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California often places minors in lengthy probation terms that many describe as humiliating. Governor Newsom vetoed an earlier reform effort, but advocates are pushing again.
In California, it isn’t uncommon for minors to be put on probation for extended and unspecified periods of time, with anywhere from 5 to 50 different probation conditions they may have to follow. Many describe the conditions as humiliating and say they can hinder their ability to complete school or maintain jobs to help support their family.
In California, probation is the most common contact youth have with the criminal legal system. In 2023, more than 10,000 young people were placed on wardship probation, meaning they are under state custody. Young people of color are disproportionately punished, comprising 86 percent of California youth put on wardship probation. For the more than 6,000 youth put on probation in their community, the average probation term lasted nearly two years, according to state data.
California lawmakers have tried to limit the length of time children spend on probation, passing legislation in 2022 to create a presumption that minors cannot serve terms longer than six months. Courts would still have been able to extend probation conditions an additional six months, though this would take a hearing process and a judge finding it in the child’s best interest, with no limit to the number of times that probation could be extended.
That measure, however, was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom. In his veto statement, Newsom said he was concerned about adding to a larger shift that was still occurring at the time in the state’s juvenile justice system, thanks to a “realignment” law he signed the previous year that closed down the state’s remaining youth prisons and put youth custody in the hands of county probation departments.
Advocates argue that the implementation of the bill would have actually saved money by reducing probation departments’ case load. The National Center for Youth Law estimated that the net cost saving created by these measures could exceed $80 million dollars after implementation.
This year, Assemblymember Mia Bonta refiled the 2021 measure to limit probation terms on minors, with Assembly Bill 1376.
Bonta, who says current probation conditions are often overbearing or unreasonable, explained that the legislation also aims to make officials impose conditions that are individually tailored and developmentally appropriate.
“We’re dealing with youth where there should be some recognition of what’s developmentally appropriate, what they can access in terms of being able to actually fulfill and we should make it personalized towards what their particular experiences, as opposed to a long laundry list of things that may or may not be within their ability to actually achieve,” Bonta said.
The state Assembly’s Committee on Public Safety advanced AB 1376 last week; it amended the bill to set the presumptive cap on probation at nine months, instead of the six months in the 2021 version. Many law enforcement groups, including the California District Attorneys’ Associations and the State Coalition of Probation Organizations, opposed the bill in committee.
The reform still has to pass the full Assembly and then the state Senate, before it can head back to Newsom’s desk. Newsom’s office declined to comment.
Other states have more restrictions on probation than California, which may include age limits or how long a youth can be sentenced. In 2023, Tennessee passed similar legislation to limit youth probation to six months.
Victoria Valenzuela, May 5, 2025
Source, text and photo – The Bolts
