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LA County Improves Jail Mental Health Services and Wait Times in Inmate Reception Center (click to learn more)

 

The DOJ Compliance Office was established in February 2023 to drive Los Angeles County’s compliance with the remaining provisions of a 2015 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) to improve conditions in the County’s jail system for those with mental health conditions. The DOJ Compliance Office also supports County efforts to comply with Rutherford v. Luna (jail overcrowding) and Rosas v. Luna (use of force in the downtown jail facilities).

Our objective is to help County departments fully meet court-approved goals under the settlement even as the number of people in custody with severe mental health issues has steadily increased over the past three years.

The Office is led by veteran attorney and legal executive Maggie Carter, who has been empowered to set priorities, expedite approvals, and sustain focus across multiple departments to accomplish this goal. The team brings a compassionate focus on the fundamental need for this work, which is to protect the constitutional rights of those in our jails who suffer from mental illness.

Meet Maggie Carter, Chief DOJ Compliance Officer

Maggie Carter is a veteran attorney and legal executive with litigation experience as a prosecutor, defense lawyer, and internal investigations lawyer in both the public and private sectors. She is now tasked with coordinating and expediting LA County’s wide-ranging, cross-departmental efforts to fully meet court-approved goals under a 2015 settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice to improve conditions in the County’s jail system for those with mental health conditions.

More about Maggie

Prior to her assignment as Chief Compliance Officer, Maggie Carter had been a Senior Assistant County Counsel in the Los Angeles County Office of County Counsel since May 2021. Before she joined the County, Ms. Carter was a partner at O’Melveny & Myers, where she was a member of the White Collar Defense and Corporate Investigations Practice Group and the Health Care Practice Group. Ms. Carter also spent eight years as a prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, where she focused on public corruption, civil rights, and sophisticated fraud cases. 

Maggie Carter

The DOJ Compliance Team

Chris Anderson

Lorena Bautista

Susanne Blossom

Rachel Bryant

Lauren Bueller

Michael Dobrotin

Joseph Fioretti

Amanda Fowler

Carmina Javier

Danny Kelleher

Dorrine Jordan

Jocelyn Kiaye-Barmore

Karen Tamis

The DOJ Compliance Team

Chris Anderson

Lorena Bautista

Susanne Blossom

Rachel Bryant

Lauren Bueller

Michael Dobrotin

Joseph Fioretti

Amanda Fowler

Carmina Javier

Dorinne Jordan

Danny Kelleher

Jocelyn Kiaye-Barmore

Karen Tamis

About Our Work and Progress to Date

The 2015 Settlement Agreement (linked here) with the U.S. Department of Justice requires the County to comply with 69 provisions related to conditions and care for individuals in custody with mental health conditions. Three key provisions–63, 64, and 80–drive the County’s compliance efforts because they are each deeply impacted by the growth of the mental health population in the jails as a percentage of the total jail population.

  • Provision 63: Sufficient high-observation and medium-observation housing (HOH and MOH) *Now reporting sustained substantial compliance
  • Provision 64: Availability of mental health inpatient care **Now reporting substantial compliance
  • Provision 80: Out of cell time in HOH housing

The County’s progress is assessed twice each year by a court-appointed monitor. Of the original 69 provisions, the County has come into sustained substantial compliance and is no longer subject to monitoring for 43 of the provisions.

  • As recently as the Monitor’s 19th Report, which was released in May 2025 and covered the Second Quarter and Third Quarter of 2024, the County achieved substantial compliance on 5 more provisions and made significant improvements with a host of other provisions.
  • By the 20th Report (covering the Fourth Quarter of 2024 and the First Quarter of 2025), the County expects to achieve substantial compliance with even more.
Milestone: the County is now reporting sustained substantial compliance with Provision 63 and substantial compliance with Provision 64.

  • As of July 1, 2024, the County achieved substantial compliance with Provision 63 at Century Regional Detention Facility (CRDF) and Twin Towers Correctional Facility (TTCF) for the first time ever.
    • By December 31, 2024, the County was able to report sustained substantial compliance at CRDF. 
    • By June 30, 2025, the County achieved substantial compliance at TTCF.
  • By March 31, 2025, the County also reported substantial compliance with Provision 64 for the first time ever–which means there are enough inpatient mental health treatment beds for every person with acute mental illness in the jails.

This multi-faceted work is being carried out by a wide range of LA County departments and divisions:

  • Correctional Health Services
  • Sheriff’s Department
  • Department of Mental Health
  • Justice, Care, and Opportunities Department
  • Office of Diversion and Reentry

It also relies on many others, including our justice partners in the courts and various State agencies, to achieve the broad systemic changes that will be required.

 

Why This Work Matters

 The County’s Care First, Jails Last approach to DOJ Compliance focuses both on improving conditions in the jails and creating early release pathways for those with mental illness.  This work is important to the County, the justice system, and the public for several reasons: 

  • Upholding our constitutional obligation to care for people in custody. 
  • Preventing deterioration of mental health, suffering, and harm for those in jail.  
  • Getting people mental health care to facilitate earlier release and stop the cycle of recidivism.  
  • Creating a better working environment for jail staff so they can compassionately and effectively care for those in custody.  
  • Supporting people who can safely be released with appropriate support, to reduce public safety risks caused by incarceration, cut costs, and prioritize scarce jail facilities and staff for those who must remain in custody. 
  • Improving justice system processes to avoid delays and inefficiencies that lengthen time in County jail, reduce access to justice, and delay justice for victims. 

County Accomplishments Across the Five Strategic Pillars

The County’s strategy for DOJ Compliance has five pillars focused both on the conditions inside the jails and on creating early release pathways for those with mental illness, to hold the jail population as low as possible, consistent with public safety. Some examples of recent County successes for each pillar are below.

Depopulation

Holding jail population as low as possible, consistent with public safety, to prioritize scarce jail resources

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Faster state prison and hospital transfers

Achieved 61% decline in population waiting for state prison and 80% decline in population waiting for state hospitals (from February 2023 – April 2025).

LASD fleet replacement to avoid court delays

Over 40 buses now in service, up from as few as 5 working buses on the road during 2024 (20 new buses purchased, 14 approved for FY 24-25, 17 requested for FY 25-26).

Court reminders for pre-arraignment releases

Worked with Court to create first-of-its-kind pre-arraignment court reminders – a simple, cost effective way to help people stay out of custody pretrial.

Community Beds

Expanding trusted treatment programs to improve outcomes, stop recidivism, and provide sustainable care and support out of jail

Multi-year ramp up of P3/P4 community beds

Exceeded Year 1 ramp up goals to add 814 new ODR and DMH community beds. On track to meet Year 2 goals of 4,668 total ODR beds and 164 DMH beds primarily for P3s/P4s.

State contract to expand ODR-IST

$629 million state contract to expand ODR’s community-based restoration programs for those found incompetent to stand trial.

Shorter pipelines to placement in treatment

Reduced time from jail to community treatment beds, including for those conserved conditionally and released to ODR programs.

Facilities Alignment

Aligning jail facilities to fit the needs of a changing jail population

Conversion of PDC North to all-MOH facility & feasibility studies to move MOH out of MCJ

Created 1,336 MOH beds at PDC North. Reviewing options to make other existing facilities appropriate for MOH. Improving mental health interview space at MCJ.

Expansion of jail inpatient treatment beds

Licensed new Acute Intervention Module to rapidly stabilize P4s in custody. Full rollout of mental health treatment bed realignment will result in enough functional inpatient beds for mental health treatment for every P4 in jail.

Expansion of unrestrained pods

Expanded therapeutic HOH housing units. Approximately 50% of HOH inmates are now living in pro-social, unrestrained housing pods.

Staffing and Support

Hiring, retaining, and supporting the scarce talent critical to all other plan elements

Instituted 20% jail-based assignment bonuses for CHS

CHS vacancies cut in half and clinical staffing is no longer a barrier for USDOJ compliance.

Support for LASD hiring and Academy classes

8 academy classes funded per year with most recent class at 74 LASD trainees, compared to 2024 average of 50 per class.

Increased LASD recruiting and set higher 2025 goals

Increased deputy applications per week from 273 in 2024 to 330 in 2025, with goal of over 400 per week from enhanced campaign.

Data and Operations

Using technology and data to maximize effectiveness of operations and stretch scarce resources

New software for key jail compliance processes

New software tools and technology for IRC, HOH wait times, and Title 15 safety checks have improved visibility, coordination, and overall compliance.

Upgraded infrastructure to support CCTV upgrade and BWC

Replacement of legacy hardware and systems to provide ability to support rollout of upgraded CCTV system and body-worn cameras.

Enhanced data analysis to propel compliance

Created mechanisms to analyze spot check data and improve real-time problem solving.

Spotlight on Rutherford v. Luna

In July 2025, LA County reached an impressive milestone in Rutherford v. Luna, which is a case that is  related, in part, to conditions and wait times in the Inmate Reception Center (IRC). After resolving a contempt motion with the ACLU in June 2023 by making significant improvements in the IRC and instituting a series of corrective actions to ensure shorter wait times in the IRC, the County committed to a series of limits on how long those in custody may be held in various areas to ensure more humane treatment, and can only achieve substantial compliance with the Stipulated Order if these requirements are met.

As of July 2, 2025, the County has been in substantial compliance with these requirements for six consecutive months—a critical landmark in the Stipulated Order and a clear sign that the progress made is lasting and sustainable.

You can read more about the actions taken and the progress made here.

Previous press releases

Related Board Motions/Reports/Legal Filings:

For more information:

Contact the DOJ Compliance Office at dojcompliance@ceo.lacounty.gov.

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