In August 2013, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the rights of disabled persons, initiated a class-action lawsuit against Contra Costa County and the Contra Costa County Office of Education. This lawsuit alleged that the Probation Department denied juveniles with disabilities educational services required by federal law and challenges the use of room confinement as a disciplinary measure. The Probation Department strongly disputed the allegations made in the complaint. However, the Department was aware of the challenges it faced in disciplining Juvenile Hall residents while continuing to meet their educational needs and maintaining the safety and security of all of the juveniles housed at Juvenile Hall, the staff, and the facility itself. The Department sought to resolve this lawsuit through early settlement discussions with the DRA, but those efforts were unsuccessful. To maximize limited financial resources, the Department decided to initiate an immediate assessment of disciplinary practices at Juvenile Hall. The Department retained Professor Latessa and his staff and developed a new behavior management system for Juvenile Hall, including a more effective way to use room confinement without compromising the safety and security of the facility. The new behavior management system focuses on providing incentives to juveniles to engage in positive behavior rather than relying on discipline and punishment to discourage negative behavior. This emphasis on positive reinforcement reflected a philosophical change in the Department's approach to behavioral issues. As a first step toward development of the new behavior management system, Probation Department staff assigned to Juvenile Hall as well as others assigned to work at Juvenile Hall, such as teachers from the County Office of Education and therapists from the Health Services Department, received training by Professor Latessa's group. The training focused on correctional institution practices. The next step required Professor Latessa and his staff to develop a new security policy and a new incentive program. As the Probation Department worked to implement the new behavior management system it became clear that another Institutional Supervisor I was necessary to properly implement the new system.

The Juvenile Hall will lack sufficient staff to properly implement the new behavioral management system.

This program supports the following Board of Supervisors’ community outcomes: "Children are Healthy and Ready for School", "Youth Are Healthy and Preparing for Adulthood", and "Families and Communities Are Safe."