Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare Jorja Leap spoke to Witness LA about a lawsuit against Los Angeles County regarding a teenage boy who was allegedly administered estrogen as a behavioral control while in juvenile hall. After a physical examination while in detention, the boy, then 16, was reportedly prescribed estradiol, a form of the female hormone estrogen, to make him less aggressive, all without his parents’ knowledge or permission. The article noted that the case further supports the need for funding the independent Probation Oversight Commission (POC). As a co-author of the L.A. County Probation Governance Report and a proponent of the POC, Leap was disturbed by the implications of the lawsuit. “These troubling developments point to the need for real oversight with power to hold probation — and those from other county agencies who work inside probation’s facilities — fully accountable when they harm those in their care,” she said.
