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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10071997 - D1 D.I THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on October 7, 1997, by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Rogers, Uilkema, Canciamilla and DeSaulnier NOES: None ABSENT: Supervisor Gerber ABSTAIN: None SUBJECT: County Probation Department - Departmental Performance Report Terrence Starr, County Probation Officer, presented the Board with both oral and written reports on departmental performance. Mr. Starr answered questions from Board members and thanked them for the opportunity to make his presentation. The Board members discussed the report and then took the following action: 1. ACCEPTED the report from Terrence Starr, County Probation Officer, on departmental performance. I hereby certify that the foregoing 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: October 7, 1997 Phil Batchelor, Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator 12 tine Wampler, Deputy Jerk cc: County Administrator County Probation Officer �•/ Probation Department Contra Terrence StarrCOUNTYPAOBATIONOFFICER Administrative Offices Costa 50 Douglas Drive, Suite 201 County Martinez,Califomia 94553-8500 (510)313-4180 (510)313-4191 FAX 'i 9/30/97 To: Phil Batchelor, '-' '; Date: County Administrator From: Terrence Starr, Subject: Status Report/Probation County Probation Officer Department for FY 96/97 What follows is an overview of the Contra Costa County Probation Department as of this date. A description of the services offered, budget information, delivery systems, as well as departmental accomplishments for this fiscal year. Finally, the challenges to be faced by this department in the coming fiscal year are outlined. TS:ds Attachment. T1/probrpt.97 TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Page I. DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW 1 A. Department Responsibilities B. Organizational Structure II. RESOURCES 3 A. Financial Resources B. Personnel Resources C. Affirmative Action D. Sick Leave E. Staff Development F. Automation III. CLIENT SERVICES 7 A. Workload Clientele and Service Delivery Status IV. ANNUAL PERFORMANCE 11 A. Goals Accomplished in Fiscal Year 1996/97 V. CHALLENGES AND NEW DIRECTIONS 16 1997 PROBATION DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE REPORT I. DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW A. Department Responsibilities While the role of the Probation Department in any county is specified in detail by the Penal Code and the Welfare and Institutions Code, in essence the Department exists to provide information and services to both the Adult and Juvenile Courts. Probation's mission is a broad and difficult challenge: to balance offender accountability and offender opportunity for change, on an individualized case by case basis, while maintaining priority attention to the protection of the community. B. Organizational Structure The Probation Officer is appointed by the Court and is. responsible to the Superior Court. Probation Department resources are allocated by the Board of Supervisors. As part of the criminal justice system, Probation Departments interrelate daily with: the Courts and justice departments the Board of Supervisors and the CAO the Human Services agencies the State of California federal agencies with private funds public schools. - 2 - 1 . The Probation Department offers the following services: a. Serves as the eyes and ears of both the adult and Juvenile Courts, with investigative and report services which assist the Bench in making detention, sentencing and dispositional decisions. b. Provides unbiased recommendations to the Courts which take into consideration community protection and the opportunity for offenders to modify their lifestyles. C. Supervises both adults and juveniles in a manner which assures compliance with the conditions of probation as prescribed by the Courts. d. Provides temporary detention and residential treatment programs for delinquent youth. e. Diverts appropriate offenders from the justice system by offering supervision for diversion programs for such things as domestic violence and drug use. f. Supports and encourages delinquency prevention in cooperation with law enforcement, schools and other agencies. g. Provides a variety of services to victims of crime. h. Provides the Superior Courts with investigation services and reports in civil/probate matters (conservatorships, guardianships and abandonments). These investigations are required by law, although not necessarily by the Probation Officer. - 3 - D - 1 II. RESOURCES A. Financial Resources The adopted gross budget for FY 97/98 is $25,619,157. Of this, $17,630,902 comes from the General Fund (69%). The Department will be receiving an additional $4.4 million for this fiscal year from Welfare Reform (TANF). There will be submitted a TANF spending plan that will include additional positions and one time expenditures. B. Personnel Resources Current budget allocation of positions and funds for FY 97/98. There are currently 297.8 full time equivalent employees allocated to Probation: 1 . 89.0 are deputy probation officers 100.8 are probation counselors 42.5 are clerical 31 are first line supervisors 7 are managers and the rest (27.5) are a variety of support and specialist employees. C. Affirmative Action The Probation Department's Affirmative Action Implementation Plan is currently being updated. The Department Affirmative Action Coordinator is regularly provided with incoming information on rulings and case law on Affirmative Action, Americans with Disabilities Act, Department statistics, and other relevant topics. Comparing overall Department staffing with labor force statistics, the Probation Department is above parity in employment of females, African Americans, and American Indians/Alaskan - 4 - Natives, but below parity regarding Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders, Employment of Hispanics has increased, is now 9.2%, approaching parity (10.56%). Most positions vacated since Summer, 1992 have been filled by rehiring from layoff lists; the last person wishing to return from layoff was reappointed in Winter, 1995. This has meant that outside recruitment had been limited. However, due to statewide recruitment efforts, 11 deputy probation officers statewide have been hired at the DPO III journeyman level. Despite these efforts, an evaluation of Targeted Job Classes unique to the Department shows us at or above parity in most categories, with need to hire one individual in each of four categories (Probation Supervisor I, African American and female, and Institutional Supervisor I, Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander) and five individuals in another category (Deputy Probation Officer III, Hispanic). Though the continuing shortfall of Hispanics in Deputy Probation Officer ranks is significant, it is encouraging to note that Hispanics are now represented at labor workforce levels in the entry position of Probation Counselor. Recruitment efforts will focus especially on encouraging Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander candidates for Probation Counselor and Deputy Probation Officer. D. Sick Leave The Probation Department is required to staff our juvenile institutions and any excessive use of sick leave negatively impacts our budget when those staff must be physically replaced. Several Department staff have sick leave balances of from 1 ,000 to over 2,000 hours, while others have less than 50 hours even though many have been with the County for 25 or 30 years. It is recognized that some people have legitimate reasons for not having a healthy sick leave balance, but it is our intent to begin an aggressive program of holding those people accountable who - 5 - abuse this benefit and are currently working on a new departmental sick leave policy that will apply equally to all staff. The average sick leave balance for Probation Department staff for the period June, 1995 to April, 1996 has gone up from 416 to 425 hours. E. Staff Development 1 . Performance Evaluations Evaluations have traditionally been done every two years for permanent employees. By Board Order evaluations are now done annually and probationary employees would be evaluated at least once during their probation period. Department policy-and procedures support making the evaluation process one that enhances staff performance by recognizing and reinforcing good work, clearly identifying performance problems and how they can be improved, and encouraging periodic assessment of career goals and activities. Performance evaluations of managers and supervisors include assessment of the timeliness and quality of their evaluations of their subordinates. 2. In-service Training As an agency participant in California's Standards & Training for Corrections (STC) program, the Probation Department receives approximately $80,000 annually in state funds for appoved training costs. As a condition of participation in the program, the Department agrees that all corrections staff will meet STC training standards. This requires a specific and detailed "academy" type Core training for new or newly promoted staff during the first calendar year after their appointment, and annual training for those who are remaining at the same position. - 6 - New Probation Counselors (at Juvenile Hall or the Ranch) receive a four-week Core training, and 24 hours annually thereafter. Deputy Probation Officers receive a five-week Core training, and 40 hours annually thereafter. Probation or Institution Supervisors and Probation Managers receive a 2-week Core training, and 40 hours annually thereafter. (The Managers' Core course is a new requirement still in development stages; heretofore Managers have simply taken 40 hours each year of management-related training). The Probation Department Training Officer carries out a training needs assessment each year, and from that develops a catalog of courses from which staff choose classes to meet their training requirements. Courses are offered in such areas as Laws & Interpretation of Laws; Gangs; Resources; Skills Development, Mental Health / Psychology / Substance Abuse; Staff Safety & Wellbeing; and Professional Development. A sampling of this year's courses: "Officer Safety - Field Probation," "Three Strikes Update," "Gangs in Custody," "Americans With Disabilities Act Update," "Dealing with Chemically Dependent Families". During the current fiscal year about 65 classes were presented under department sponsorship; in addition, about 50 staff attended various courses presented elsewhere on issues relating to their assignments. The department also regularly has staff (including clerical and other non-STC staff) participating in courses at County Training Institute and in Data Processing computer courses. Approximately 0 staff each year take advantage of the county's Indirect Benefits program to assist themin taking career-relevent coursework for college credit. F. Automation The Department has now been able to give all field staff on-line access to several automated systems. Recently the Adult Division went on line with the Jail Management System (JMS) D - 1 - 7 - and the warrant system (JAWS). This gives them information more efficiently to complete their reports. The Department also recently gained access to the Office of Revenue Collections (ORC) automated system to obtain account information. This has saved time for both ORC and Probation. During FY 97/98, the Department anticipates spending one-time funds from TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) to significantly automate its functions. This will include installing a new Wide Area Network (WAN) for all employees to be connected for information gathering and communication. III. CLIENT SERVICES A. Workload Clientele and Service Delivery Status 1 . Adult Probation Services--Investigations a. The Contra Costa County Municipal Courts have funded four deputy probation officers who perform duties for those courts as identified by each Municipal Court District. Two probation officers serve the two criminal departments of the Superior Court on a daily basis, rotating into the assignment from the Felony Investigation Unit. b. Investigations and reports to the Superior Court are mandated by the State and provide presentence information for the Courts. C. Probation provides over 200 bail study/preplea reports each month to the Courts. These reports make it possible for the Courts to review bail amounts and reduce them or grant O.R. releases where appropriate, thereby reducing the number of costly hearings, transportation costs of inmates, and the jail's population. - 8 - d. Probation provides an additional 290 preplea and supplemental reports to the Superior Court each month, representing an essential component of the Consolidated Courts of Contra Costa County's criminal justice program. Thus, 14.5 deputy .. probation officer positions respond to Court referrals with some 5,800 reports yearly. 2. Adult Services--Supervision a. Contra Costa has over 4,000 felony level probationers in the County. Some 3,200 of these cases are supervised by the Computer Assisted Probation Services unit (CAPS) and the rest are supervised by the 11 .5 Probation Officers who are available to actively supervise felons on probation in the County. 3. Juvenile Probation Referrals and Investigations a. The Probation Department receives referrals of 400 new juvenile delinquents arrested every month. b. Some 290 repeat offenders are re-referred for new offenses and probation violations every month. C. Of the 170 investigations done monthly, approximately 200 are booked into Juvenile Hall and require a level of detention. d. About 82% of cases referred to us are resolved through investigation and utilization of alternatives and counseling; about 18% of the referrals we receive necessitate a court hearing and additional investigations and reports to the court. 4. Juvenile Probation Supervision a. Most juvenile offenders are released on conditional probation back to their own homes, schools and communities. - 9 - (1) There are between 2,000 and 2,100 juveniles on probation in Contra Costa County at any given time. (2) After a short period of time on regular probation supervision, many of these youngsters are placed on a service as needed status. By banking a number of probation cases, the remainder can be supervised more closely by deputy probation officers. b. Juvenile Out of Home Residential Care: During the course of this fiscal year, Contra Costa Juvenile Courts have had up to 200 youngsters in out of home residential care. This includes group home placements, foster home placements and other county residential programs. Projections were that the Department would have no more than 150 youngsters in placement at any given time and the Department has made a concentrated effort to try to reduce the number of youngsters in out of home residential care. Currently the county has some 160 youngsters in group homes, foster homes and other residential programs. (Figure includes youngsters in Juvenile Hall awaiting placement.) C. In addition to our other responsibilities at any given time, we are responsible for some 160 youth incarcerated in Juvenile Hall. The certified capacity of the Juvenile Hall is 160 and the average daily population has been 168 youth. Some 74 young men are at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility (Boys' Ranch). d. Home Supervision: As an alternative to Juvenile Hall detention pending further hearings, minors are often released to house arrest where they are intensely supervised by Probation staff. This program calls for intense monitoring. The goal has been to limit caseloads to 15 per counselor. In the course of a year over 1 ,000 youngsters are released to Home - 10 - Supervision. 67% do very well in that status; 33% require further action by Home Supervision staff or the Courts. At any given time we have between 90 and 100 youngsters on Home Supervision status. e. Electronic Monitoring: This program has also been utilized to alleviate overcrowding at Juvenile Hall. The current program has room for only 40 juveniles, and is the top priority for expansion sometime in the next few months. The program itself has been very successful in saving a considerable amount of money on those occasions when our only alternative would have been to open up a closed unit at Juvenile Hall at a cost of some $1 ,000 a day. 5. Community Services Program: Approximately 1 ,080 juvenile offenders a year are sentenced to perform supervised community service on weekend work crews. Work is performed by way of contracts between Probation and other governmental entities, such as the East Bay Regional Parks, School Districts and the Public Works Department. These contracts make the program nearly self-sufficient. We are currently planning to add crews to work specifically in the Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill areas, utilizing young offenders from those areas to do graffiti eradication and other public service work. 6. Juvenile Hall: Over a third of the Probation Department's employees and a fourth of the Probation Department budget go to the operation of the Contra Costa Juvenile Hall. a. In 1996, some 2,450 youthful offenders were admitted to the Hall with the average stay being 27.1 days. The capacity of the Hall is 160. It has been very difficult to maintain that number given population growth and other factors such as a more violent population. For the month of May, the population ranged from 155 to 185. b. About half the youngsters in Juvenile Hall are there after having been through the Court processes and are awaiting placement in either foster homes, the Ranch or California Youth Authority. For example, on September 30, there were some 56 young men awaiting placement at the Byron Boys' Ranch. C. Juvenile Hall Resident Population: West County - 48% East County - 28% Central County - 20% Other - 4% d. In comparing Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall's size and use with other counties, we have fewer beds, lower admissions and lower average daily populations per 1 ,000 population than is the average statewide. 7. Boys' Ranch: The Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility is run by the Probation Department and is a residential correctional program. All juveniles admitted to the Ranch are committed there by the Juvenile Court in one of three programs: (1) Sixty days; (2) Six months; and (3) Nine months. The average stay at Orin Allen is four months. Boys committed to the Ranch are from: West County- 51%, Centrad County - 16%, and East County - 33%. It should be noted that in the past year, the Byron Boys' Ranch has effectively reduced the number of walkaways from some 50 a year to less than 4. IV. ANNUAL PERFORMANCE A. Goals Accomplished in Fiscal Year 1996/97 1 . SafeFutures: The SafeFutures grant, secured through the CAD's office, and in collaboration with Mental Health, police agencies and schools, accomplished the following during 1996/97: - 12 - a. Summit Program: The Summit Program commenced operation in December of 1996 utilizing an overflow unit at the Juvenile Hall complex. The program is a true collaborative with Mental Health and County Schools and has a capacity for a population of 20 boys. The program currently has 19 boys in residence and by all accounts the program has been a success. It has reduced the number of group home placements outside Contra Costa County and has provided a very intense program that is six months in duration and which works extensively with the young person's family. Summit has graduated over 10 wards, and most have done well on their release from the program. b. Gang Program: Under SafeFutures, the Probation Department has worked closely with police agencies to monitor and curtail gang activity in the west part of the county. We are working specifically with identified gang members who are coming out of Orin Allen Boys' Ranch and returning to their communities in the west part of the county. This program includes making sure that gang members comply with all conditions of probation, that they are in school every day, and also includes a component that has the gang officers riding with police officers to make sure that search and testing conditions are fully complied with. C. Aftercare: The SafeFutures grant included two probation officers who provide aftercare for youngsters who are successfully completing the Orin Allen camp program. These officers make sure the youngsters get back into school, are reintegrated into their family units and that they meet all conditions of probation. Additionally, these officers have worked to help these wards get jobs on their return to their communities. - 13 - d. V.I.P. (Volunteers in Probation): The Probation Department currently has over 40 V.I.P.s working in various areas of juvenile probation. V.I.P.s serve as tutors, mentors, and probation aides in trying to provide added involvement with some of the young people who are in the Contra Costa Juvenile Court system. e. Mentoring: A girls' mentoring program has struggled to get started. That program was designed to work with girls who were in the Juvenile Hall, but the focus of that has been changed because the girls identified required much more extensive services than could be provided in the Juvenile Hall setting. The SafeFutures grant has been extremely successful in Contra Costa County and is used as an example for other areas as to what can be done. 2. Electronic Monitoring Program: The Electronic Monitoring Program has been expanded from 20 to 40 wards. This program has .been extremely successful and effective in dramatically reducing the Juvenile Hall overcrowding. We have experienced difficulties with the equipment on occasion, but are currently working with the Sheriff's Department to secure new, more reliable equipment. This program is very much supported by parents who see it as a great aid in helping control their offspring. The Department would like to explore the possibility of once again doubling the number of electronic monitoring units available to further reduce the strain of overpopulation on Juvenile Hall. 3. Placement Diversion Project: At any given time, up to 100 youngsters are being supervised intensely with the idea of trying to keep them from going deeper into the Juvenile Justice System. Many of these youngsters would require placement were it not for the intense supervision .Ti - _ L/ . 14 available on a daily basis by the Diversion project. This is another method of trying to control the numbers of kids who might otherwise'end up in Juvenile Hall. 4. Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility: The Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility continues to provide excellent services to 74 youngsters at any given time. During this year it has not been uncommon for the Juvenile Hall to hold 50 to 60 youngsters who are waiting to get into Orin Allen and for whom there is no room. The CAO, Probation and other agencies are looking at the very distinct possibility of adding 26 beds to Orin Allen sometime in the very near future. Much of the renovation work has been done at Orin Allen, including new windows, some carpeting on the day room floor, and heating and air conditioning improvements. The program at Orin Allen continues to be a rich one with gang and drug programs, Senior Tutors, work experience, counseling for young fathers and a good school program. Additionally, it should be noted that Orin Allen this past year had fewer than four AWOLs which is amazing given the records of other camps in the area. 5. Serious Habitual Offender Program: A Serious Habitual Offender Program has been established in the Antioch area and will be a collaborative effort with police, schools, Probation and the Courts to deal with the most serious offenders in that community. 6. Group Home Placements: Group Home placements have been reduced from over 180 youngsters in placement to approximately 110. Efforts have been made to keep youngsters in Contra Costa County, although the majority of youngsters still are sent outside county borders. The Probation Department is endeavoring to further reduce the number of youngsters who are sent to out of home placements and certainly the Summit Program has been a valuable asset in this effort. - 15 - DSI 7. Juvenile Hall: The Juvenile Hall continues to be overcrowded and the building continues to be woefully inadequate. Given those restrictions, staff at Juvenile Hall have done an outstanding job this past year and there have been no major instances of injuries or inappropriate behavior. Juvenile Hall did have its first AWOL in March when a youngster was able to hide in a laundry cart and make his escape. He was subsequently picked up and sent to the California Youth Authority. 8. Probation continues to find the Sheriff and police agencies in the County receptive to collaborative efforts. In addition to doing ride-alongs with police agencies in Richmond, San Pablo, Concord, and Antioch, the Department is involved with a number of other police agencies in either Serious Habitual Offender Programs or in suppression of gang activities. 9. The Probation Department continues to be active with Social Services and Mental Health with the S.I.T. teams. There are two S.I.T. teams that work intensively with families, one in North Richmond and the other in Bay Point. 10. Probation Community Service Work Program: The Probation Community Service Work Program has run work crews on an ongoing basis for nearly 1 ,100 youngsters during the year 1996/97. Projects such as graffiti eradication, trash pickup, week abatement and keeping culverts clear are some of the work performed. This is an area that Supervisor DeSaulnier has been working to try and expand to areas in central County. 11 . The Probation Department completely reorganized all of its adult responsibilities during Fiscal Year 1996/97. This was necessitated by budget cuts that reduced the Department's allocated positions by over 10 full time deputy probation officers. Meetings with the Courts set priorities for those tasks which were deemed most important and Probation has worked with the Courts to dramatically streamline court reports. Additionally, the Probation Department was forced to expand its banked - 16 - caseload to over 4,000 felons, but has been actively supervising about 500 felons who are deemed by the Courts to be the most dangerous felons on probation in the County. 12. The Probation Department met all of its budget commitments for the year 1996/97. V. CHALLENGES AND NEW DIRECTIONS The Contra Costa County Probation Department will continue to press for the following in the coming years- 1 . ears:1 . Expansion of the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility to 100 beds. 2. Establishment of a girls facility to provide intense treatment for up to 20 young women. This program may be established at the old Lion's Gate facility if money can be found to renovate that facility. 3. Officer Safety. Probation Officers are more and more being involved with violent individuals in the pursuance of their duties. The Department is currently reviewing all safety practices and will be making needed changes in that policy as the year progresses. 4. Increased use of computers and other electronic advancements to more efficiently perform duties. 5. The placing of as many probation officers in schools to work with juveniles as is possible. This is seen as one of the very most effective intervention/prevention actions that Probation can take. 6. JSPAC (Juvenile Systems Planning Advisory Committee). Probation will continue to provide staffing to JSPAC and to work with JSPAC on the Continuum of Care and the building of a new juvenile hall. . 7. Probation will continue to fight unwarranted CYA fees. In addition to establishing fees this past year, the Youth Authority just recently unilaterally increased those fees because counties - 17 - had 17 -had reduced dramatically the number of youngsters who were being sent to the Youth Authority. 8. Continued reduction of out-of-home/out-of-county group home placements. 9. Expansion of the electronic monitoring/home supervision program to further impact overcrowding at Juvenile Hall. This has been an exciting year for Probation in Contra Costa County and it should be noted that there is a high level of energy amongst Probation staff, entities such as JSPAC, and the Juvenile Justice Commission. Also, that there has been excellent support of the Department by the Courts, the Board of Supervisors and the CAO's office. TS:ds T2/Probrpt.97