Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11062007 - C.99 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS = _ Con r FROM: JOHN CULLEN, County Administrator o' - �=� =,z Costa DATE: NOVEMBER 6, 2007 County SUBJECT: ACCEPT the 2006-2007 Annual Report of the Juvenile Justice/Delinquency Prevention Commission. SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION ACCEPT the 2006-2007 Annual Report of the Juvenile Justice/Delinquency Prevention Commission. FISCAL IMPACT There is no additional fiscal impact to this submission. BACKGROUND Section 229 of the Welfare and Institutions Code mandates that each county have a Juvenile Justice Commission to inquire about the administration of juvenile court law. The code also allows each county to have a Delinquency Prevention Commission at the option of the Board of Supervisors. Contra Costa County has such commissions with the latter established in 1966. The purpose of the Juvenile Justice- Delinquency Prevention Commission is to be a public conscience in the interest of justice for children and youth. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: [-] RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR ❑ RECOMMENDATIO OF BOARD COMMITTEE ❑ APPROVE ❑ OTHER SIGNATURE(S): I ACTION OF BOARD ON r 10 V ew"b er 61 2-007 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED 46 OTVER ❑ VOTE OF SUPERVISORS: I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND '^ �, , , CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND UNANIMOUS(ABSENT IW rw ) ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF AYES: NOES: SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED: November 6th, 2007 Contact: JULIE ENEA(925)335-1077 JOHN CULLEN,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR t By: Deputy CONTRA COSTA COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMISSION AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION COMMISSION 50 DOUGLAS DRIVE, SUITE 201 MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA 94553-8500 November 6, 2007 Phone: (925) 313-4188 TO: I fonorable Thomas Maddock, Presiding Superior Court Judge Honorable Lois M Haight, Presiding Juvenile Court Judge Mary Piepho, Chairperson, and Members of the CCC Board of Supervisors Lionel D. Chatman, Contra Costa County Probation Officer Joe Valentine, Director of Employment and Human Services Department John Cullen, CAO of Contra Costa County Dr. William B. Walker, Director of Contra Costa County Health Services Department Slialinee Hunter, CSA Field Representative for Contra Costa County FROM: Brian Lindblom, Chairperson, Juvenile Justice -Delinquency Prevention Commission SUBJECT: Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2006-2007 Section 229 of the Welfare and Institutions Code mandates that each county have a Juvenile Justice Commission to inquire into the administration of the juvenile court law. The code also allows each county to have a Delinquency Prevention Commission at the option of the Board of Supervisors. Contra Costa County has such commissions with the latter established in 1966. The Commission has access to all publicly administered institutions authorized by the county. It annually inspects jails, lockups, institutions and every other year group home facilities used within the county, hollowing each inspection. reported findings are written along with any recommendations for improvements. These are provided to the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge, and others for review. The Commission also visits Juvenile Court and may hold hearings on matters concerning juvenile custody care or facilities. The ,Juvenile Court Judge may issue subpoenas requiring attendance and testimony of witnesses and production of documents at the hearings. The Commission is concerned with policy matters, advises the Juvenile Court, and is responsible for policy-making recommendations. It makes recommendations for administrative body changes it determines beneficial to juvenile justice, ensuring they are appropriate, safe and provide adequate services and facilities. The Commission may conduct studies, including: review of essential services and budgets to ensure relevant and effective probation services; exploration of matters initiated by commissioners or referred by the Juvenile Court Judge; the Probation Department, the Board of Supervisors, or citizen inquiry. 1 The purpose of the Juvenile Justice -- Delinquency Prevention Commission is to be a public conscience in the interest of justice for children and youth. Membership: There are 15 member positions that serve on the commission, all appointed by the Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court. Each commissioner serves a four-year term unless they are filling the unexpired terns of a commissioner who has resigned. At least two commissioners must be youth members. The commission should reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the county and it strives to represent the geographic areas of the county. For fiscal year 2006-2007, the geographic make lip of the commission was: Concord— 1 Danville— i Hercules—2 Martinez—2 Moraga— 1 Pittsburg— 1 Pleasant Hill — 1 Richmond— i San Pablo— 1 San Ramon— 1 Walnut Creek—3 (We need better East County representation) The Commission started the fiscal year with 13 Adult Commissioners and no Juvenile Commissioners and finished the fiscal year with 12 Adults and 3 Juvenile members. The youth members, two young men and one _young woman, are all high school students and represent the communities of Pleasant Hill, Hercules and San Pablo. The Commission has an established list of ten functioning sub committees. Each member serves on several of these committees. These committees report to the entire commission as needed. The Committees are., Executive, Budget, Tnspections, Membership, Juvenile Justice Awards Program, By-Laws, 'Training, Publicity, I-Iomeless and Runaway Youth and our JSPAC Liaison. 1\leetinj4s: The Commission meets regularly on the third Monday of every month at 5:30 pm except in January and February when holidays fall on meeting dates. (Most meetings are held in the second floor conference room of the Probation Department at 50 Douglas Drive and all are open to the Public.) There is no monthly meeting scheduled in August and the January and February meetings are held on the fourth Monday, due to federal holidays. A quorum of members is required to conduct official business at these monthly meetings. At the meetings, reports are received from representatives of the Juvenile Court, Juvenile Probation, Employment and Human Set-vices Department, Children's Mental Health and other agencies as requested by the commission. Immediately following the adjournment of the Juvenile Justice Commission Meeting the Delinquency Prevention Commission is called to order. This meeting focuses on reports from commissioners and ad hoc members of the public about ongoing programs or projects that highlight delinquency prevention throughout the county. Some of the programs that are regularly reported on are: The Violence Prevention Coalition, Gang information Network, Delta Project, JSPAC, CCPAL and STAND. Special Programs: Once a year the Commission endeavors to recognize individuals, groups and organizations that have contributed to juvenile justice or delinquency prevention in a significant way. The commission hosts an awards ceremony in May to recognize those individuals and call attention to their tine work in helping the county's juvenile population. On May 19, 2007 the JJ- DPC held their annual awards ceremony at the Heald Conference Center in Concord. This year's recipients for awards and recognition were the following: Cristina Hernandez, Deputy Probation Oil icer, Pittsburg Office Kimberly Martell, Deputy Probation Officer, Martinez Office Lori Militar, Deputy Probation Officer, San Pablo Office Theresa Petersen, Deputy Probation Officer, Pittsburg Office Shatrina Thomas, Deputy Probation Officer, San Pablo Office Steve Robinson, CC'C Probation Department; San Pablo Office Gregory Quesada, Probation Counselor, Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility .Joe Velez, Probation Counselor, Chris Adarns Girls Center Detective Jeff Palmieri, San Pablo Police Department Detective Bill Roche, Concord Police Department Officer Trent Cross, California Highway Patrol, OTS Smart Start Program Officer Jason Cramblet, California Highway Patrol, OTS Smart Start Program Offices- Steve Powers, Concord Police Department, School Resource Officer Deputy Scott Sutherland, CCC Sheriff's Office, School Resource Officer Deputy Bob Duncan, CCC Sheriff's Office, Juvenile Court Officer Otheree Christian, Ll Cerrito High School Jamal .Jawad, .I:l CerritoHigh School. Judy Raykovich, John A. Davis.Juvenile Hall Library Lyn Malvini, John A. Davis, Juvenile Hall Library Delta Vista High School Football Team Warriors Californian Office of Traffic Safety, Smart Start Program The Shipmates Program and its Volunteers: Youth Offender Success Story Recipients: Angelica Alarcon, Daniel Castagna, Saeed Coleman, Steven I-Iemmann and Ryan L. 1-1111 ,i.i-UPC Joint Commission Workshops: During this fiscal year, the Commission held two workshops in the form of joint commission meetings with the Alameda County Juvenile .Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission. The first of these meetings was hosted by the Alameda County Commission in Berkeley on March 15, 2007. Joint commission members attended the meeting from Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco County Commissions, juvenile court judges, probation administrators and officers. The workshop was productive as it allowed both counties to discuss and compare what they were doing in the arena of juvenile probation programs, juvenile delinquency activity and funding for various educational and mental health programs. The second joint commission meeting was hosted by Contra Costa Juvenile Justice Commission on .lune 14 and was attended by judges, commissioners and probation staff from both counties. The meeting focused on juvenile problems both counties are experiencing in the area of�violence; prostitution and mental health services. Both of these joint commission meetings provided an Opportunity for commissioners and probation staff- to compare notes on their individual county operations and discuss successful programs directed at the similar problems both counties face with their at-risk juvenile populations. Further joint commission meetings are anticipated to develop long-range programs and ideas to deal with delinquency,juvenile crimes and the funding ofcurrenl and new programs. 3 Inspections: Part of the Commission's mandated purpose is to conduct annual inspections of the juvenile facilities within the county. These include lock up facilities as well as group homes and treatment programs. After each inspection a report is written by the inspection team and submitted to the presiding Judge of the juvenile court and others, for review. During the fiscal year the following inspections occurred: Four police department lock tips Five juvenile court holding areas Four juvenile detention facilities Four group homes Two juvenile treatment centers It is the intent of the Commission to visit and inspect all juvenile lock up/detention facilities once a year and group home and treatment programs every other year. Events of Interest: During the fiscal 2006-2007 year the following events are worthy of mentioning that involved Juvenile Probation Programs and their Facilities. Facilities: • The Department 55 Courtroom renovation on the grounds of John A. Davis Juvenile Hall was completed. This provides Juvenile Hall added security as in- custody juveniles can attend their court hearings without ever leaving the facility. Currently a juvenile court commissioner handles this court. • Also added this year to Juvenile Hall is an additional Freezer for food service. The new Betty Fradsen Juvenile Hall Library came on line, providing for the first time, a modern full service library with librarian inside Juvenile. Hall. As of this past July, there was a move to apply .for grant finding from a local foundation to start a similar library at the Orin Allen Facility. • Juvenile Hall experienced several months of serious crowding when the census went above 200 and approached 250. The normal count is usually below the maximum capacity of 190. This past summer the COunt has returned to normal numbers. • The Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility Kitchen was renovated to comply with health department requirements and facility population demands. Orin Allen also had two new water wells installed due to the failure of the one existing well. Only one of the two new wells is currently being used, the other will serve as a backup. The next project is the replacement of the dining room floor. The facility, which was built in the 1960's, also remodeled and updated one of the dormitory restrooms from it's aging conditions. • Additional corral space has been added to increase the capacity of the animal care program at Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility. This program has become very popular with a horse, goats and llamas and provides a therapeutic element along with teaching responsibility for the care of animals. 4 Programs: • In July 2006 Contra Costa County Children's Mental Health Services discontinued mental heath services for in-custody boys at Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility due to budget cuts. in ,January 2007, The Contra Costa Probation Department through grant funding was able to restore minimal mental health services by finding one therapist through an outside mental health provider "New Connections". This one therapist is only able to meet the needs of about 20% of the residents at Orin Allen Youth facility by treating between 14 and 20 boys out of a population of 100. • The East County and West County Juvenile Drug Courts, which are administered by judges and their commissioners, have been very successful at modifying substance abuse behavior and saving hundreds of youth from a life of chemical dependency. As of yet there exists a need, but there is still no funding or ability to start this _type of service in Central County. • The mental health staffing in Juvenile Hall has also been reduced, and as a result County Mental IIealth Services is only able to provide crisis counseling and the screening of new wards coming into the facility. • The Probation Department and Mental Health Services is also working on "wrap around" mental health services that would follow juvenile wards, when they are released from custody, to be provided continued care and treatment that is available and accessible in their local communities. • The Commission revised and reprinted an informational pamphlet about the Orin Allen Youth Facility. This new pamphlet describes the programs available and the facilities. It was designed to assist judges; parents and attorneys of wards sentenced to the OAYRF. Printing costs were donated by the San Ramon Rotary • With financial help from the Contra Costa Police Athletic Association and the Becklam .foundation in Alamo, the auto repair-training program occurred again this past summer. The instructor is an industrial arts auto shop teacher who teaches at two local high schools during the school year. This year's program is focused on small engine repair and gave 10 young men a chance over eight weeks to get their Small Engine Repair Certificate and high school work experience credit. The program also added a large covered shed, to store the engines, parts, and tools and to provide a sheltered place for the class during the SU111mer. Summer of 2006 this program focused on simple auto repair and use of tools. This program is very popular with the boys and attempts have been made during the fiscal year to get local automotive businesses interested in supporting this program with funding and equipment. • The Probation Department in collaboration with Children's Mental IIealth submitted a proposal for the "Children's Alternative Treatment TEAM" (CATT) funding through the Mentally III Offender Crime Reduction (MIOCR) Grant from the California Department of Corrections. The target for this grant application was to treat probation-involved juveniles who are exhibiting a significant level of psychiatric and behavioral needs without keeping them in custody or placing them in out of county group homes. This means CATT J uveniles are able to be treated locally in their communities through best practice evidence-based programs. As of the writing of this report, the grant application was approved and the program is beginning. 25 juveniles are currently enrolled in the program and 3 community-based organizations have been contacted to provide evidence-based treatment to children on probation with mental health problems. The commission believes this type of program is important in keeping children out of custody while treating their psychological problems, which strengthens families as partners and resources for delinquency prevention. This program should also make a difference in reducing the criminal behavior and recidivism by emotionally disturbed teens. The target areas for this grant are focused on BayPoint/Pittsburg, Monument Corridor/Concord and Iron Triangle/Richmond. • AB 1494 has passed the State Senate and Assembly and has been sent to the Governor for his signature. If this new legislation were signed into law it would allow the Chris Adams Girls Center to be reimbursed with state finds as a group home run by Contra Costa County Mental Health and Probation. • More juveniles are being kept out of custody this past fiscal year due to a successful electronic home monitoring system that is in use. This enhanced program came out of a new vendor contract and better use of monitoring electronics. • This past March the Commission learned that, effective July of 2007; the State of California Department of Juvenile Justice would no longer accept non-violent commitments from county probation departments. The Commission believes this is the first step by the state in cutting; back on their ability to house and treat juvenile offenders at the state level. This appears to mean the counties will be responsible for the housing or placement of many of' these wards. The commission hopes that if this occurs the state doesn't renege on their funding responsibilities for these commitments on a county level. • The Commission is grateful to the many community groups and organizations in the county that fund youth programs to empower youth, fight delinquency and help set a positive direction to follow. One such program is the Contra Costa Police Athletic Association who administers, "Kops 1.or Kids Mentoring" and Positive Mcntal Attitudes Seminars and Sports Clinics. The (CCPAA) also collaborates with the Violence Prevention C=oalition in efforts to suppress teen violence through other acceptable alternatives. Additional violence prevention programs we support and commend are The DELTA Project which sends a messag=e to county youth about zero tolerance for domestic violence in their homes and relationships and STAND that focuses on the education of our young men in the schools and support for the victims of domestic violence, are additional violence prevention programs we support and commend. Finally, CCPAA has been a supporter of juvenile probation programs by finding the auto and engine repair programs for the past two summers at the Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility. 6 Conclusions: Members of the Commission are interested in being active in the community and in making the public more aware of the needs of youth. We will continue to strive to identify programs and resources that can be used to mentor and educate our youth, especially the wayward youth that find themselves involved in the criminal justice. system. One of our goals is to prevent juveniles from attaining that distinction and to find ways to protect and nurture our youth. Especially troubling to the Commission is the loss and reduction of mental health services due Heath Services Department budget cuts this past year. We believe that youth that are in custody are particularly vulnerable and in need of mental health treatment. Studies we have seen indicate that up to 70% olejuvenile in custody are suffering from diagnosable mental disorders that effect their behavior, relationships and activities. The Commission is also concerned about delinquency and the role that truancy plays in that activity. Truancy in West County is believed to account for over 15'10 of all crimes committed according to police sources. in speaking with the juvenile court judges and court commissioners, they are frustrated with the lack of meaningful tools they have at their disposal to interdict this behavior. While some school districts work hard to discourage truancy, the facts are that it exists and is a community problem without a satisfactory solution. A change in the state laws on how we treat truants may be needed to empower local authorities to address the problem more effectively. The Probation Department currently participates in truancy sweeps in the Past and West portions of Contra Costa County. Talks are currently occurring to include Central County in setting up truancy sweeps with collaboration between Probation and the local police agencies. IF our young people do not stay in school, or are not compelled to stay in school, they are willful participants in their own lack of success and their dependency on others. Attaining good jobs depends on good educations and,just as we have laws that make certain behaviors unacceptable with sanctions, so do we need laws that hold our young people accountable for fulfilling their futures. Central County has not been able to find a juvenile drug court. The Commission believes this is an important tool that is very necessary in making a difference in young people's lives. We urge the county supervisors, the superior court judges and The Health Services (Alcohol and other Drugs) Department to explore different funding mechanisms to make this a reality. We Iccl fortunate to have a strong and positive relationship with the Juvenile Court Judges and "the dedicated staff' of Juvenile Probation. We will continue to be a voice for the young people of Contra Costa County to insure they get the best in programs, care and services available. 2000-2007.11-10C:Annual Report 7 REQUEST TO SPEAK TOM (3 Minute Limit) I wish to speak on Agenda Item #: C .yR Complete this.form and place it in the Upright box near the Date: speakers podium, and wait to be called by the Chair. My coiimi its will be: Y- Oeneral Personal brfor»ration is optional. This speaker's card will be incorporated into the public record of this meeting. ❑ For Name(PRINT): ❑ Against T b errsra•e your name is amroenrced correct!};you may want to include its plroneric spelling ❑ I wish to speak on the subject of: !Address: ► 0 h, k City: VY\0-,-4,y� Phone: 1 am speaking for: ❑ Myself ❑ I do not want to speak but would like to Organization: leave comments for the Board to consider y / (Use the back of tris forth) - o Information for.Spealcers: In lieu of speaking, I Avish to submit these comments:. 1. Deposit this fonn into the upright box next to the speaker's podium before the Hoard's consideration of. your item 2. Wait to be called by the chair. Please speak into the microphone at the podium. 3. Begin by stating your name and your city or area of residence, and whether you are speaking for yourself or on behalf of an organization. 4. If you have handout materials, give them to the Clerk. 5. Avoid repeating comments made by previous speakers. 6. Chair may limit the time allocated to speakers so that all may be heard.