Calif. to shift largest juvenile prison to adults

By DON THOMPSON, The Associated Press
4:20 p.m. August 27, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California plans to transform its largest juvenile prison into a lockup for 1,200 adults to save money and ease crowding in the adult system.

Corrections officials say they no longer need the space for 400 youthful offenders, who will be transferred to the state's remaining five juvenile facilities. Recent changes in state law have sharply cut the number of juvenile offenders in state custody to about 1,700 statewide.

Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino will be outfitted to hold adults, possibly those with medical or mental health problems.

The facility already is being used for 600 adults transferred from the nearby California Institution for Men after more than 1,000 inmates rioted there Aug. 8, destroying or damaging several dormitories.

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