California Legal Brief

The Rule of In re Sebastian C. is that placement in a family home with supervision and programming provided by a community-based agency can meet the requirements of a less restrictive program, under circumstances where the community-based nonresidential service program provides the programming and services rather than just the family home itself.

Appeal from order denying placement in less restrictive program in Solano County Superior Court.

Defendant Appellant was Sebastian C. — a 19-year-old ward committed to a secure youth treatment facility for voluntary manslaughter who sought placement with his adult sister as a less restrictive program.

Plaintiff Respondent was The People — the prosecution in the juvenile delinquency proceeding.

The suit sounded in juvenile delinquency proceedings under the Welfare and Institutions Code section 875. No cross-claims.

The key substantive facts leading to the suit were Sebastian's commitment to a secure youth treatment facility at age 14 after admitting to voluntary manslaughter and firearm use, followed by the probation department's petition to place him in his sister's home as a "less restrictive program" with community-based supervision and services, including therapy referrals, independent living workshops, weekly probation contact, and cognitive behavioral interventions.

The procedural result leading to the Appeal: The trial court denied the petition for less restrictive program placement, ruling that the sister's home did not qualify as a "program" under section 875(f) because the statute requires programming and community transition services to be provided or coordinated by the less restrictive program, and the sister's house was not itself a program.

The key question(s) on Appeal: Whether placement in a family home with supervision and programming provided by community-based agencies can constitute a "less restrictive program" under Welfare and Institutions Code section 875, subdivision (f).

The Appellate Court held that placement in a family home with supervision and programming provided by a community-based agency can meet the requirements of a less restrictive program under section 875(f), where the community nonresidential service program provides the programming while the family home provides housing, but dismissed the appeal as moot because Sebastian had subsequently been placed in his mother's home as part of a less restrictive program.

The case is inapplicable when the family home placement lacks supervision and programming provided by a community-based agency, when insufficient information is provided about the educational, vocational, counseling, or other services to be made available through the program, or when the placement would not be consistent with the goals of youth rehabilitation and community safety.

The case leaves open whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying the specific requested placement with Sebastian's sister, the specific amount and type of programming required for a valid less restrictive program, and the procedural requirements for probation departments when proposing family home placements as less restrictive programs.