after protesting the juvenile hall expansion, the ella baker center focused on campaigning proactively for its vision of the juvenile justice system. in early 2004, a series of reports by "the mercury news" substantiated ella baker center's claim that the california youth authority, now the california division of juvenile justice, operated in a way that was abusive and ineffective. books not bars campaigned to change the whole system of warehouse-like prisons, arguing to reduce the youth population and quickly get youths back to their communities.