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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 06221999 - C211 C.211 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on June 22, 1999 by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Gioia,Uilkema, Gerber, DeSaulnier and Canciamilla NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN. None SUBJECT: Correspondence 0.211 LETTER, dated June 3, 1999, from Orin T. Allen, Chairperson, Juvenile Justice Commission and Delinquency Prevention Commission, 50 Douglas Drive, Suite 241, Martinez, CA 94553 recommending that the new Juvenile Hall be named in honor of retired County Probation Officer John A. Davis and that the Pride House be restored to its former name: Fredarica M. Edgar Center. *****REFERRED TO COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND COUNTY PROBATION OFFICER IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the above recommendations as noted are APPROVED. 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. ATTESTEDZ Phi helor,Clark of the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator I By Deputy c.c. Correspondents (1) County Administrator County Probation Officer CONTRA COSTA COUNTY JUVENILE JUSTICE COMMISSION AND RECEIVE} DELINQUENCY PREVENTION COMMISSION JUN �{V 1999�j 50 DOUGLAS DRIVE,SUITE 201 JU7 999 MARTINEZ CALIFORNIA 94553-8500 Phone:{925)313-418$ CLERK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS June 3, 1999 To: Joe Csnciamilla-chairperson,Mark DeSaulmer,Donna Gerber,John M Grioiaand Gayle Uilkema on From:Chin T.Alien 6lAA,-,-7-a�t'i't--, arson-JJ/DP commission,member JSPAC Subject:Naming of the Juvenile:Gall and reg,the name to the former Pride House ' As we in our county neared the reality of receiving funds for a new Juvenile Hall,hi the JSPAC meeting,of May 27, 1999 there was a unanimous vote to name the new Juvenile Hall after John A Davis. John Davis was County Probation Officer for thirty,years. Under John's leadership the Contra Costa County Probation went was a model department in the state with progressive programs and new facilities to enhance the chance for at-risk youth to be successful in life. I had the pleasure of working, with John from 1959 until he retired in 1977. John was an Icon in the field of probation in California Please read the attached press release which details of his contributions and impact on our county and probation. I have talked with Chief Terrence Starr,many past and present workers and volunteers and all overwhelming support and feel it appropriate to name our new Juvenile Hall the John A.Davis Juvenile Mall. The other matter brought to my attention is reit the name Fredarica M Edgar to the former Pride House building. This was the name given the shelter in 1965 when first it opened and was used by Probation and Social Service. The site will again be used by our department,under a We Futures grant as a Day Reporting Center,when boys leave OAYRF. The name should be reinstated as the Fredarica Ni Edgar Center. Your consideration for approval would be greatly apprecmted, thank you.. CC:Hon,Lois Haight CC:Phil Batchelor CC:SPAC CC:JJ/DP CC:Tenv=Starr: John A.Davis 0m--.D,Dep ftm nt Contra County Protwtion Offk sr . � , ,dmirw t,i, .offices Costa � Floor=' COURY ., .dtr�ittistratlon Building 51-,Pine,5treat 4ikli4 �ifomi is 9455 4115)3724700,.. . For further information: March 8, 1977 John Davis 'Probation Officer PRESS RELEASE (415)372-2700 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE John Davis, County Probation Officer, to Retire County Probation Officer John A. Davis announced today that he will retire at the end of this month. Davis, 62, has held the top post of the probation department for 30 years. He joined Contra Costa County as a deputy probation officer in 1943, became boys' supervisor in 1944 and then probation officer in 1946. During his years of service, the department grew from seven employees and a budget.of $116,841 in 1943 ,to 456 employees and a budget of $11 ,897,000 in 1976. Looking back on those years, Davis said special landmarks included the development of juvenile probation services and the establishment of youth in- �stitutions. Accomplishments he remembers in particular have been intensified probation field services and the reduced need to send Contra Costa youths to e , state institutions. Under Davi s's direction, the county pioneered° in many aspects of handling juvenile delinquents and probationers. ' The probation department started, in 1949 ' the county`'s first psychiatric services. In 1955 it made the first time study in the .U.S. to document the need for additional probation staff to reduce caseloads. -more- .� John Davis - 2 Other firsts were the setup in 1964 of a day treatment center for delinquent girls and in 1968 a sheltered workshop providing vocational training and paid work experience. The latter was funded with a federal grant, as were many subsequent programs for special supervision; crisis counseling; drug education; and alternative programs for runaways and hard-to-handle youth. Other steps in the department's progress were: the hiring of a full-time psychologist for diagnosis and treatment (1949) , building of a new juvenile hall (1950), organization of a juvenile hall auxiliary providing volunteer services (1955), opening Boys Ranch (1960) , setup of group homes for boys (1963) , a place- ment program for delinquent girls (1969), a weekend program for delinquent boys (1970) , completion of a Girls Center and a Preplacement Center for boys (1973) $ completion of a juvenile hall gymnasium (1975) and establishment of a full-time volunteer coordinator (1976), Davis has been a leader i.n the probation field in California. He served as state president of the California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association. He has been a member of many state advisory committees in the areas of juvenile traffic, juvenile justice and criminal statistics. He has served on advisory committees to the Governor, the Attorney General , the University of California's School of Criminology, the Youth Authority, and the County, Supervisors Association of California. In 1965, he received the Pepperdine Award for outstanding achievement in probation administration. Reminiscing about the past 32 years, Davis said he enjoyed most the personal relationships Ws had with those he's worked with. "We have a great reservoir of talent in this department," he noted. "And we've been fortunate fn having strong community support--from the Juvenile J?stice and Delinquency Prevention commissions, the Juvenile Hall Auxiliary, and the many volunteers who've helped us.'' -more- John Davis -3 N Proof of the fine working relationships, he said, is the smooth manner in which the department has been able to handle the recent radical changes in Juvenile law. Davis said he and his wife,Tammy, will now have even more time to spend on their outdoor activities and travelling. wring the past six years, 'they have visited Africa, Greece, Spain and Morocco, Britain, Central America, Mexico and Hawaii . They'll probably be heading next for New Zealand or Scandinavia, the Orient, central Europe or the eastern• United States. As members of the Audobon Society and the Sierra Cluts, they enjoy hiking through Yosemite and Muir Woods and around Mount Tamalpais. The walls and shelves in Davis'°s .office are full of memorabilia from his many trips, Most notable of his finds, however, is a small statue of the god Hermes he bought in Greece, "When I Darned that Humes was the friend of robbers and beggars," he said, "I felt it belonged back in my office with meLL." -30-