Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Settlement in CYA Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11/16/2004

Governor Schwarzenegger Announces Settlement in CYA Case

Agreement is reached in record time, avoiding drawn out litigation

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced today that the California Youth
Authority (CYA) has taken a significant step toward reforming its
operations.

Surrounded by juvenile correctional officials and youth advocates, the
Governor approved the filing of an agreement with the state court in the
Farrell v. Allen case that will bring about significant reforms within the
state's troubled youth correctional system.

"This agreement is the first step toward returning the California Youth
Authority to its historical and lawful mission of rehabilitation and crime
prevention," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "I am committed to continuing to
work with Secretary Hickman and Director Allen to bring real reform that
prioritizes public safety and restores integrity to California's youth and
adult correctional programs. Over the past year we have taken some
significant steps toward this goal and we will continue until we repair a
system that has been broken for many years."

Schwarzenegger made the announcement of the settlement following a brief
tour of the N.A. Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility where he was shown
the current living conditions and programs that are provided to juvenile
offenders committed to the state system by the courts.

The settlement came out of a taxpayer law suit filed by Margaret Farrell,
who also is a mother of a ward in CYA. The Prison Law Office, the
Disabilities Rights Advocates, Latham & Watkins, and Jones Day were the
attorneys that represented the plaintiff. The lawsuit alleged that the CYA
was improperly spending money on unlawful policies, procedures and practices
in virtually all areas of its institutional operations. Originally filed in
federal court in 2002, the suit was voluntarily dismissed and re-filed in
state court in 2003 as a taxpayer suit. Experts were brought in to review
all aspects of the CYA's operations and they released a public report in
January 2004 that found numerous systemic problems throughout the CYA in
their areas of review.

The consent decree that was signed means the state will work with the
court-appointed master and experts to develop remedial plans to improve the
operations within the CYA. Under the provisions of the decree, the
department has until January 31, 2005 to develop the remedial plans and
calculate the associated costs to implement those plans.

"We've made a commitment to the Governor and the people of California to
resolve the issues that have challenged the Department of the Youth
Authority for many years...we will not fail in that commitment," said Youth
and Adult Correctional Agency Secretary Roderick Q. Hickman. "It's our
responsibility to provide rehabilitation services to the offenders committed
to the CYA so they don't commit more crimes when they are paroled. This
agreement along with the plans that will be developed will begin the
rebuilding process for those services and programs."

Over the past year, this administration has taken several productive steps
to improve the CYA including removing the "cages" from educational programs,
closing down the archaic Tamarack Lodge at Preston Youth Correctional
Facility, prohibiting the use of dogs for crowd control, and beginning the
process of re-training staff in the appropriate use of force.

The CYA is part of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency which also
oversees the operations of the Department of Corrections, the Board of
Prison Terms, the Youth Authority Board, the Board of Corrections and the
Narcotic Addict Evaluation Authority.

"We are moving forward to bring about our vision of providing a safe and
secure therapeutic environment, with enhanced counseling and treatment for
our wards, which evidence has shown results in a more successful reentry of
the offenders back to their communities," said CYA Director Walter Allen
III. "Through this agreement we are reaffirming our commitment to public
safety by doing all we can to ensure these wards don't re-offend and they
become productive citizens of society."

The consent decree and reports regarding CYA operations can be found at
http://www.cya.ca.gov.

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GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER · SACRAMENTO,
CALIFORNIA 95814 · (916) 445-2841