The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors formally endorsed a state bill that proposed to allow incarcerated juveniles to hug their visitors during a board meeting Tuesday.
The “Hug Act” or Assembly Bill 1646 wants to allow those at juvenile facilities across the state to physically embrace their visitors, including family members.
Typically, people serving time in state and local facilities are strictly prohibited from having physical contact with their visitors, including their parents, siblings and children.
AB 1646, proposed by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), would require all juvenile facilities, including camps and halls, to have protocols in place so the confined youth can have nonsexual physical contact with people during in-person visits.
Supervisor Janice Hahn, who authored the motion to back the “Hug Act,” said when she visited the Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downy in July 2024, she was asked by the incarcerated youth to be allowed to “hug their mothers.”
“No one should tell a child that they cannot hug their mom,” Hahn said. “The youth in our care are already facing unimaginable stress and challenges, and we know from research that allowing youth to embrace their loved ones leads to positive mental health outcomes and less violent behavior.”
The bill, which has passed the California State Assembly Public Safety Committee, is already backed by a number of youth organizations, including Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, which argues that physical contact is “essential” to juveniles’ rehabilitation while allowing them to maintain family bonds.
“A mother takes the bus for two hours to see her son and cannot hold his hand. A father watches his daughter cry and cannot embrace her,” Legal Services for Prisoners with Children said in a statement. “These are children, and we are denying them basic human connection at the moment they need it most.”
LA County Chief Probation officer Guillermo Viera Rosa attended the board meeting and said while he understands the benefits of physical contact, especially for confined youth, he said more staffing is likely needed so officers can monitors and prevent illicit activities while exchanging a hug.
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