Over the course of the summer of 2007, Books Not Bars will be touring all of the Division of Juvenile Justice (more commonly known by it’s former initials, CYA) youth prisons. In this second post, Jennifer Kim writes of her experience touring the Stockton youth prison complex.
* * * * *
Freedom is an undervalued privilege. This thought crossed my mind as I looked upon the largeness and remoteness of the youth correctional facilities in Stockton. Behind the barbed wire fences and cold administrative buildings lay empty fields of dry grass surrounding bleak buildings which house our youth…some as young as 13 years old.
We were joined on our tour by two youth who provided us with a rare insight into their lives in the CYA. As I walked with one of the youth named Jorge*, he pointed to something on the ground. He looked around before he spoke very softly, frustrating any would-be eavesdroppers.
“You see that? That’s blood. Old blood stains. From fights and stuff. If we fight each other, the guards don’t do anything.”
“Have you been in a fight?” I asked him.
“Yeah. You have to defend yourself in here. If someone takes your stuff, you have to confront them and fight them. Or else you just become a victim. You have to help yourself because no one else will get your back. If you complain to the guards, they don’t care. They don’t do nothing,” he replied.
We walked by the library at that point and I noticed a small area with legal references. I asked Jorge if he had ever used the legal library.
“Naw. What do I look for there?” he said.
The facility officials in the meantime, were eagerly steering us to a few, I would assume, pre-selected classrooms. They had specialists for those with speech and hearing impairments. Classrooms were staffed with Spanish translators. The youth were enrolled in school programs or were placed in vocational programs. These were the assertions of the administration.
“Are the youth ever prevented from attending classes for whatever reason?” I inquired.
“That rarely happens. We might need to do that for security reasons but it doesn’t last for very long,” one administrator replied.
The youth I spoke with in the classrooms told a very different story.
“A couple months ago we couldn’t go to class for like 2 weeks because there was a fight with like 5 people. But they punished all of us. It happens a lot.”
“Yeah, and we couldn’t use our school books to do homework or nothing.”
“This one kid got written up because he was talking to this new guy in class in Spanish. He was just trying to tell him what the teacher was saying because that new guy only speaks Spanish. But he got in trouble for that.”
We didn’t stay in any one building for very long. I walked with the other youth that accompanied us on our tour, Pedro*, as the administrators ushered us to the next destination.
“What’s been your experience like in here?” I asked him.
“I’ve been in here for a long time. My parole hearing’s coming up so that’s good. But I think I have to go through like INS or some deportation thing because I’m not a citizen,” he informed me.
“Do you have a lawyer or someone helping you?” I asked him.
“No. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Do you know what I should do?” he asked. Before we could finish our conversation we were ushered away to the next stop, the substance abuse programming unit.
From what I could tell, substance abuse programming consisted of one workbook, some videos, and the notion that it’s up to the individual to make a change. No counselors with a formal medical degree were available. About a dozen youth sat in a row of chairs in front of us. Each of them shared their experiences with the substance abuse program.
“You just have to make the change for yourself. It’s just hard when you get out and you go back to the same neighborhood.”
“This is my second time doing this.”
One youth pulled me aside as I was leaving and shook his head slightly. He whispered, “It doesn’t work. The staff are liars. It’s all bullshit.”
The most emotionally difficult time of the tour came when we visited the lock-up unit. Staff members refer to it as “SMP” or special management programming. A quaint euphemism for a cell unit designed after the adult prisons. We had the opportunity to speak with one youth privately in an office. He entered the room in a bright orange jumpsuit, shackled. We spoke briefly with him about the prevalent violence perpetrated by the guards against the youth in the lock up unit.
Stepping out of the office, the other youth housed in the tiny cells began calling for us, wanting to speak with us. Perhaps they sensed that this was their only opportunity to get help. We spoke with them as long as we could before we had to leave and end the tour. They also spoke of the violence used against them by the guards. The SMP program is a 60-90 day program but many of the youth we spoke with had been there as long as a year or more.
The tour ended in the cool air-conditioned administrative building. We no longer could hear the voices of our youth or smell the stagnant stench of the cells. Least of all, we no longer could see their vacant eyes, full of fear and despair. The mood in the van as we drove away was somber, each of us reflecting and mourning in our own way.
I didn’t think it would be so difficult to leave the youth behind. As I work on the Books Not Bars campaign now, my focus has shifted away from the cold walls of the CYA prisons. Instead, the faces of the youth now fill my horizon.
* Names have been changed.
109 Comments
I find it so hard to believe the way this country treats it youths.
What ever it is that they have done does not constitute treating them
like animals, my Lord, animals in this country get treated better.
I believe that a lot of the fault lies with the people that run these places
The guards the medical help, there under paid and under staffed and above all, they are not well educated, because if they were they could not treat other human beings like they do.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” M.L.K
Yes, they have done something wrong, and need to be held accountable, but this is no way to treat a child!! And we ALL know very well that there are hundreds more like the way this one is being run through out this country. Shame on our society for allowing such treatment to continue!! NO CHILD deserves such treatment and it certainly isn’t helping them to become BETTER CITIZENS to live within our society!! ALL our society is doing is THROWING AWAY PRECIOUS LIVES!! It is APPALLING AND SHAMEFUL!! I don’t know how the people who run them this way sleep at night!!!
One young prisoner was asked “Do you have a lawyer or someone helping you?â€
“No. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. Do you know what I should do?†he asked. Before we could finish our conversation we were ushered away to the next stop, the substance abuse programming unit.
This child has constitutional rights. THE SIXTH AMENDMENT.
Gives him the right to counsel for his defence.
This is SUCH important work that you are doing! Please don’t stop and know that there are many people behind you. We live in Mexico, in the Yucatan, where crime is much lower. There are a lot of reasons for that. One thing we’ve noticed is the way the police treat people when they think they have done something wrong. They talk to them. They listen. They treat them like a cousin or a brother. They don’t beat them up first and ask questions later.
Anyway, it’s great what you are doing. And thank you for reporting on it. The fact that you are watching and reporting will help change the system. Keep up the great work!
My son was one of the youth’s that you spoke to in the lock up unit. He has curently been there for nearly 7 months. Its hard for them. I ask myself how can anyone be alone in such a confined space for such a long period of time. I would go crazy. I know when I go see my son and I see him most every weekend. He talks non stop and its about the same thing every week. He doesn’t have anything new to tell or new to talk about. He is like in his own little world (cell). I asked him once if he gets to watch TV and he said there is only one TV and he can see it from his cell but that he can’t hear it, so he doesn’t watch it very often. I ask him about school and he said he can get a booklet and he can get credits but that if he needs help with any of the work there is no one to help him with it. He isn’t allowed to go to classes. I worry about his mental state of mind and wonder how healthy can it be to put a person in a room for so long. My son has messed up as a child and made some very bad choices in his life but I just wonder how are they helping to reform him and teach him to make better choices.
Christelisa: Please go to this website and order your son a copy of The Power Source and send it to him or give it to him if allowed. The Lionheart Foundation published this profound book to help kids get through incarceration. Every young inmate should have one! I work in a youth prison library and this book is a lifeline. Send or take your son books! Books save lives. They help kids survive a desperate time. Here’s the link: http://www.lionheart.org. Caring regards~
This is so very sad. It is happening all over the country. We diminish ourselves as a nation and a civilized society when we treat our children and most vulneranble citizens this way. It is an embarassment. How did we get here? Is is our lawmakers who are just trying to get elected on empty rhetoric and fear based bullshit? It makes me sick. How can we end this? We need to expose these facilities for what they are. State sanctioned child abuse and private profit centers for the private prison industry. Thanks for all you do in California. I know how you feel. I support a child serving life in Mississippi. He was sentenced as an adult at age 15. He has had to fight for his survival.
I just received a letter from a child who is serving Life in Mississippi. On the front of the envelope he wrote “you can cage an animal but you can’t take away the rage”.
I’ll send him back a quote. Its something we do on the front of our envelopes just to keep our sanity. I know what the mom is saying about having nothing new to say. It is the same old stuff for these kids minute after minute. Most of the talking we do is about fighting in the prison. A new fight or a new lockdown is all that is new. It is pathetic. It will grind your mind down to nothing after awhile. That is the purpose. I was told by the attorney I hired for this child, that prison is designed to break your spirit. We are breaking the spirits of these children. Why don’t we just kill them it would be cheaper and more humane wouldn’t it?
my son is in chad in stockton I go see him every weekend. I visit him 4 to 5 hours each visit he tell me whats going on around him every week. I am and will continue to do all I can to get my son into a different program.
He is a high school grad. and in the cya this is not a plus can you believe it ? It means he can not go to school with the other kids. He can take a couple of college classes they send him books and its up to him to get through it. He talks mostly of how he feels like he isnt going to make it he feels like his mind is to week to take all the mental abuse he has to go through everyday from staff. He is doing the best he can to get through his program but to be told everyday that he is a monster and worth nothing
is not helping him or any of these kids at all. These kids all need to be tought that they are worth something and that they can change and make a new life . The staff treat every parent like they are locked up too. I myself will not stand for any of them treating me like I have broke the law in anyway, because I havent . My son who is very out spoken when he know s he is right about something. This to worries me because the guards might take it out on him. If the tour would have came through his unit. (feather) He would have spoke his mind and told all. believe that. Only the love of parents the willingness of us all to protect our children from the system will save them. Because my son has told me he feels so sorry for the kids in there who have no one there for them He has put so many of them on the phone to me just to have someone to talk to.. How sad. The sad part is that we have to protect them from the state who should be protecting and helping them. But its not……….
My son is also at Chad in Stockton and a high school graduate. I visit with him every weekend. Because he is a graduate he cannot attend any classes. Last weekend I asked him if he could at least go to the Library and he said No! He asks all the time to go there also. He tells stories of the gaurds showing favoritism…What I do not understand is that my son is also in the program at Feather. He was transfered from O.H. doing the same program at Humboldt hall, however, he had to start all over again due to not having his records and they wanted to “get a feel for him and where he is at”. He also states that they expect different type of work on their assignments. I have had visits at Preston, O.H., Dewitt, and Chad, each facility have different visiting rules and different programs for the same thing. Are they doing this to keep our youth there even longer? Why can they not get on the same page? The system is failing our youth and is creating problems and not solving them…
to Debbie believe me I understand exactly how you feel. I to have visited Preston, Dewhitt nelson and now chad and your right they all have different visiting rules. But the thing that is so bad about this system is that the staff needs to not make the mistakes on these kids records because it is our childrens lives in there mistakes on paper work. I still havent got my sons records fixed from his in take at preston. He has charges on his file that he didnt do and in order to get through his program he has to admit to all the things they said hes done well ok, what about the stuff that he was not charged with and is intered in his file. the system is failing all of us and we dont seem to be able to do anything. I will never give up untail I see some kind of change to help not only my son but all theses kids who long for the love and compassion of the adults in there life. Your son is lucky to have a parent to love and care about him because the one thing i ve seen is that so so many of these kids dont have parents who care if they live or die. My son cant believe the amount of kids that have no parents to care about them. Weekly he puts kids on the phone to me to just have someone to say hi and know what its like to talk to a caring parent. How very sad…….. I will keep you and all the parents in my prayers. see if we can connect at visiting i usually go saturday and sunday. both days.
To Vicky, oh my…my son also is admitting to things he did not do..that THEY put on his reports. I asked him why he doesn’t argue the points of falseness and he states “I want to get OUT and THEY do not take kindly to fighters of their rights”. I go on Saturday for the month of July, this saturday I will have on a grey sweat jacket becuase they keep it freezing in the visiting hall..See ya then..Thank you for your prayers and I will also pray for you and all of our youths who have been snarled into the system.
Debbie, so sorry i didnt have time to talk at the visit please e mail me at vickylopezhull@yahoo.com so we can either exchange #’s or e mail each other look forward to talking to you and giving you some more info on a few things i’ ve found out. still praying for all of the moms dads and youths out there being abused i truly believe that there is a light at the end of this dark road. god bless our children and protect them from harm.
My son is now also at Chad. He has been to Preston, Stark and now Chad. I am not sure of what to make of Chad yet. My son told me that he had to file a complaint against a guard at Chad for telling the reason why he is there. The same thing happen at Stark and they did an “investigation” said they could find no proof and closed the case.
Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall is not a place for any child to have to do time. The Probation Officers are liars and the Mental Health Services that they have there are not working in the interest of our children. The whole system there is horrible. The Internal Affairs there is also very ineffective. I wish I could write down in this forum all the bad things that my son went though at in Santa Clara.
Brenda I was reading through all the comments and I wanted to tell you to write down all that your son has went through in your county from start to finish, and turn it in to the head District Attorney in your county. Then send a copy to the gov. as well as the attorney generals office of complaints . I got a response from both of those offices and i plan to use every person I have contacted since my sons arrest to help him. The District Attorney’s office in merced county is bad too. They broke my sons rights over and over . As for the juvenile Hall in merced county. I can tell you that they were good to my son and his needs. I even was able to call and find out how he was doing from the staff. If I was worried about him mentally they would go and check on him and call me back and let me know how he was. The Person who takes care of the kids from the mental health dept. came at my sons request 2 times aweek and he really got my son through his time there. I was looking up on a web sight where they rate the jails and juvenile halls and the new Juvenile hall in merced passed with no right ups at all just that the only complaint they had from the kids was not enough food. the treatment from staff was as good as it can get in the system. Now where he is now is a 360 from that.
Today September 18, 2007 i have found a website with other human being in the same boat as I am. My son was sentence to 10-years with two strikes. He was charged with gang street terrorsim and attemted murder towards police officers. reading this short summary most people would thiink DANGEROUS!. Looking at the incident during pre-trial you would know otherwise. no previous record no tatoos-never pointed at police officers. I totally agree with punishment for actions he took. But who determines who is dangerous. from juvenile hall-to preston-to pelican bay at 18. I visited every weeken as often as i could. tyring to maintain contact with counslers or parole agenst at preston. although i was informed that he was a bully attacked and harrassed other inmates. and the best thing for me was to keep away and visit him no so often. He like many others have gone through many verbal abuses. We as parents are often told it is there behaivor that also them to loose previlages. How is one to react when you are isloted for months no communications from. when you are taken out for i-hour you are sent out in a cage. much more to say.
I think that by imprisoning those minority group members who believe in equality and live it in their everyday lives, in order to break their spirit, in the classrooms of the public schools, in juvenile jails, in West Oakland on the streets by cops harassment, is something that Ella Baker Center gives voice to.
I think, too, that countries that sell cocaine, heroin, narcotics to the U.S. who try to mentally coerce Americans into using narcotics by horse whipping small children to death in their countries is a way of imprisonment that the U.S. needs to deal with as well.
The significance of each of us as children learning and growing into adults who know to do the correct thing for the right reasons is the same expectation that we should have of the representatives – the new parental keepers- of the children (and those turned adults in these systems) who have erred. It all requires investing ourselves – our time and resources- in the LORD and one another.
I worked for CYA back in the late 1970s – at that time it was focused on rehabilitation and the people who worked there (for the most part) cared about getting kids back on the right track.
I moved on to other jobs and then left state service to work in private industry. A couple of years ago I came back into state service – this time with the California Conservation Corps – another youth-oriented organization (young adults 18-25 yr olds), but one that focuses on high school diplomas and job skills in the natural resources fields, and does not hire young adults who are on probation or parole.
At the time I returned I discovered Youth Authority and Corrections had merged into one entity. I was shocked. And dismayed. Corrections is about incarceration entirely – it is not about rehabilitation. They do provide some substance abuse programs, but for the most part they are only interested in keeping “criminals” locked up. Event the medical care is sketchy at best.
It is a sad state of affairs that all we are creating is better criminals. Even if the crime is a “victimless” crime, or one that is minor, once the individual is incarcerated with true criminals, they must learn to survive in that society, and thus, they learn lots about things that will keep them from assimilating back into a “normal” life.
And even this administration wants to keep building more prisons – which again will incarcerate, not rehabilitate. And, will provide high paying jobs in the remote locations where they are built (for instance, the standard of living has increased incredibly in Crescent City since Pelican Bay Prison was built). Prison guards get compensated very well in California. But unfortunately, the kind of person attracted to that kind of work is generally not the kind of person who is interested in helping.
At least when CYA was its own entity, the people who were attracted to work there started out as people who cared about making a difference in young people’s lives.
What to legal system is doing to our children is unbelievable. In Butte County we have the most courrpt system of justice, it starts with the DA’s Office Probation and on down. I pray to god to put a stop the injustices which are being dumped on the youth of our nation. Someone need to clean house in California, I thought the governor was suppose to do this, another promise broken. The CYA’s as we know them are creating criminals not rebilitaing our youth. Why? Because they don’t care. Where are the people who care, who speak out, they are fired or pushed under the rug. threaten or dimissed. What’s that old saying “Money talks and bullshit walks”. The cycle has got to stop the courpt DA’s the Judges the lawyers the guards those are the ones who should be locked up, not our children. Prayer does work, God does Here, this I believe.
Wow. I’m amazed on how many people actually care. I’ve been agianst C.Y.A for a long time now. Never knew about this website. Never even knew what I could do to help. If theres ANYTHiNG that I can do to help, Please contact me. Samanthaka@sbcglobal.net. A friend of mine has a very informative video. A video that made me cry my eyes out..A video about CYA and the parents of the dead youth, caused by CYA. I’m willing to make copies and use my own money to send them out.
I’m 18 years old with a miniumum wage job who is willing to do what ever it takes to get the word out and make a change!!!! No I’ve never been to C.Y.A, never been in trouble, and YES I do belive that our youth should be punished, but not abused. Even though all the people on this page knows a little bit of what’s going on, theres AL0T more that this video can inform you on. Someone please contact me. Let’s make a change. This is OUR Country and it’s up to US to make it a better place!!
P.S God Bless you all for all that you have said! :0)
Let the kids go….Being Buried Alive Never Solved Anything…Check the statistics 2 out of every 3 kids locked up in Juvi or California Youth Authoritie end up in the Penn (State Prison) this is not the answer
TadoW-
I went on a tour of CHAD recently and have not been able to get those kids out of my mind. It saddens me that we have failed as a sociaty to take care of our youth. Institutions like CHAD are perpetuating the cycle of violence and poverty in California.
This is unacceptable! These kids are being abused and the guards aren’t doing anything about it. CYA needs to really step it up. Keep these children safe.
people this is so messed up we need to start helping those children in need in the CYA because then they will die and they cant see there parents anymore okay ges
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. KIDS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO BE KIDS. ALSO IF ITS JUST 60-90 DAYS WHATS THE DEAL WITH EXTENDED TIME
hi all my friends at kipp
I AGREE WITH BILL AB 1300
that was really funny
HIIII!!!!!this is really bad so we should do something about it!fire bush!yeah!
u guys have to do something about this , because its cruel wat they are doing to these kids
wassup yo
martin be quiet you need to talk about the childre
fight the power man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this so mess up yo we should stop paying taxes
(i think that will will work)=/
shall we have a strike?
man yuall need to make those kids learn i mean ima kid that go to school nd they aint got to learn dats messed up maybe kids r just goin to tha cya cuz they aint want to go to school
sayin hi to all ma friends at my school kipp
yeah gerson lets go on strike
the kids who live in these harsh condittions need to be free
i should know i am a kidd who goes to school for 10 hours
i suggest we stop this madness before cya becomes more bad (i guess) with all
this stuff =]
this is just wrong dude
listen its time for change
well im done for now with all these comments anyway
FREE KIDS IN DA CYA PEPOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
free the slaves
im also done wit these comments peeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaceee ooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuutttttttttt
i like pie
I think its bad that kids go to this kind of place. We should close it down. I know from a family member who went for about a while and came back sad . No child should go to this type of place.
wassup sheyla how ya doin
fight the power and oppresion of the cya
This is so wrong = ( We should shut down CYA before more teens die!!!!!!!!!!!!! HI TO ALL MY FRIENDS AT KIPP = )!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH, AND FIRE BUSH BEFORE BUSH KILLS MORE TENNS IN THE CYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MAN IM SUPER BORED MY X BOX 360 IS NOT WORKING SO
IM DONING MORE COMMENTS LOL AND im this is wrong
nvm forgoet it im done for real this time
I HOPE THE GOVERNOR STOPS THIS BYEYA!
gerson i’l sell you a new i phone
yeah we should fire bush he is not doin anthing to help tha kids in da cya this is so wrong from my point of veiw we shoul exacute him cuz dat is messed up that alll these are hurt and abused down thare we really should do something about it ppppppeeeeeeeaaaaacce out
whats up yall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!=) FIGHT THE POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cya stands for xkydufcdhzrsydsRfz
i think this mess crazy just like me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!= )
this is very wrong people shouldn’t have to worry about kids we should be able tohave dentetion places like missouri does maybe we should goo down there and tell them what we think and hello gerson whats up with the comments
you play with the fire you get burned and thats exactly what the conservats are doning. there comeing down on us librals
got that right jamiaka you iz crazy
FFS IM BORED OK IM NOT DONE
FREE KIDS IN CYA
soory but who put that i’m not crazy i’m just not perfect
free the slaves now
i think that the cya is so cruel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wats up izzy!!!!!!!!!!
freee kids in da cya thay need to have a full life just like everyone else
okay “hottie” how crazy are you
im a big star wars fan!!! free cya kids before the empire strikes back!
the cya is wrong(i totally feel like playin rockband)
welcome to the jugle and people have died
FIRE BUSH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEACE OUT (HI SHEYLA AND KIPP NOT MARTIN)
“hottie” i think you need to go to the CYA and tell them who they are made of
HI KIPPSTERS. MAN THIS CYA IS REALLY WRONG . THE REASON WHY IS BECAUSE THE KIDS ARE BEING TREATED POORLY. GOSH MAN I REALLY THINK THE BUSH SHOULD GET FIRED AS BEING THE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. THE KIPP BAY KIPPSTERS ROCK. WELL,ANY WAYS I’M OUT.
~PRINCESS~.
go the empire!!!
dont let the cya go!!!!!!!111
kids should not be there
well monkey person im hella crazy and y do u want to know im probably hella crazier than you and i probably loook hella bettar you is probably bald save the kids in tha cya!!!!!!!!!!!!
the empire has stucken back keep the cya
this is really cruel peps hey why are you talking lets get the flapping
EZONTAI DO U THINK THAT BUSH SHOULD DIE? AND WHICH SLAVES?
this isnt fair to kids around our age and something should be done about it. but lets be realistic bush isnt gonna do anything so why mention him?
HAN SOLO SHOT UP
okay you look like a crazy person “hottie”
latino power
BYE BYE
ME AGAIN.DON’T U THINK THAT THE KIDS IN THE CYA DESERVE TO HAVE A CHANCE TO GROW UP AND BECOME WHAT THEY WANT 2 BE IN THEIR LIVES.THEY DON’T DESERVE TO DIE AT THE AGE OF 13 OR 14!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LETS SHUT DOWN THE CYA AND SAVE THOSE YOUNG LIVES:)
SEE YA LATER
T he CYA would be okay if it was changed slightly, well alot.
rah! rah! rah!
I agree with you ingrid bush should die he is destorying peoples lives.
CYA is ibil this is joshua
If the California Youth Prisons have blood stains in varios places it is a disaster, the fact that an inmate had to be away from the guard to say that it is disfunctional is scary.
timmy also says cya are such kiss-ups
this article is really bad they should fire the staff there because they don’t do anything at all to help the young prisoners- rep kipp
R U GUYZ IBLE RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA RA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WAZ POPPIN B
CYA should be shut down because Timmy $aid so rarararararararar
i think we should not fire bush yeah i hate him but its IMPOSSIBLE 2 get bush fired nobody has da power 2 fired him. i think we should ALL make achange in the world once in the whiled i think EVERYONE AND I MEAN EVERYONE should help us shit down CYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. CYA IS LIKE HELL 4 da TEENS.US TEENS DESERVE BETTER than living in HELL. WHO EVER MADE UP CYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! SHOULD THINK SO MUCH THAT HE OR SHE SHOULD GO 2 CYAAAAAAAAAAA. AND C HOW IT FEELS LIKE BEING IN CYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. CYA SUCKS!
THe CYA iS VERy WRONG. THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO SOMTHiNG ABOUT THiS iNSTEAD OF LETTiNG ALL THOSE NON-HELPFUL CONSULERS THiNK OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE MONEy THAt THEy ARE GETTiNG FOR EACH TEEN OR CHiLD iN THE CYA. i THiNK THAT THE GOVERNMENT iSNT REALLY PAYiNG ATTENTiON TO WHAT iS GOiN ON. i THiNK THERE MORE iNTERESTED iN THE STUPiD WAR THAT BUSH CREATED iNSTEAD OF HELPiNG THESE POOR iNNOCENT CHiLDREN SAVE THERE LiVES. i REALLY JUS BLAME THE GOVERNMENT FOR THERE POOR(VERy POOR WAy OF HELPiNG THE CYA)i JUST HOPE THAT THE GOVERNMENT WiLL LEARN THAT NOT PAYiNG ATTENTiON TO THESE PROBLEMS WiLL EVENTUALLY AFFECT EVERYONE. WE NEED TO SAVE THE LiVES OF ALL THOSE BOYS AND GiRLS iN THE CYA AND SOON. OR LOVED ONES DEPEND ON iT!!!
shut it down please
I MEAN shut down CYA.
I find it so hard to believe how the CYA treats their youth
stop ruddy kids
THe CYA iS VERy WRONG. THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD DO SOMTHiNG ABOUT THiS iNSTEAD OF LETTiNG ALL THOSE NON-HELPFUL CONSULERS THiNK OF WHAT TO DO WITH THE MONEy THAt THEy ARE GETTiNG FOR EACH TEEN OR CHiLD iN THE CYA. i THiNK THAT THE GOVERNMENT iSNT REALLY PAYiNG ATTENTiON TO WHAT iS GOiN ON. i THiNK THERE MORE iNTERESTED iN THE STUPiD WAR THAT BUSH CREATED iNSTEAD OF HELPiNG THESE POOR iNNOCENT CHiLDREN SAVE THERE LiVES. i REALLY JUST BLAME THE GOVERNMENT FOR THERE POOR(VERy POOR WAy OF HELPiNG THE CYA)i JUST HOPE THAT THE GOVERNMENT WiLL LEARN THAT NOT PAYiNG ATTENTiON TO THESE PROBLEMS WiLL EVENTUALLY AFFECT EVERYONE. WE NEED TO SAVE THE LiVES OF ALL THOSE BOYS AND GiRLS iN THE CYA AND SOON OR LOVED ONES DEPEND ON iT!i ALSO THINK THAT BUSH SHOULD BE FIRED AND NEVER BE PRESiDENT AGAiN BUSH iS FAR FROM HELPiNG OR COUNTRY HE iS DESTORYiNG iT.AND THIS REALLY HAS GOT TO BEFORE iTS TO LATE——>>A 7th GRADER FROM KIPP SF BAY ACADEMY
sorry it wuz an accuedent
YAL KIDS OUT DUR ND 2 stop=(i live in da hunnas point and i be hearin a whol bunch of sirens out dur.if yal dont learn yal leasons yal gon get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!1dis nyani.
IBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE RA RA RA RA RA
i think its just wrong that bush isn’t doing anything about the cya.
The CYA should be shut down for not giving kids education no education
experence like kids on the out side its wrong man
free the net of cya
Here in Texas our local youth correctional facilities have experienced massive difficulties as years of neglect and inappropriate conduct by selected personnel have come home to roost.
Yet today i suggest something simpler than the “big questions” I suggest that you do research into your local corrrectional facility system with the goal of finding out what small things ordinary people can do to make things better. Does the youth facility library accept donations of books and of graphic novels? Are there mentoring programs for local people to volunteer to try to help make a idifference. For those who comfortable with religious approaches, are there ministries that help?
The advocacy for change in the system is important. Yet in the meantime, what small things could be done that could make a big difference?
i think that the people in there should have there own cell cause