873. (Added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 125, Sec. 1.)

(a) Upon approval of the board of supervisors of a county, the chief probation officer of the county may establish, maintain, and operate a store in connection with the juvenile hall or other county juvenile facilities and for this purpose may purchase goods, articles and supplies, including, but not limited to, confectionery, snack foods and beverages, postage and writing materials, and toilet articles and supplies, and may sell these goods, articles, and supplies for cash to wards and detainees confined in the juvenile hall or other county juvenile facilities.

(b) The sale prices of the articles offered for sale at the store shall be fixed by the chief probation officer. Any profit shall be deposited in a Ward Welfare Fund which shall be established in the treasury of the county, if a store is established pursuant to subdivision (a).

(c) There shall also be deposited in the Ward Welfare Fund, if any, 10 percent of all gross sales of confined minor hobbycraft.

(d) There shall be deposited in the Ward Welfare Fund, if any, any money, refund, rebate, or commission received from a telephone company or pay telephone provider when the money, refund, rebate, or commission is attributable to the use of pay telephones which are primarily used by confined wards or detainees while incarcerated.

(e) The money and property deposited in the Ward Welfare Fund shall be expended by the chief probation officer primarily for the benefit, education, and welfare of the wards and detainees confined within the juvenile hall or other county juvenile facilities. Any funds that are not needed for the welfare of the confined wards and detainees may be expended by the chief probation officer at his or her sole discretion for the maintenance of county juvenile facilities. Maintenance of the juvenile hall or other county juvenile facilities may include, but is not limited to, the salary and benefits of personnel used in the programs to benefit the confined wards and detainees including, but not limited to, education, drug and alcohol treatment, welfare, library, accounting, and other programs deemed appropriate by the chief probation officer.

(f) The operation of a store within any other county juvenile detention facility which is not under the jurisdiction of the chief probation officer shall be governed by the provisions of this section, except that the board of supervisors shall designate the proper county official to exercise the duties otherwise allocated in this section to the chief probation officer.

(g) The treasurer may, pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 53600), or Article 2 (commencing with Section 53630), of Chapter 4 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, deposit, invest, or reinvest any part of the Ward Welfare Fund, in excess of that which the treasurer deems necessary for immediate use. The interest or increment accruing on these funds shall be deposited in the Ward Welfare Fund.

(h) The chief probation officer may expend money from the Ward Welfare Fund to provide indigent wards and detainees, prior to release from the juvenile hall, any county juvenile facility, or other juvenile detention facility under the jurisdiction of the chief probation officer, with essential clothing and transportation expenses within the county or, at the discretion of the chief probation officer, transportation to the minor’s county of residence, if the county is within the state or 500 miles from the county of incarceration. This subdivision does not authorize expenditure of money from the Ward Welfare Fund for the transfer of any ward or detainees to the custody of any other law enforcement official or jurisdiction.