In 1956, Retiro was described as "an institution for youngsters who have run afoul of the law," and school Principal Robert Sayette said the girls were "social delinquents," not criminals, most of them being chronic truants, runaways and "incorrigibles."
The Sylmar Civic Association carried on a campaign in 1956 to end the use of the El Retiro site as a "county corrective institution" and instead turn it into a city park.