LA County review finds mentors drive RAY youth reentry program; full report due in November

The Los Angeles County Department of Youth Development released preliminary findings from an independent evaluation of its Reentry Action for Youth program; Neighborhood Safety Advocates, Inc. conducted the review and presented early results to providers and justice partners.

The reviewers based their findings on more than 41 hours of interviews with RAY’s 20 lead agencies, mentors, youth, families, judges, Probation Department officials and Public Defenders, and identified empathetic, lived-experience mentors as the program’s greatest strength.

The evaluation reported operational facts about RAY: from March 2025 through Sept. 2026 the program received nearly 1,000 referrals, about half from legal defense partners; it uses 20 local providers and 60 mentors and expanded to the Inglewood Courthouse in 2025.

Researchers offered early recommendations to sharpen impact; they suggested focusing RAY on young people who would otherwise face detention, matching the intensity of support to each participant’s needs, expanding training and support for mentors, and streamlining referrals across courts, the Probation Department and other county partners.

DYD Director David J. Carroll said, “RAY reflects the belief that all young people deserve opportunities to thrive, including after justice system involvement, in the communities in which they live.” Jeff Fleischer, executive director of Neighborhood Safety Advocates, said, “The DYD RAY program is a model for the nation,” and added that mentors “are truly the backbone of the program.” Judge Miguel T. Espinoza, supervising judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court's Juvenile Justice Division, said the program “gives judges a reliable, care-first alternative to detention that addresses the root causes of justice system-involvement.”

A RAY participant named Yasmine said, “What makes this program different is that they’re consistent and they actually show that they care. I think the most valuable part of the program is the support, so I know that when I come to [my mentor] and tell them I want to do something, they actually take the steps to help me get there.”

The findings are preliminary; DYD said the complete report by Neighborhood Safety Advocates will be posted in November on the department’s data and reports webpage. For immediate outcome data and participant information, DYD pointed readers to the RAY First Year Report at bit.ly/1yearofray.

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