SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to close Juvenile Hall by the end of 2021. 

Juvenile Hall is located at 375 Woodside Avenue in San Francisco and is equipped to house 150 children.

Supervisor Ronen says the city spends more than $13 million per year to hold kids in juvenile hall — which she says, is consistently 70 to 75 percent empty. In December 2018, the detention center only housed 40 children out of its 150 beds, according to the legislators. 

The San Francisco supervisors say crimes committed by children have consistently decreased over the last 10 years — not only in the city, but nationwide. This has prompted the supervisors to introduce legislation that would do away with what they call an “outdated institution.”

In place of juvenile hall, the San Francisco supervisors are proposing alternatives to incarceration — like a rehabilitative environment where children who cannot safely live within communities can be housed. 

Check back for updates on this developing story 

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