Ione - Employees at juvenile facilities in Amador and San Joaquin counties are bracing themselves after an announcement this week that pink slips will be distributed to 1,300 California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation workers. 1,200 of these layoffs will be within the Division of Juvenile Justice and will impact juvenile and adult facilities in Amador and San Joaquin counties. In a two-page letter to employees from Department Chief of Staff Brett Morgan, he cited $16.1 billion in state spending reductions and $1.2 billion in cuts for the CDCR as the impetus for the decision. “As a result of this reduction, CDCR must take appropriate and critical steps to implement reductions within the department,” said Morgan. In Amador County, this will impact employees at the Preston Youth Facility in Ione. The correctional facility is already stretching under the weight of prior cutbacks, and the announced layoffs are expected to further impact the programs the facility offers. These include intensive treatment programs, counseling, and a full range of instruction including special education, basic skills, high school coursework, GED preparation, and vocational education. San Joaquin County is home to the N.A. Chaderjian and O.H. Close youth facilities and the Deuel Vocational Institution, an adult facility east of Tracy. According to CDCR spokesman Seth Unger, cutbacks to the population in this area of the corrections system has gone from 10,000 to about 1,600 inmates over the last decade. Unger confirmed that the latest layoffs could affect local workers. In his letter, Morgan said, “these truly are difficult times, and your concern and frustration are shared.” The employees who are cut will be put on a state appointment list, giving them first shot at other CDCR jobs throughout the state during the transitional period before they are laid off. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.