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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12052006 - C.131 sE-,L TO: Board of Supervisors - Contra FROM: Family and Human Services Committee o� � Amue' s Costa DATE: December 5, 2006 Cou my SUBJECT: Disproportionate Minority Contact (Disproportionate Sentencing Initiative) Report C SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION 1 RECOMMENDATION: 1. ACCEPT the report presented by the County Probation Officer and staff providing a comprehensive strategy to raise stakeholder awareness of disproportionate contact of youth of color with the juvenile justice system and promote best practices and policies to eradicate the problem of Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC). 2. SUPPORT efforts to promote best practices and policies to reduce Disproportionate Minority Contact. FISCAL IMPACT: No direct fiscal impact. Some recommendations may require additional resources to be fully implemented, but any additional expenditures would be subject to Board approval. CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT: This report supports all of the community outcomes established in the Children's Report Card: CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT:_X_YES SIGN URE: �� RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE _]�APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): J ACTION OF BOARD ON 1r�/ �IG V APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS (ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD AYES: NOES: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ABS ABSTAIN: U1 �,- I/�� ATTESTED Oe—()2' I� S /Y� h JOHN CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF J SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Contact Person:Dorothy Sansoe,x5-1009 CC: CAO Probation BY: Q ,DEPUTY I i SUBJECT: DISPROPORTIONATE MINORITY CONTACT REPORT 1) "Children Ready for and Succeeding in School;" 2) "Children and Youth Healthy and Preparing for Productive Adulthood;" 3) "Families that are Economically Self Sufficient;" 4) "Families that are Safe, Stable and Nurturing;" and 5) "Communities that are Safe and Provide a High Quality of life for Children and Families," by identifying best practices for programs that improve the education, safety, health, stability, and quality of life for youth of color and their families. BACKGROUND: Contra Costa County was one of three counties in California selected as a pilot site for the Correction Standards Authority's (CSA) Technical Assistance Project in 2005. With the assistance of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), Contra Costa County participated in an exciting and challenging project to examine Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC). The DMC Task Force coordinated by the Contra Costa County Probation Department brought together City and County officials and staff, community organizations and concerned citizens from across the county. The DMC Task Force's mission was to develop a comprehensive strategy for raising stakeholder awareness of disproportionate contact of youth of color with the juvenile justice system and promote best practices and policies to eradicate the problem of DMC in the county. Committee recommendations included the following: • Juvenile justice and law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County should develop standard definitions for what constitutes "contact" and "diversion" in continuing DMC work. • Government and juvenile justice agencies, in coordination with Children's Mental Health Services and community-based organizations (CBO's) in Contra Costa County should develop and sustain an effective array of culturally competent, gender-specific "front end" programs to meet the needs of youth in the County using research based information on best practices. • Contra Costa County in partnership with schools, social service agencies, health services, families (parents) and community-based organizations should develop programs in and provide greater resources to the youth in the three target areas; that reach out to youth who are out of school, that are culturally competent, and relevant in staffing, language, and content; and that reflect well organized linkages between community organizations, service providers and county agencies. • Children and Family Services, Health Services, Children's Mental Health Services, education, juvenile justice and law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County should develop a standardized data collection system that is comprehensive, disaggregated by race and ethnicity and accessible to analysts so as to foster a more efficient and complete data collection process. The Committee feels that Contra Costa County has developed a positive infrastructure to develop a continued analysis of DMC in the juvenile justice system. While barriers regarding data collection and timeframes prevented the DMC Task Force from developing a 5-year plan at this point, additional data collection and ongoing analysis of the factors leading youth to the justice system, as well as the development of research-based "best practices' regarding diversion programs will support Contra Costa County's continued efforts to reduce DMC. t i i TO: Family and Human Services Committee DATE: October 27, 2006 Referral # 74 FROM: Cynthia Haven SUBJECT: Disproportionate Chief Deputy Probation Officer/ Minority Contact DMC Coordinator Summary Contra Costa County was one of three counties in California selected as a pilot site for the Correction Standards Authority's (CSA) Technical Assistance Project in 2005. With the assistance of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency(NCCD), Contra Costa County participated in an exciting and challenging project to examine Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC). The DMC Task Force coordinated by the Contra Costa County Probation Department brought together City and County officials and staff, community organizations and concerned citizens from across the county. The DMC Task Force's mission was to develop a comprehensive strategy for raising stakeholders awareness of disproportionate contact of youth of color with the juvenile justice system and promote best practices and policies to eradicate the problem of DMC in the county. Introduction In 1974, the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP) mandated that states address Disproportionate Minority Confinement. In 1988, an amendment to JJDPA required states receiving Formula Grants Funds to address the disproportionate confinement of youth of color. Disproportionate Minority Confinement was defined as when the proportion of a minority group detained or confined exceeded their proportion in the population. In 1992 the amendment to JJDPA changed the language to Disproportionate Minority Contact, so as to include a more complete analysis of the factors that lead to confinement and or/involvement in various points along the justice continuum. National research has found that there are many factors that contribute to DMC. These include: • Poverty; • Single Parent Families; • Segregation and stagnated socialization; • Lack of cultural perspective and competence; • High minority youth unemployment; • Subjective decision-making in the juvenile justice system; • Absence of or poor legal representation' i • Under-representation of ethnic/racial administrative and direct service providers • Lack of education; and • Discrimination and racism Overview The Contra Costa County Probation Department, under the leadership of Chief Probation Officer Lionel D. Chatman, coordinated this imitative to examine DMC in Contra Costa County. Chief Deputy Probation Officer Cynthia Haven performed as the county DMC coordinator. Monique W. Morris, consultant with NCCD provided technical assistance for the county process. On November 10, 2005, key leaders in Contra Costa County convened to participate in an orientation of the project. At that time,representatives from NCCD conducted an orientation of the project, the planning process and expected outcomes. The meeting was attended by representatives from the juvenile justice system, law enforcement, social services, education, healthcare and other key agencies. For this initiative, Contra Costa County organized six workgroups (Appendix 1: Workgroup Membership Lists is attached), designed to collect and analyze information pertaining to DMC in the three target areas: City of Richmond, Monument Corridor, and Bay Point. These workgroups and their respective missions, included: Decision Making Workgroup. The mission of this workgroup was to examine the decision-making points along the juvenile justice continuum and analyze their impact on the disproportionate representation of youth of color in contact with the juvenile justice system., Data Collection and Analysis workgroup. The mission of this workgroup was to collect and analyze quantitative data to determine justice trends by ethnicity in the county. Resources Workgroup. The mission of this workgroup was to conduct an inventory of programs, and identify gaps along the continuum of services for youth in the county. Youth and community involvement workgroups. Workgroups were formed for each of the three target areas. The mission of each of these groups was to actively seek the input of youth and community members regarding disproportionate minority contact with the juvenile justice system in their area. From December 2005 through August 2006, workshops met, collected and analyzed data regarding decision-making points along the continuum in the three geographic focus areas. In addition to committee meetings, chairpersons convened separately to provide updates regarding the progress of workgroups. These meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss key themes emerging in all six workgroups. Conclusion Committee recommendations included the following: • Juvenile justice and law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County should develop standard definitions for what constitutes "contact"and"diversion" in continuing DMC work. • Government and juvenile justice agencies, in coordination with Children's Mental Health Services and community-based organizations (CB)'s) in Contra Costa County should develop and sustain an effective array of culturally competent, gender-specific "front end"programs to meet the needs of youth in the County using research based information on best practices. • Contra Costa County in partnership with schools, social service agencies, health services, families (parents) and community-based organizations should develop programs in and provide greater resources to the youth in the three target areas; that reach out to youth who are out of school, that are culturally competent, and relevant in staffing, language, and content; and that reflect well organized linkages between community organizations, service providers and county agencies. • Children and Family Services, Health Services, Children's Mental Health Services, education,juvenile justice and law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County should develop a standardized data collection system that is comprehensive, disaggregated by race and ethnicity and accessible to analysts so as to foster a more efficient and compete data collection process. We feel that Contra Costa County has developed a positive infrastructure to develop a continued analysis of DMC in the juvenile justice system. While barriers regarding data collection and timeframes prevented the DMC Task Force from developing a 5-year plan at this point, additional data collection and ongoing analysis of the factors leading youth to the justice system, as well as the development of research-based "best practices" regarding diversion programs will support Contra Costa County continued efforts to reduce DMC. i Appendix l : Workgroup Membership Lists i Decision Making Workgroup Robert Kochly, District Attorney—Chairperson Obie Anderson,Undersheriff Patrick Cannon, Public Defenders Office Lionel D. Chatman, Chief Probation Officer Jennifer Deadman, County Administrators Office Danna Fabella, Employment and Human Services John Gioia, Supervisor District 1 Honorable Lois Haight, Judge of the Superior Court Chief David Livingston, Concord Police Department Chief Chris Magnus, Richmond Police Department Joseph Ovick, County Office of Education Dr. William Walker, Health Services Data Collection Workgroup Jim Morphy Probation- Chairperson Becky Williams CAO - LJIS Dan Cabral DA Patrick Harrington EHSD Greg Kurlinski Probation Bianca Bloom CCCOE Maurice Jennings Concord Police Perry Austin Richmond Police Dennis Kahane Sheriff's Office Resources Workeroun Florence McAuley, JSPAC - Chairperson Todd Billeci, Probation Department Julio Casares, Community Member/Juvenile Systems Advisory Committee Kevin Charles, Alcohol and Other Drugs Michelle Williams, Public Health Department Sandy Marsh, Mental Health Department Reverend Tinsley, Juvenile Hall Chaplain Bay Point Youth and Community Involvement Work roup Elaine Prendergast Center for Human Development—Co-Chairperson Vincent Manuel Supervisor Federal Glover's Office—Co-Chairperson Marquis Adams Resident Ublanca Adams Bay Point Family Health Clinic, Health Conductor/Resident Rose Armendariz Los Mendanos College Zenaida Burgos Jewish Family and Children's Services Robert Camp Contra Costa Probation I Yolanda Costillo Bay Point Family Health Clinic, Promotoras Ed Diokno Supervisor Federal Glover's Office Evelyn Dodson Bay Point Family Health Clinic, Health Conductor Earlene Espy Faith Community/Resident Erykah Espy Faith Community/Resident Sandra Gallardo Bay Point Family Health Clinic, Promotoras Mike Gonzalez Bay Point Family Health Clinic Salena Green Center for Human Development Lollie Guiterrez Bay Point First 5 Center Michael Kerr Resident Kisha Lee Bay Point Family Health Center Anita Marquez Center for Human Development Lourdes Martinez Mt. Diablo Unified School District Tiombe Mashama Contra Costa Health Services/Public Health Debra Mason Ambrose Recreation and Park District/Resident Angelica Matamoros Bay Point Family Health Clinic, Promotoras Miriam Medina Bay Point Family Health Clinic, Promotoras Erika Perez Center for Human Development Deborah Polk Bay Point Family Service Center Marzel Price Resident Millicent Price Bel Air Noon Supervisor/Resident Stephanie Roberts Mt. Diablo Unified School District/After School Program Rande Ross Ambrose Recreation and Park District/Teen Center Shanelle Scales Congressman George Miller's Office Maria Silva Bay Point Family Health Clinic, Promotoras Aneshia Swift Resident Carlos Torres Jewish Family and Children's Services Mary Thomas Resident Richmond Youth and Community Involvement Workgroup Terrance Cheung Office of Supervisor John Gioia- Co- Chairperson Taalia Hasan Youth Service Bureau- Co-Chairperson Cheryl Maier Opportunity West Beatrice Lee Asian Pacific Psychological Services Vylma Ortiz East Bay Community Foundation *Community Members, Service Providers, and Law Enforcement representatives also attended meetings. Monument Corridor Youth and Community Involvement Workgroup Raul Rojas Office of Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier- Co-Chairperson Jerry Okendo League of United Latin American Cititzens- Co-Chairperson *Community Members, Service Providers, and Law Enforcement representatives also attended meetings.