As the Los Angeles County Probation Department dismantles a controversial shadow probation program in schools, some county education officials worry that they will be left with fewer resources to work with young people who misbehave at school.

The county is now looking at importing Becoming A Man, an intervention model developed in Chicago that targets high school boys for small-group sessions and comes with impressive credentials. Some advocates say they would prefer a local replacement.

Over the past 10 years, the county has spent about $11.6 million a year in state delinquency prevention funds to place probation officers in schools to provide supervision and services to both youth who are already on probation and those who have gotten in trouble at school, but who have not been arrested.

The latter group are placed on what’s called voluntary probation and classified as  WIC 236 youth, named for the state statute that allows probation departments to work with youth who have yet to be adjudicated in court. Under the terms of the program, educators, parents or other concerned advocates can refer a youth to the probation officers to receive services on a voluntary basis, usually for issues like grades or school attendance.

At a March meeting of the county’s Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council — the entity that decides how to allocate $30 million a year in delinquency prevention funds — Walnut Grove Middle School Principal Rich Nambu called the department’s voluntary probation program the most successful he has seen in his 34 years in education.

Nambu described a probation officer as having helped change the climate at the school, including helping his school lower the number of suspensions and other discipline issues.

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