Court Rules California Youth Authority Facilities Must Have Licensed Hospitals
A state appeals court ruled last Thursday that the California Youth Authority "must provide licensed medical care at its 11 juvenile incarceration facilities," the AP/San Diego Union-Tribune reports (AP/San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/3). The 1st District Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that under licensing requirements, CYA facilities must "include what is essentially a licensed hospital to care for youths with acute medical or mental health problems, something the CYA has not done despite its participation in crafting" the state licensing requirements in 1996. Today, the CYA moves inmates with serious health problems to nearby hospitals, according to spokesperson Sarah Ludeman (Brown, Sacramento Bee, 11/3). The Youth Law Center in San Francisco filed the lawsuit against the CYA last year, alleging that CYA inmates receive treatment in unlicensed medical centers that fail to meet state standards (California Healthline, 5/12/2000). The CYA houses about 6,500 inmates serving time for crimes they committed as juveniles (Sacramento Bee, 11/3).
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