YREKA, Calif. -- The Charlie Byrd Youth Corrections Center is no longer detaining kids overnight. Since the Probation Office started using social outreach programs it saw a drastic decline in kids being detained. In August of 2017 there were only two kids.
Now, it is a day program. Currently there are 20 kids in the Charle's Place Youth Day Reporting Center. Many are teenagers, some not old enough to drive.
They've made mistakes, and are working towards turning their lives around outside the system rather than in it.
"In the facility it's a motivation kinda," says 16-year-old John Stuart.
John and the other kids are considered low risk. Kids are considered low risk if they get into trouble for things like skipping school or underage drinking. They can leave if they want and don't stay overnight.
The kids at the day center go to school every day, and are involved in programs such as anger management, art therapy, horse therapy, and drug and alcohol counseling.
"I've been clean for like a 120 days now," says Stuart.
If a kid needs to be detained, they are sent to Tehama County in Red Bluff, California.
