Santa Clara County - William F James Boys Ranch

Featured

Santa Clara County – William F James Boys Ranch basic information to help guide you through what you can do for your inmate while they are incarcerated. The facility's direct contact number: 408-201-7600

This facility is for juvenile residents.

The Santa Clara County – William F James Boys Ranch is a medium to low-security detention center located at 19050 Malaguerra Ave Morgan Hill, CA that is operated locally by the Juvenile Justice Department and holds youths awaiting the determination of punishment for the crimes which they are accused. Most of the adolescents are here for less than two years.

The James Ranch has 96 beds for 15½ to 18 years old boys that the judge has ordered to be locked up.

The boys get tutoring to get their GED. They also get vocational (job) training. The boys take part in work programs on the ranch and other places, including the Santa Clara Valley Water District. They also do community service in the whole county.

The boys can also participate in:

Drug and alcohol treatment (substance abuse counseling and treatment programs)
Mental health counseling
Sex offender counseling
How to deal with anger (anger management, and aggression replacement training)
Anti-criminal thinking
How to get out of or stay out of gangs (gang intervention refusal skills)
Victim awareness
Tattoo removal
Sports competitions

If a minor is locked up while the judge decides the case, the minor may go to a local facility. For parents, see the FAQ "What if my child is arrested?"

After a case is decided, the minor could be ordered to go to a state facility. The judge will look at how serious the crime was and if the minor has a criminal history.

The Juvenile Probation Department manages the 2 local detention facilities in the county, the James Boys Ranch is one.

Right now only a few communities have services to help parents with troubled teens. Santa Clara County is taking steps to provide more services by creating the Status Offender Services (SOS) Task Force. The Task Force is made up of different people from the community. It will make an action plan for a system of care for this county.

Here are some places to get help in Santa Clara County. There might be other places to get help, but these are well-known:

Alum Rock Counseling Center (ARCC)
1245 E. Santa Clara St.,
San Jose, CA 95110
(408) 294-0500
www.alumrockcc.org
Hotline: (408) 294-0579 , or 1-877-SOSARCC (7 days a week, 24 hours a day)

ARCC has a lot of affordable programs and services for minors and families. They help them have and keep healthy lives. It’s mostly for kids from 11-17 years old. There are ARCC services for younger children, but they have to be referred. ARCC takes in runaways. They will help them find temporary housing.

They also offer:
- Youth and Family Services – Low cost counseling and support groups. For kids, teens, families and couples. In English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
- Victims of Violent Crimes – Long-term counseling. For victims of rape, incest and assault.
- School-Based Programs – Counseling for at risk students. Counselors work with the school to help students succeed.
- Mobile Response Unit – A 24-hour moving crisis intervention service. Helps runaways and troubled young people and their families solve fights. They answer calls from anywhere in the county.
- Homeless Youth Outreach – A lot of different services like counseling, help with jobs, legal help, case management, and street outreach for homeless youth.
- Independent Living Skills Program – Helps young people, 18-26 years old, who are leaving foster care, find a place to live.
- Family Wellness – 8-10 week program. Teaches families how to deal with family issues and fights. Role-playing is part of the program.
- HIV/AID Prevention and Education Program – Recruits and trains high-risk kids to be Health Promoters. Then the kids teach formal and informal HIV education and prevention to other kids.
Bill Wilson Center
3490 The Alameda,
Santa Clara, CA, 95050
(408) 243-0222
www.billwilsoncenter.org

Bill Wilson Center helps families stick together. And, it helps young people solve problems and build self-esteem. They offer these services:
- Family and Individual Counseling Center – Counseling for individuals, couples, families and groups. There are seminars on recent issues and therapy techniques for counselors.
- School Outreach Counseling – With the Santa Clara Unified School District. Counseling for:
  - Depression,
  - Suicide,
  - Problems at home,
  - Doing badly in school,
  - Preventing drug abuse, and
  - Sexuality.
  They also help new Vietnamese immigrants and their families adjust.
- Runaway and Homeless Shelter – 16 beds for teens who have run away, are homeless or troubled. They can stay for a short time. For kids 11-17 years old. They have counseling to bring the family together, if possible.
- Service Center for Homeless Street Youth – Help for homeless kids:
  - Food,
  - Clothes,
  - Counseling,
  - Job training,
  - Help finding a place to live,
  - Information about HIV/AIDS,
  - How to stay safe on the street, and
  - How to prevent pregnancy
- Transitional Housing Program – Full services for older teens (16-20). Also help homeless teen parents and their children. And long-term shelter (up to 18 months).
- Independent Living Skills Program – Training for young people in temporary housing and foster care. Teaches:
  - How to find a job,
  - How to manage a house,
  - People skills,
  - Where to find housing,
  - Parenting, and
  - How to get help in the community.
- Quetzal House – Live-in program for runaway teen girls in the dependency system.
- Project Safe House – Trained people answer calls 24 hours a day. They give kids who are in trouble or in danger a safe place to go.
- HIV Prevention/Health Education Program – They teach young people about HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and how to prevent gang violence. And train kids of all ages to be counselors for other kids.
- Project Action – A program for sexually active teens from 12 to 21 years old. They try to lower teen pregnancy and STDs. They teach teens to make smart decisions and be responsible about sex.
Go to the Bill Wilson Center website to get tips for parents who are having problems with their children.
Mexican American Community Service Agency (MACSA)
130 No. Jackson Ave.
San Jose, CA 95116
(408) 928-1122
http://www.macsa.org/
- Alviso Youth Center 1585 Liberty Ave. Alviso, CA 95002 (408) 942-6633
- East San Jose Youth Center 660 Sinclair Dr. San Jose, CA 95116 (408) 929-1080
- El Toro Youth Center 17620 Crest Dr. Morgan Hill CA 95037 (408) 779-6002
- Gilroy Community Youth Center 7400 Railroad St. Gilroy, CA 95020 (408) 847-4686
- MACSA 451 Lewis St. Gilroy, CA 95020 (408) 847-2425
MACSA has a lot of programs for the Latino community. They focus on social, money, health and education needs. These are some of the programs for young people and families:
- Eagle Warrior Athletics – For kids from 6 to18. Sports and training to give kids:
  - Basic athletic skills,
  - Cultural awareness, and
  - Self-esteem
- Eagle Warrior Recreation – For kids from 6 to18.
  - Game room activities & tournaments,
  - Arts and crafts,
  - Baking,
  - Movie days,
  - Field trips, and
  - Learning programs
- Teatro Familia Aztlan – Helps young people be artistic and learn acting. They put on plays and tour Bay Area schools & youth centers.
- Zero Drop Out Youth Academy – For kids from 8 to 11. After-school programs to help kids do better in school. Tutors kids, has learning activities and builds self-esteem. Parents can go to meetings every month.

Juvenile Dependency Resources

Department of Family and Children's Services: Parents meet with social workers here to talk about case plans and how their case is going. See the County Dept. of Family and Children's Services website, which is part of the County Social Services Agency . Their address is: 373 W. Julian St. San Jose, CA 95110, Phone: (408) 501-6300 .

Also see our page on Services for Family Members in Juvenile Dependency Cases.

Local resources:

Clover House Visitation Center, 2248 North First Street San Jose CA 95131, (408) 491-6450
Kindred Souls Family Visitation Center, 2248 North First Street San Jose, CA 95131, (408) 491-6449
Dependency Intake Unit, 373 W. Julian St. San Jose, CA 95110, (408) 501-6400
Juvenile Dependency Ombudsman , Juvenile Welfare Office of the Ombuds, 2310 North First Street, Suite 100, San Jose, CA 95131, (408) 993-4114 OMBUDS@ohr.sccgov.org
Parents Helping Parents (PHP) 1400 Parkmoor Ave. Suite 100 San Jose CA 95121, Voice: (408) 727-5775 Fax: (408) 286-1116
California Department of Education 1430 North Street Sacramento California 95814, General: (916) 319-0800 TTY/TDD: (916) 445-4556

National resources:

National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities P.O. Box 1492, Washington, DC 20013-1492, 800-695-0285 Voice/TTY: (202) 884-8200 nichcy@aed.org
CHADD – Children with Attention Deficit Disorder 8181 Professional Place Suite 150 Landover MD 20785, Information about AD/HD: 800-233-4050 , National Office: (301) 306-7070 Fax: (301) 306-7090
ADD Resources Attention Deficit Disorder Resources 223 Tacoma Ave S #100 Tacoma WA 98402, (253) 759-5085

visitation Info

Visitation for a county or regional juvenile facility is limited to immediate family only. Mother, father, sisters, and brothers are allowed. The visitation rules are very strict, we suggest reaching out to the staff to get their specific limitations.