Unfortunately, with TV reality shows touting such interventions, communities continue to support these high-profile, ineffective programs. The thinking is: ‘We will just scare them into changing their ways.’ Only by looking at certain studies do we see that mixing youthful offenders with adult criminals, or with like-minded peers, only increases the chances that they will commit another crime. 

I have been working most of my adult life to reduce the number of kids locked up in jails. It has been an uphill battle in most communities, especially in the last decade when we have passed legislation allowing juveniles to be tried as adults. A new report is out by the reputable Annie E. Casey Foundation that supports my belief that juvenile hall is not rehabilitative and is ineffective in preventing future criminal behavior.