The board voted 3-2 to close the facility, with supervisors John Gioia and Federal Glover dissenting. Both supported keeping the facility -- also known as the "Ranch," in the unincorporated East County area of Byron -- open until late March to allow for more transition time and input from the district attorney's and public defender's offices.
The facility is a discretionary, minimum-security residential commitment program for adolescent males. It is intended to serve low- to moderate-risk youth, with a rated bed capacity of 100.
Contra Costa County's probation department recommended closing the ranch for multiple reasons.
The facility's population has been dwindling -- from 62 in April 2018 to 10 by the same date this year, though up to 11 on Sept. 1 -- and it needs about five-and-a-half million dollars in necessary repairs to keep it open.
The closing would make way for development of the Briones Youth Academy Community Path program. The Briones program would allow youth to participate in the same comprehensive evidence-based programs and services they would have received at the Byron facility, while remaining at home.
The Briones program is meant to eventually develop into a multi-use youth campus sometime between 2024 and 2029.
