In re Sebastian C. CA1/4

Filed 12/5/23 In re Sebastian C. CA1/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

In re SEBASTIAN C., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, A167599 v. (Solano County SEBASTIAN C., Super. Ct. No. J45299) Defendant and Appellant.

Sebastian C. appeals an order entered under Welfare and Institutions Code1 section 875, subdivision (e)(1)(A) reducing his baseline term of confinement in a secure youth treatment facility by two months. He contends that the juvenile court abused its discretion by not reducing his baseline term by the full six months permitted under the statute. We affirm the juvenile court’s order.

1 All statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code

unless otherwise noted.

BACKGROUND I. Section 875: Secure Track Juvenile Commitment In 2020, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill No. 823 (2019–2020 Reg. Sess.) (Stats. 2020, ch. 337), which shifted to county governments the responsibility for all youths adjudged a ward of the court. Section 736.5 provided for the closure of the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice, which was “the state’s most restrictive placement for its most severe juvenile offenders” (In re Miguel C. (2021) 69 Cal.App.5th 899, 902), and the devolution of its responsibilities onto the counties. The county-level equivalent of a commitment to the Division of Juvenile Justice is a commitment to a county- operated secure youth treatment facility. (§ 875.) Under section 875, subdivision (b)(1), when committing a ward to a secure youth treatment facility, the juvenile court is directed to “set a baseline term of confinement” that represents “the time in custody necessary to meet the developmental and treatment needs of the ward and to prepare the ward for discharge to a period of probation supervision in the community.”2 Following the ward’s commitment, Section 875, subdivision (e)(1)(A) requires the juvenile court to hold progress review hearings every six months, at which the court evaluates the ward’s progress on the rehabilitation plan and determines whether to modify the baseline term of confinement. In making its determination, the court “shall consider the recommendations of counsel, the probation department and any behavioral, educational, or other specialists having information relevant to the ward’s progress.” (Ibid.) At the conclusion of the review hearing, the