HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07221997 - C76 ; a
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS IOC - 05 Contra
FROM: •'J/ � Costa
INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE r'�
County
DATE: July 22, 1997 C�.4TA COUY�`Tv
SUBJECT: PROPOSED RESPONSE TO REPORT NO. 9706 OF THE 1996-1997
GRAND JURY
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1 . Adopt this report of our Committee as the Board of
Supervisors ' response to 1996-1997 Grand Jury Report No. 9706 :
"What Value Do We Place On Contra Costa County's Youth?"
2 . Remove this item as a referral to our Committee.
BACKGROUND:
The 1996-1997 Grand Jury filed the above report, which was reviewed
by the Board of Supervisors and subsequently referred to the
Internal Operations Committee. On July 15 1997 our Committee met
to discuss the recommendations and review proposed responses . At
the conclusion of those discussions, we prepared this report which
clearly specifies :
A. Whether the recommendation is accepted or adopted;
B. If the recommendation is accepted, a statement as to who will
be responsible for implementation and a definite target date;
C. A delineation of the constraints if a recommendation -is
accepted but cannot be implemented within the calendar year;
and
D. The reason for not adopting a recommendation.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE -OTHER OTHER
JIM ROGERS DONNA G R
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BOARD ON L.0,1 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
ZUNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
Dean Lucas 335-1077 ATTESTED
Contact: Internal Operations Committee PHIL BA+ELC4,CLERK dF THE BOARD OF
cc: County Administrator SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
Superior Court Presiding Judge y r
Grand Jury Foreperson
County Counsel BY DEPUTY
County Probation Officer
"WHAT VALUE DO WE PLACE ON CONTRA COSTA COUNTY' S YOUTH?"
REPORT NO. 9706
The 1996 -97 Contra Costa County Grand Jury recommends that:
RECOMMENDATION A:
The Board of Supervisors make the provision of additional resources
for the Probation Department the number one priority in the 1997-98
budget.
RESPONSE:
A. This recommendation is accepted as modified.
B. The Board of Supervisors agrees that additional resources for
the Probation Department should be a top priority in the FY
1997/98 budget. The Board, in FY 1996/97, allocated
additional general funds to that Department for three Deputy
Probation Officers to work directly in a school and community
setting to supervise youth on probation. The Board is hopeful
that the State budget will make additional funds available for
juvenile probation services in FY 1997/98 and looks forward to
allocating such funds once they become available for
constructive youth programs developed in cooperation with the
County Probation Officer. At this time, we are hopeful that
an additional $4 .4 million will come to the County for
juvenile probation services from replacement Title IV-A funds
and approximately $800,000 from Challenge Grant funds .
The Board of Supervisors agrees that families, community
services, and infrastructure that supports the needs of
children and their families are the best foundation for a
healthy community and helps prevent delinquency and other
youth problems. The Board also agrees that youth delinquency
is often symptomatic of poverty and/or family and community
dysfunction. The Board' s commitment toward strengthening
families and services to children is well illustrated in the
Contra Costa County Children's Budget which indicates the
breadth and extent to which youth programs are funded in a
wide variety of County agencies, including Probation, Health
Services and Social Service. (For more specific information,
please refer to Response D. )
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RECOMMENDATION B:
The Board of Supervisors direct the County Administrator to apply
the Title IV-A money, if it is received from the State, only to the
Probation Department and that no off-setting funds be taken away
from the Department.
RESPONSE:
A. This recommendation is accepted.
B. The Board of Supervisors is strongly committed to utilizing
the entire amount of Title IV-A replacement money, as it
becomes available from the State, for the strengthening of
juvenile probation services. We have previously directed the
County Administrator to work with the County Probation Officer
to develop innovative and promising programs that can be
supported with these funds.
RECOMMENDATION C:
The County Administrator and the Probation Department jointly
initiate a public awareness program to educate the people of Contra
Costa County on the state of the current probation capability and
the dire need for additional financial resources.
RESPONSE:
A. This recommendation is accepted.
B. For some time, the County Administrator and the Probation
Department have jointly conducted a public awareness program
to educate the people of Contra Costa County on the state of
the current probation capability and the dire need for
additional financial resources .
The County Administrator's Office and the Probation Department
have been working with the Juvenile Systems Planning Advisory
Committee (JSPAC) since June 1992 . After the Board of
Supervisors endorsed the Juvenile Justice Continuum of Care in
January 1994, JSPAC developed a Community Education Campaign
to inform Contra Costa citizens about juvenile justice needs
in the County including the need for the replacement of the
juvenile hall. Included in this presentation is a description
of the current status of the Probation Department. Contra
Costa County Cable Television also provided a grant to JSPAC
to develop a video for public presentations to build support
for the Continuum. The video was aired on the public access
channel in June and October 1996 . Copies of the video are
used in JSPAC public presentations .
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Regular presentations are made to the Contra Costa County
Police Chiefs ' Association, the West Contra Costa Police
Chiefs ' Association, County Office of Education, Youth
Commission, Policy Forum, East Bay Public Safety Corridor
Partnership and the Business Leaders ' Alliance.
Community education presentations regarding the Continuum of
Care have been made to:
November 2, 1994 - Contra Costa County Labor Coalition
January 19, 1995 - League of Women Voters
May 2, 1995 - Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council
May 11, 1995 - Contra Costa County Superintendents of Schools
May 15, 1995 - Contra Costa County Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Commissions
May 19 , 1995 - State of California Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention Committee
June 22, 1995 - Probation Department Staff 32nd District PTA
September 29, 1995 - Bob Campbell, State Assembly
October 5, 1995 - Richard K. Rainey, State Assembly
October 19, 1995 - Juvenile Hall Auxiliary
October 20, 1995 - Daniel Boatwright, State Senator
August 3 and October 5, 1995 - Mayor' s Conference
November 6, 1995 - DAR (Acalanes Chapter)
January 11, 1996 - George Miller, U.S. Congress
March 20, 1996 - Bill Lockyear, State Senate
April 1, 1996 - Assembly Subcommittee Hearing on Juvenile
Justice
April 19, 1996 - Increase the Peace, Richmond High
May 6 and June 24, 1996 - Criminal Justice Agency of Contra
Costa County
May 22, 1996 - Women and Juvenile Section of the Contra Costa
Bar Association
July 10, . 1996 - League of Women Voters
July 22, 1996 - Brentwood Rotary Club
The Board of Supervisors, through the Family and Human
Services Committee, meets regularly with JSPAC and reviews
that Committee's activities. The Board will continue to meet
with JSPAC and develop suggestions, including the
informational activities of JSPAC and the Probation
Department.
RECOMMENDATION D:
The Board of Supervisors endorse the Juvenile Justice Continuum of
Care Program by fully funding all of its elements.
RESPONSE:
A. This recommendation is accepted.
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B. The Board of Supervisors unanimously endorsed the Juvenile
Justice Continuum of Care on January 11, 1994 . Since that
time, at the request of the Board, the County Administrator' s
Office, the Probation Department and JSPAC have been
aggressively seeking funding to support the Continuum of Care,
including the strengthening of the Probation Department. The
Board of Supervisors began the implementation process by
funding the Juvenile Electronic Monitoring program in January
1995 . The Board has approved the expansion of this program
twice from the original 15 (in 1996) to 40 ( in 1997) . The
Board of Supervisors also funded three new Deputy Probation
Officers who are assigned to schools in West, Central and East
County ( 1996) . Other programs begun in the last few years for
children and their families include the Family Preservation
and Service Integration programs, representing a collaborative
effort among the Health, Social Service and Probation
departments, to provide comprehensive and coordinated services
to multiple family members .
The County received the Continuum of Care Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) grant of $246,000
which included funding for the vocational training at Orin
Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility (OAYRF) and case
management, at the Youth Service Bureau in Richmond and REACH
in Antioch, of youth leaving the OAYRF. Two members of the
Board of Supervisors traveled to Washington, D.C. to review
the Continuum of Care document with Federal officials prior to
the grant award.
The County, in November 1995, received one of six OJJDP
SafeFutures grants awarded in the country of $1 .4 million per
year for up to five years . This funds the Summit Unit at
juvenile hall, gang intervention programs in West County, the
Volunteers in Probation Program, case management for
adjudicated youth leaving the OAYRF, and mentoring for girls .
The County' s participation in the East Bay Public Safety
Corridor Partnership has resulted in juvenile justice grants
for job placement services for West County Probation youth,
evaluation of the OAYRF Employment Aftercare program, the
Sheriff Department's Youth Academy, the Richmond Firefighters '
Youth Academy Media Program, a Conflict Resolution Program in
West County at Richmond High's Communities in Schools, and two
Youth-to-Youth mini grants to Girls, Inc. in West Contra
Costa, for career and employment preparation, and the Teen
Health Corps at Richmond High School for health awareness .
The Corridor Partnership also funded the writing of a
successful three-year State Truancy grant with Probation and
the West Contra Costa Unified School District which will begin
in September 1997 . The Board is allocating an additional
half-time Probation Officer position to work in this program
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through the Local Law Enforcement Block grant program.
The Probation Department is a partner in a number of other
grant-funded efforts to strengthen juvenile justice services,
including a three-year State School Mentoring grant with a
community-based organization begun in April, 1997, through the
County Office of Education.
Since JSPAC began in 1992, and as a result of the
collaborations established through the work of JSPAC, Contra
Costa County has received and will receive over the next
several years more than $10 .5 million in funds from outside
sources for at-risk and juvenile justice youth.
RECOMMENDATION E:
The Board of Supervisors formally endorse the policy of allocating
more of the County's probation resources to the juvenile side and,
by so doing, show the value it places on the youth of this County.
RESPONSE:
A. This recommendation is accepted.
B. The Board in the past has strongly supported giving priority
to the strengthening of juvenile probation services and will
continue to do so. It should be noted that significant budget
reductions in the adult Probation services have been made in
the past. However, the Board, in developing the final FY
1997/98 County budget, will do all that is fiscally possible
to strengthen juvenile services.
RECOMMENDATION F:
The Board of . Supervisors immediately direct the County
Administrator to find the funds to build and staff the new unit at
Byron Boy' s Ranch.
A. This recommendation is accepted.
B. The County Administrator and the Probation Officer are
planning and working with the Juvenile Systems Planning
Advisory Committee (JSPAC) to find funds to build an
additional 26-bed dorm at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation
Facility. At this point, we are extremely hopeful that
Federal anti-crime funds recently allocated to the State of
California can be utilized for this purpose.
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RECOMMENDATION G:
The Board of Supervisors put its full weight behind the proposed
new juvenile facility bond issue and endorse its passage in 1998 .
RESPONSE:
A. This recommendation is accepted as modified.
B. A State General Obligation Bond issue for juvenile facilities
will be on the ballot in November of 1998 . In the past, the
Board has supported bond issues for this purpose and will
consider endorsing this proposition at the appropriate time.
RECOMMENDATION H:
The Board of Supervisors direct the County Administrator to begin
developing creative alternatives to fund a new Juvenile Hall .
This concurrent planning would position Contra Costa County to take
immediate action should the bond measure fail, and should include
such alternatives as the formation of a private corporation to
building and lease back the facilities, a county-wide parcel tax,
a sales tax increment, etc.
RESPONSE:
A. This recommendation is adopted.
B. The County Administrator and the County Probation Officer, in
conjunction with the Juvenile Systems Planning Advisory
Committee (JSPAC) , has explored other alternatives to a State
General Bond issue for funding a new juvenile hall .
The Board of Supervisors is ready and willing to review all
practical alternatives for funding a new juvenile hall .
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