Administration of Justice 10/11/2013
Realignment Resources
Smart Justice Videos – Highlighting County Best Practices
Last week, CSAC kicked off phase two of our “Smart Justice” video
series. Earlier this year, we produced four videos showing
innovative programs and services offered in San Mateo, San
Bernardino, San Joaquin and Glenn counties to support their
realigned AB 109 population. Those videos – which feature program
administrators, staff, and participants – are all available here.
Between now and the end of 2013, we are unveiling innovative
programs and practices in six additional counties: Ventura, San
Diego, Merced, Contra Costa, Marin and Colusa. In each county, we
are taking a closer look at a specific and unique aspect of their
AB 109 implementation plan.
The first video rolled out last week featured Ventura
County’s STEPS program that helps offenders find a job.
This week we highlight San Diego County’s Community Transition
Center and a unique partnership with a community-based
organization to provide substance-abuse treatment and
transitional living quarters to AB 109 offenders. The video can
be viewed here.Tune in next week for the third in the
series. We hope you enjoy learning more about AB 109 success
stories.
3rd Annual Realignment Training Conference Website Ready for
Viewing!
Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25, 2013 in
Sacramento
CSAC, along with our partners, the Chief Probation Officers of
California and the California State Sheriffs’ Association, are
pleased to announce the unveiling of our 3rd annual statewide
realignment conference website. Please enter the site, check out
our agenda, and register for the conference by following the link
provided here.
At this year’s event, our Joint Training Partnership will provide
in-depth discussion of proven practices designed to integrate
resources throughout the offender continuum – from diversion,
custody, and supervision to treatment and reentry into the
community. Concrete strategies and tactics will be highlighted to
assist community corrections partnerships in systemic efforts to
manage their correctional population while improving public
safety outcomes. Real-world examples and concepts will be
presented along with practical approaches for bridging the gap
between research and practice at the local level.
This event is like none other in that it brings together public
safety, corrections, justice, policy and offender service agency
executives all under one roof to examine public safety and
justice innovations in California counties. Executives of
Community Corrections Partnership agencies, county supervisors,
chief probation officers, sheriffs, district attorneys, public
defenders, judges, county administrative officers, police chiefs,
human services agency directors and members of the Community
Corrections Partnership are strongly encouraged to
attend.
This event is also open to the public, but space is limited so
please don’t wait to register! Begin your registration now by
following the link provided here.
Looking forward to seeing you!
Community Corrections Plan Roundup: Notice from the BSCC to
Probation Chiefs
The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) issued a
notice this week to all Chief Probation Officers requesting that
each Chief submit their county’s realignment implementation plan
and budget adopted by the Board of Supervisors for FY 2013-14 as
soon as possible.
As you know, since 2011, the BSCC has been the repository for
each county’s Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) Plan and is
tasked with collecting and analyzing available implementation
data. The BSCC uses the information included in the plans
to prepare a legislatively mandated report to the Governor and
the Legislature by July 1 of each year that provides Legislators
and the Administration with a clearer overall picture of
realignment implementation efforts at the local level.
If your county has already provided the BSCC with a CCP plan
and/or CCP budget, you do not need to take any further action.
For all others, please submit your plan via email to Ricardo
Goodridge.
To view the county realignment implementation plans that have
already been posted by the BSCC, please click here and
scroll down to the listing for the report.
Assembly Speaker Announces Select Committee on Justice
Reinvestment
First Committee Set for October 21
Assembly Speaker John Pérez announced this week the establishment
of the Assembly Select Committee on Justice Reinvestment. The
scope of the select committee is to explore and identify
“solutions to the state’s longtime criminal justice and prison
challenges.”
Serving as co-chairs are Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair
Tom Ammiano along with Reginald Jones-Sawyer who serves as the
chair of Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety.
Other committee members Assembly Members Raul Bocanegra, Cheryl
Brown, Rocky Chavez, Jeff Gorell, Melissa Melendez, Al
Muratsuchi, V. Manuel Perez, Nancy Skinner, Mark Stone, Marie
Waldron and Shirley Weber. The select committee will convene its
first meeting on Monday, October 21. CSAC will provide updates on
the work of the committee in the coming weeks and
months.
Evidence-Based Probation Webinar Friday, October 18:
Registration Now Open
The folks at Advancing Evidence-Based Probation (Advancing EBP)
have teamed up with the Jefferson Parish Department of Juvenile
Services to provide a one-hour web presentation designed to guide
participants through the process of implementing and expanding
evidence-based practices for juvenile justice involved youth and
families.
The webinar – presented by John S. Ryals, Jr., Ph.D. – will cover
a number of topics from how to secure buy-in among clients and
the community to assessing which evidence-based practices produce
the most successful outcomes. Practical suggestions will be
shared with participants interested in implementing a portfolio
of evidence-based practices.
Counties are encouraged to join the webinar scheduled for Friday,
October 18 from 9 to 10 a.m. Although this presentation is open
to the public, space is limited. You may secure your spot today
by following the registration link provided here.
Electronic Filing of Statements of Economic Interest
AB 409 (Quirk-Silva) – Watch
Chapter No. 643, Statutes of 2013
AB 409, by Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva, authorizes the
Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to establish an online
filing system for statements of economic interest. The measure
does not specify a timeframe for implementation, but requires the
FPPC to conduct public hearings and solicit input about the
implementation of the online system.
The enacted version of AB 409 reflects the substantive input of
county clerks and elections officials, which is meant to clarify
roles and responsibilities, ensure a smooth and orderly
transition to an online filing system, and put in place necessary
and ongoing coordination and communication with local filing
officers as needed when the statewide online filing system is
implemented. The bill also permits the FPPC to take a category of
filers from a filing officer only if the officer authorizes the
Commission to do so.
State Hospital Reimbursement
AB 610 (Achadjian) – Watch
Chapter No. 705, Statutes of 2013
AB 610, by Assembly Member Katcho Achadjian, seeks to ensure that
host state hospital counties are not financially burdened with
the cost of conducting involuntary medication hearings. The
measure, signed into law by Governor Brown this week, was
sponsored by San Luis Obispo County.
As counties are aware, there are five state hospitals in
California. As part of their treatment, patients treated in state
hospitals often are required to take medication. When a patient
refuses, the state has the authority to involuntarily administer
the medication. However, in the California Supreme Court Kanuri
Surgery Qawi decision, the high court held that a superior court
must rule that a patient is incompetent or incapable of making
decisions or is a danger to themselves or others before the
person is involuntarily medicated.
Last year – for patients housed at Atascadero State Hospital
alone – approximately 100 petitions seeking orders for
involuntary treatment with psychotropic medication were filed.
San Luis Obispo County’s Public Defender office represented
patients’ interests at these hearings, incurring significant cost
for the county. Although host counties are not statutorily
required to represent patients during involuntary treatment
hearings, the state has determined that, in order to minimize
disruption to the patient and reduce related security and
transportation issues, it is in the best interest of the patient
for hearings to be held in the host county rather than in the
patient’s home county. Nothing in this measure compels a host
county to provide representation; rather, it sets up a mechanism
to reimburse counties that do so.
Given that existing law does not make clear who is responsible
for non-treatment costs associated with involuntary medical
hearings for these patients, AB 610 clarifies that, in addition
to the state, the county where a patient committed the original
crime is also responsible for all non-treatment costs associated
with involuntary medication hearings required by law. Although
the initial costs for the attorneys and related expenses of the
hearings will be paid by the county providing the proceedings,
the county where the individual originally committed will now be
required to reimburse the host county a flat fee of $250 per
case.