San Francisco’s chief juvenile probation officer, who recently lost a bid to keep the city’s Juvenile Hall from closing, is leaving his post at the end of November.
Allen Nance told his staff in an email late Tuesday that he plans to retire.
San Francisco's Juvenile Probation Chief to Step Down
A common area inside San Francisco's Juvenile Hall. (Courtesy of The Design Partnership)
“Words simply cannot express the appreciation I have for all of the dedicated and passionate employees within the SFJPD and all those agency and community partners who have worked tirelessly to improve the lives of youth and families involved in our juvenile justice system,” Nance said, adding that “the time has come to pursue the next chapter in my life.”
Nance has worked for the Juvenile Probation Department for 14 years, and for the past six years as chief probation officer. He said that his agency has expanded alternatives to detention and diversion, work he said led to a record low population in the city’s juvenile justice system. Currently, there are 500 young people “active” in the system, compared to around 2,000 a decade ago, according to Nance.
The low population at San Francisco Juvenile Hall was one of the reasons criminal justice advocates and members of the Board of Supervisors pushed to close the facility.
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Advocates for shutting it down said young people were simple being prepped for prison at a facility that doesn’t prioritize rehabilitation and wastes money.
Nance and Mayor London Breed pushed back against the proposal. He said closing the facility without a clear plan for a replacement would put young offenders at risk.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in June to close Juvenile Hall by the end of 2021. The measure requires a city task force to create more homelike rehabilitative centers.
Norman Yee, president of the Board of Supervisors, acknowledged that Nance faced criticism on the board.
“What I’ve seen is he made some improvements through the years, which were maybe not enough for some people,” Yee said Tuesday evening.
“The system he developed went from poor to very good. We can make it excellent now,” Yee said. “I’m going to put it on the shoulders of the community because they did ask for these changes. So, show me a better way.”
Nance came under scrutiny last month after KQED reported that comments he made about the Glen Mills Schools, a reform school near Philadelphia where San Francisco sent youth for decades, were not true.
He initially said that his department had never heard of any problems about the school from juveniles sent there. In fact, records from the California Department of Social Services showed accusations of abuse at the school from a San Francisco teen prompted a state investigation, which resulted in the firing of a Glen Mills staff member.
Nance’s retirement was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
KQED’s Guy Marzorati contributed reporting to this story.