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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 07292014 - D.16RECOMMENDATION(S): APPROVE response to Civil Grand Jury Report No. 1408, entitled "Contra Costa Detention Facilities” and DIRECT the Clerk of the Board to forward the response to the Superior Court no later than September 4, 2014. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact. This is an informational report. BACKGROUND: On June 4, 2014 the 2013/14 Civil Grand Jury filed the above-referenced report regarding the status of detention facilities within Contra Costa County. The Report was reviewed by the Board of Supervisors and subsequently referred to the County Administrator on the June 24, 2014 Board of Supervisors agenda (Item No. C.105), who prepared the attached response that clearly specifies: Whether a finding or recommendation is accepted or will be implemented; If a recommendation is accepted, a statement as to who will be responsible for implementation and by what definite target date; APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 07/29/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor Contact: Timothy Ewell, (925) 335-1036 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: July 29, 2014 David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: Stephanie L. Mello, Deputy cc: D.16 To:Board of Supervisors From:David Twa, County Administrator Date:July 29, 2014 Contra Costa County Subject:RESPONSE TO CIVIL GRAND JURY REPORT NO. 1408, ENTITLED "CONTRA COSTA COUNTY DETENTION FACILITIES" BACKGROUND: (CONT'D) A delineation of the constraints if a recommendation is accepted but cannot be implemented within a six-month period; and The reason for not accepting or adopting a finding or recommendation. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: In order to comply with statutory requirements, the Board of Supervisors must provide a response to the Superior Court no later than September 4, 2014 (90 days after receipt). The last Board meeting prior to the September 4, 2014 deadline is on August 12, 2014. The Board must take action no later than the August 12, 2014 meeting in order to comply with the statutory deadline. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: No impact. ATTACHMENTS Draft Grand Jury Report No. 1408 Response Grand Jury Report No. 1408 RECOMMENDATION(S): APPROVE response to Civil Grand Jury Report No. 1408, entitled "Contra Costa Detention Facilities” and DIRECT the Clerk of the Board to forward the response to the Superior Court no later than September 4, 2014. FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact. This is an informational report. BACKGROUND: On June 4, 2014 the 2013/14 Civil Grand Jury filed the above-referenced report regarding the status of detention facilities within Contra Costa County. The Report was reviewed by the Board of Supervisors and subsequently referred to the County Administrator on the June 24, 2014 Board of Supervisors agenda (Item No. C.105), who prepared the attached response that clearly specifies: Whether a finding or recommendation is accepted or will be implemented; If a recommendation is accepted, a statement as to who will be responsible for implementation and by what definite target date; APPROVE OTHER RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE Action of Board On: 07/29/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER Clerks Notes: VOTE OF SUPERVISORS AYES 5 NOES ____ ABSENT ____ ABSTAIN ____ RECUSE ____ Contact: Timothy Ewell, (925) 335-1036 I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown. ATTESTED: July 29, 2014 David J. Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors By: Stephanie L. Mello, Deputy cc: D.16 To:Board of Supervisors From:David Twa, County Administrator Date:July 29, 2014 Contra Costa County Subject:RESPONSE TO CIVIL GRAND JURY REPORT NO. 1408, ENTITLED "CONTRA COSTA COUNTY DETENTION FACILITIES" BACKGROUND: (CONT'D) A delineation of the constraints if a recommendation is accepted but cannot be implemented within a six-month period; and The reason for not accepting or adopting a finding or recommendation. CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION: In order to comply with statutory requirements, the Board of Supervisors must provide a response to the Superior Court no later than September 4, 2014 (90 days after receipt). The last Board meeting prior to the September 4, 2014 deadline is on August 12, 2014. The Board must take action no later than the August 12, 2014 meeting in order to comply with the statutory deadline. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: No impact. ATTACHMENTS Draft Grand Jury Report No. 1408 Response Grand Jury Report No. 1408 Page 1 of 3  CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY REPORT NO. 1408 "CONTRA COSTA COUNTY DETENTION FACILITIES?" BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ RESPONSE FINDINGS – California Penal Code Section 933.5(a) requires a response to the designated findings of the Grand Jury. 1. The Contra Costa County adult and juvenile facilities are well managed and well maintained by staff who conduct themselves professionally and courteously. Response: Agree. 2. Contra Costa County is committed to a policy of providing adult and juvenile prisoners with programs that address their psychological and educational needs to reduce the likelihood that they will reoffend when they are released. Response: Agree 3. The County’s rehabilitation-oriented philosophy cannot be fully implemented because rehabilitative programs are not available for a substantial number of adult prisoners housed at the Martinez facility. Response: Agree. The Martinez Detention Facility (MDF) is a high security facility constructed in the early 1970s with little provision for programming space. The most significant issue at MDF is the need to separate certain inmate populations for safety reasons. This makes it difficult for inmates to participate in rehabilitative programming together in the current facility. 4. The Sheriff’s Office has applied to the State, unsuccessfully, for funds to build additional cells and program space at the West County facility that would help alleviate the problem of insufficient program space. The next opportunity to secure funding is likely to occur in 2015. Response: Agree. The fiscal year 2014/15 Enacted State budget includes an additional $500 million for local jail construction. The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) has been charged with allocating the funding through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process. Details about the RFP process should be released in Fall 2014. 5. The juvenile facilities face challenges in providing adequate rehabilitative services because of a shortage of staff. Response: Partially Disagree. The County Probation Department provides a variety of programming to male and female residents in juvenile facilities. Similar to adult facilities, there could always be increased programming if funding were not an obstacle.   Page 2 of 3    6. In 2015, a federal law will begin to be phased in that ultimately require a minimum 1:8 ratio of probation staff to juveniles, which compares favorably to the current ratio of 1:10. Response: Partially Disagree. The County Probation Department has been following the implementation of the Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which, among other things, would require an increased resident to staff ratio in County juvenile facilities. The State of California is continuing to work with the Federal government on implementation of PREA and it is not anticipated that any major staffing changes would be required until 2017, not 2015. 7. Adequate mental health services at the Boy’s Ranch are now available. Response: Agree. 8. Routine maintenance and repair issues continue to be a constant source of annoyance to inmates/residents and to those responsible for operating both adult and juvenile detention facilities. Response: Partially Disagree. Routine maintenance is sometimes disruptive to the day-to-day operations of any facility. In the case of Detention facilities, routine maintenance is an absolutely essential component of providing safe conditions for inmates and staff. 9. Absent the availability of more funding to address maintenance and repair needs, the best solution with regard to the adult facilities may be to make use of inmate labor, as appropriate. Response: Agree. RECOMMENDATIONS - California Penal Code Section 933.05(b) requires a response to the designated recommendations of the Grand Jury. 1. The County should consider preparing a complete application, including the identification of matching funds, when applying for a grant from the State during the next round of funding for the construction of additional detention facilities at West County, in order to provide rehabilitative services to inmates who could be transferred from Martinez. Response: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. The 2014/15 Enacted State budget includes an additional $500 million for the construction of local criminal justice facilities. The State has tasked the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) with developing a framework for allocating those funds to counties. Since the submission of the County’s SB 1022 jail construction grant, the County Administrator’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Conservation and Development have been working to identify issues that will make the County’s jail construction proposal stronger in anticipation of an RFP being released by the BSCC for consideration by the Board of Supervisors. Once the BSCC releases an RFP for the $500 million local criminal justice facility construction funding, staff will have a better understanding of the specific requirements for the funding allocation. 2. The County should analyze ways to provide additional staffing at the juvenile facilities to comply with upcoming federal mandates. Response: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. The County Probation Department has been following the implementation of the Federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which, among other things, would require and increased resident to staff ration in County juvenile facilities. The State of California is continuing to work with the Federal government on implementation of PREA and it is not anticipated that any major staffing changes would be required until 2017.   Page 3 of 3    3. The County should consider continuing to make the provision for adequate mental health services at the Boys’ Ranch a high priority. Response: The recommendation has been implemented. The Board of Supervisors remains committed to providing adequate mental health services at the Ranch. 4. The County should consider continuing to engage appropriate unions in discussions with respect to using inmate labor to perform maintenance and repairs at county detention facilities. Response: The recommendation has been implemented. The County continues to support allowing inmates to perform voluntary labor in adult detention facilities and has engaged labor on this issue. The current arrangement with labor does provide only limited opportunities for inmate participation, which could be expanded in the future.