System Failure

WITNESS
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Gillian Caldwell

Documentary
Short Film

More About System Failure from Producer WITNESS

Juvenile justice in California is a national embarrassment, a statewide disaster and a source of rich profit for a small number of entrenched interests. At the center of this issue is the California Youth Authority (CYA), the formal prison system for youths in California. Presently, the CYA is composed of eight institutions housing more than 4,000 youth. Stories have been emerging for decades in the media and courts of rampant human rights violations of youths imprisoned in the CYA–violations that include sexual abuse, beatings, forced medication and systemic medical and educational neglect. 2004 saw the release of a number of CYA-approved reports as part of a lawsuit. To quote California State Senator Gloria Romero, “the recently released reports on the Youth Authority were a stinging indictment on the conditions of confinement and the programs offered in its prisons. The reports were so damning, in fact, that they even surprised some of CYA’s most ardent critics.” This was followed in rapid succession by the suicide of two CYA wards, a formal congressional hearing and a videotaped beating of two CYA wards by prison guards that made state and national headlines.

Despite emerging scandals, outrageous recidivism rates (estimated at more than 90%) and a cost to the taxpayers of over $80,000 per year, per ward, little change has taken place. A large part of the reason why lies with the prison guards, whose union is “the most powerful labor organization in the State of California” and who contribute more to California candidates than any other organization. For decades they have blocked reform and enforced a code of silence that fills their coffers and protects their members at the expense of youths, families and public safety.

Nationally, California stands in sharp contrast to a number of states who have reformed or are in the process of reforming their juvenile justice systems, replacing punishment for punishment’s sake with rehabilitative, restorative justice models. One state that has established itself as a national model is Missouri. In Missouri, regional rehabilitation centers are used instead of huge, warehouse-like prisons. These smaller facilities keep youth close to their communities and families and focus on healing, training, education and counseling in an environment that more closely resembles a boarding school than it does a prison. With costs per youth nearly half of what they are in California and a recidivism rate 6 times lower than California’s, the Missouri model has proven itself to not only be more humane and more holistic, but also more affordable and more effective.

System Failure exposes the failures of the CYA through the stories of the children and families caught in the machinery of California’s juvenile prisons, reinforced by a cross section of experts and policymakers. Juvenile Justice in California is currently at a critical juncture in its history. A wave of scandals paired with a change in administration that is seemingly amenable to reform has created a window of opportunity to leverage this project in such a way that coming reforms are wider, deeper and more systemic than those that might occur otherwise. The video is directed toward policymakers, parents of imprisoned children, and community organizations that can be mobilized to call for a total reform of the system.

Steps towards meaningful reform is underway, as a result of a screening of the full length version of System Failure at the California State Capitol on January 19th 2005, State Senator Gloria Romero (D) announced five days later that she will introduce sweeping legislation to completely overhaul the CYA.

FILMMAKER BIOS

WITNESS, Executive Producer

WITNESS uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human rights abuses. By partnering with local organizations around the globe, WITNESS empowers human rights defenders to use video as a tool to shine a light on those most affected by human rights violations, and to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools of justice. Since its founding in 1992, WITNESS has partnered with groups in more than 60 countries, bringing often unseen images, untold stories and seldom heard voices to the attention of key decision makers, the media, and the general public — prompting grassroots activism, political engagement, and lasting change.

Gillian Caldwell, Executive Director, WITNESS

In addition to being the Executive Director of WITNESS, Gillian Caldwell is a filmmaker and attorney with experience in the areas of human and civil rights, intellectual property, contracts, and family law. Gillian was formerly Co-Director of the Global Survival Network, where she coordinated an undercover investigation into the trafficking of women for forced prostitution from Russia. She produced and directed Bought & Sold, based on the investigation, garnering widespread media coverage. Gillian is a recipient of the 2000 Rockefeller Foundation Next Generation Leadership Award, was named one of 40 Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs by the Schwab Foundation, a 2003 Tech Laureate by the Tech Museum, and was named a Special Partner by Ashoka: Innovators for the Public.

Elle Baker Center for Human Rights, Co-Producer

TheElla Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC) has a three-part mission: 1. to document, expose and challenge human rights abuses in the United States criminal justice system; 2. to build power in communities most harmed by government-sanctioned violence; and 3. to develop and advocate for proactive, community-based solutions to systemic “criminal injustice.” EBC uses a wide variety of tactics to accomplish its mission, including grassroots organizing, direct-action mobilizing, media advocacy, public education, cultural activism, policy reform and legal services.

Books Not Bars, a program of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights is fighting to redirect California’s public resources away from punishment for young people and towards opportunity for them.

Lenore Anderson, Director of Books Not Bars

Lenore Anderson is the Director of Books Not Bars, the statewide organization fighting to transform California’s juvenile justice system. Lenore is an attorney trained at NYU School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden Public Interest Scholar and received the prestigious Soros Justice Postgraduate Fellowship upon graduation. In collaboration with WITNESS, she co-produced System Failure, a viscerally powerful documentary on the brutality of the CYA. She is a long-time activist, leader of numerous grassroots organizing projects and creator of Families for Books Not Bars, the statewide network of parents with children in California’s juvenile justice system. Lenore is known throughout California and the nation as a fearless voice for youth and a savvy juvenile justice advocate.