Welf. & Inst. Code, § 210.5

The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the best public interest to encourage innovations in staffing ratios, maximization of housing unit size, and experimentation with innovative architectural designs and program components, designs, or operations in the operation and maintenance of new juvenile detention facilities. Therefore, to these ends, Tulare County, as a demonstration project, may undertake the construction and operation of a juvenile detention facility, to be known as the “Tulare County Juvenile Facility,” that shall not be subject to laws or regulations governing staffing ratios and housing capacity for juvenile facilities except as provided in this section. Before the county proceeds with the construction and operation of the Tulare County Juvenile Facility, the schematics and the proposed staffing patterns of this project shall be subject to review and approval by the Board of Corrections, which shall consider the proposed regulations, applicable current case law, and appropriate juvenile correctional practices in order to determine the merits of the proposal and to ensure the safety and security of wards and the staff. Any review conducted by the Board of Corrections pursuant to this section shall consider community, inmate, and staff safety, and the extent to which the project makes the most efficient use of resources. In addition, progress reports and evaluative data regarding the success of the demonstration project shall be provided to the Board of Corrections by the county.

Nothing contained in this section shall affect the applicability of the provisions of the Labor Code.