GMA: Juvenile Facility Houses Single Offender

May 17 -- It was morning exercise time at Turning Point Academy in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and at 5 a.m., all eyes were trained on a 16-year-old juvenile offender who will be referred to as "John."

John was sent to the academy because he brought a gun to school. And now under the steady watch of the California National Guard on the old military base, he is going through an intense six-month program that is sort of a cross between boot camp and high school.

Time in Solitary

"We all take in the military an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the U.S. against all enemies, foreign and domestic," said Maj. General Paul Monroe of the California National Guard. "And not having a good education is a domestic enemy."

The program is designed to sharpen John's mind and body, and hopefully straighten out whatever problems may have inspired him to bring a gun to school. And if it doesn't work for John it won't be because he got lost in the shuffle.

He is the school's only cadet.

On a recent visit, all 45 Turning Point staff members were focused on John. When he eats, he sits alone at a table surrounded by people who are paid to work with him.

When he studies, he sits in a room full of empty chairs alone with his teacher and the guard who follows him everywhere. All eyes are on John, all day.

They call him the "$9 million kid," because that is how much it costs to keep the academy running. The dormitory John calls home is filled with row after row of empty beds.

Lack of Eligibility

One reason for all the empty bunks is that many juvenile court justices across California don't know this program exists. But that isn't the only problem.

The "Turning Point" program was designed against a backdrop of deadly school shootings. The military-style school was set up as a solution. But it was designed with such a narrow focus on first-time offenders who bring a gun to school that many kids simply don't qualify.

So the rules are being rewritten.