Diddy's sons are in New York watching their father go through an indictment and court proceedings ... but his teenage twin daughters are hanging back in California with a family friend.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … Diddy's teen, twin girls 17-year-old D'Lila and 17-year-old Jessie are currently in Los Angeles under the care of their late mother Kim Porter’s best friend, Lala.

We're told Lala has acted as a caregiver for the girls for several years, though she is NOT a legal guardian.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim was found dead inside her Toluca Lake home in November 2018.

Our sources say the girls are currently attending school in L.A. and Lala oversees their day-to-day schedules. We're told Lala does her best to protect the girls and keep the outside noise away ... and she acts as a mother figure.

As we first reported ... Diddy was arrested Monday in New York and indicted on sex trafficking, racketeering and kidnapping charges. He appeared in court Tuesday and pled not guilty, but is being held without bail.

Diddy's three adult sons, Quincy, Justin and Christian "King" Combs showed up at the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to see him go before a judge for the first time.

King is the twins' older brother, but the girls are hanging back in California ... and our sources say they still support their father and are hopeful for his release.