Youth from San Benito County receive treatment nearby
Rancho Cielo Youth Campus is 100 acres nestled in the rolling
hills of the Gabilan Range in Salinas.
Youth from San Benito County receive treatment nearby
Rancho Cielo Youth Campus is 100 acres nestled in the rolling hills of the Gabilan Range in Salinas.
Upon entering Rancho Cielo, the first thing a visitor sees a herd of horses corralled on the left side of the road.
Up the hill are several red buildings that appear freshly painted. Inside, students in small classes of 5-10 play basketball or take woodshop.
The Silver Star Youth Program at Rancho Cielo is an alternative high school for teens on probation.
As part of a new program in San Benito County, at-risk youth from San Benito will attend Rancho Cielo.
Currently, three local youths are targeted for Rancho Cielo, said Brent Cardall, chief probation officer.
The program at Rancho Cielo was designed for teenagers between the ages of 15½ and 18, said John Phillips, a former judge who started Rancho Cielo.
Andre, 17, is a student at Rancho Cielo. He previously attended North Salinas High School.
“Classes around here are smaller so you can focus better,” Andre said.
Andre is dedicated to finishing the program with a diploma.
“I’ll be the first one in my family to graduate with a high school diploma,” he said.
Phillips was on the bench for 21 years and had a hard-nosed reputation, he said.
“It didn’t feel very good to lock young kids up for 40, 50 years,” Phillips said. “We don’t coddle them, but we care about them. We try to expose them to all the positive things that they haven’t been exposed to.”
Phillips wants to see the students at Rancho Cielo become responsible members of the community, not sitting in jail.
“That’s how we get the hook into them,” Phillips said. “You do good here and we’ll hook you up with a job.”
Phillips works with the business community in Monterey County to help students who graduate from Rancho Cielo find employment. He found students jobs in construction and agriculture, he said.
Future plans for Rancho Cielo include the construction of a vocational center. It would teach construction, agriculture and culinary arts, Phillips said.
Youth from San Benito County will attend Rancho Cielo due to a new law signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger late last summer.
County officials are now responsible for the custody and treatment of juveniles who commit non-violent offenses, due to SB 81.
The reason for SB 81 is that non-violent juvenile offenders were not being rehabilitated in state facilities, said Yolanda Leon, supervisor for the San Benito County Probation Department.
“The whole idea behind the juvenile system is rehabilitation,” Leon said. “Why have these kids so far away? Why not have the local county serve these kids?”
Rancho Cielo is just one component in a more comprehensive approach to low risk juvenile offenders.
Probation staffers designed an aftercare and reentry program (ACRE) to treat juvenile offenders that the state will no longer take.
ACRE was designed to help youth successfully reenter society, and to treat them before they become chronic repeat offenders, Cardall said.
“Usually a low risk is going to succeed,” Cardall said. “Medium to high risk needs intervention.”
Factors that place a juvenile at risk of becoming a chronic offender include significant family problems, significant problems at school, a pattern of drug and/or alcohol abuse; and delinquent peers, chronic runaway or pattern of stealing, according to a report from the probation department.
ACRE would treat youth up 21 years of age, Cardall said.
Every county will receive a grant from the state to fund treatment new treatment programs, Cardall said. San Benito will receive the minimum grant amount from the state, $58,500, Cardall said.
It might not sound like a lot of money, but it will go a long way, Cardall said.
“There is a lot we can do,” Cardall said.
As part of ACRE, the probation department has a variety of programs, Cardall said.
Services will include an anger management group run by the Hollister Youth Alliance, a substance abuse program at juvenile hall, parenting classes for parents of offenders, and a program that focuses on changing behavior by changing ones’ perspective, Leon said.
Rancho Cielo costs $500 per month, Cardall said.
“Monterey County will be helping us out immensely,” Cardall said. “They are really helping us out by allowing us to bring these kids out. If we could find a way to have some of these programs in San Benito County, that would be the goal.”
“Some of the programs are already in place at juvenile hall,” Leon said. “By the end of March, they should all be in place.”
As of Feb. 19, there were 13 kids in juvenile hall in San Benito County, Cardall said.
“All of our kids in juvenile hall will be using those services,” Leon said.
In San Benito County, the juvenile hall population is 85 percent Latino, a conservative estimate, Leon said. The average age is 13 to 17, Leon said.
Per month, the average number of kids in juvenile hall in San Benito County is 17, Leon said.
A lot of the kids are in juvenile hall for burglaries, Leon said. Some are in for fighting, Leon said.
Residential programs are more expensive than day programs, Cardall said.
“They can be up to $5,000 per month,” Cardall said.
One residential treatment program is a boys’ ranch in Shasta called Crystal Creek Regional Boys’ Camp, Leon said.
Crystal Creek has a boot camp component and trade school, Leon said.
Staff from the probation department will use the grant money as long as they have it, Cardall said.
“This money is now,” Cardall said. “With the budget crisis, this could be a one-time thing.”
There are other grants available to counties for treatment programs, but San Benito County is so small that it might not qualify, Cardall said.
The additional programs are necessary, Cardall said. Staff for the department would try to find other sources to continue them, Cardall said.
If the grant is discontinued, staff from the probation department would educate the community about the department’s needs and reach out for help, Cardall said.
“It’s a community problem,” Cardall said. “There are things that you can do that do not necessarily cost a lot of money. But it’s nice to have the money to utilize outside resources that are expensive.”
He would also work closely with the schools, Cardall said.
Juveniles who commit violent offences remain in state custody, Leon said.
Wards of the state considered too violent to remain in the civilian population are the responsibility of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Leon said.
Kids in the state facility commit crimes such as murder, arson and rape, Leon said.
“Certain types of felony offenses,” Cardall said. “Really it’s your violent crimes. Putting them in a program would be difficult because they are not even amenable.”
There are two juveniles from San Benito County in the state system, Leon said.
