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DATE: |
October 22, 2024 |
04 |
SUBJECT
Title
ACCEPT THE FISCAL YEAR 2024-25 COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS PARTNERSHIP PLAN (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
On October 1, 2011, the State of California implemented the Public Safety Realignment Act (AB 109). This law fundamentally altered the criminal justice system by changing the definition of a felony; shifting housing for people with lower-level felony offenses from state prison to local county jails; and transferring the supervision of designated people on parole from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to local county agencies. AB 109 requires counties to develop comprehensive plans to effectively implement these modifications to the criminal justice system without compromising public safety.
AB 109 established the role and membership of the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) Executive Committee, which approves a CCP Plan. In 2024, updates to the CCP Plan were provided by the District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office, Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), the Probation Department, and the Department of the Public Defender. The CCP Plan reflects stakeholder and community participation gathered during a community forum at the Reentry Roundtable and through ongoing community engagement activities, including feedback from community-based providers and individuals with prior justice system involvement and their families.
The updated CCP Plan shows that San Diego County’s approach to AB 109 and the broader justice system has evolved significantly in the 13 years since passage of AB 109. Additionally, the policy priorities expressed by the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors (Board) are reflected in the plan including a focus on behavioral health, housing, equity, and alternatives to incarceration. The Fiscal Year 2024-25 CCP Plan provides an updated framework for San Diego County justice partners and stakeholders to plan, monitor, and report on the San Diego County criminal justice system.
As part of a public meeting, the CCP Executive Committee voted to accept the CCP Plan on August 20, 2024. Today’s action requests the Board accept the Fiscal Year 2024-25 CCP Plan.
RECOMMENDATION(S)
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
1. Accept the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Community Corrections Partnership Plan.
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The CCP Plan was developed with equity as a guiding principle to reduce disparities across the health and justice systems and ensure equitable access to quality prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation services. The CCP Plan includes feedback from community stakeholders and individuals who were previously involved with the justice system. The CCP Plan includes services delivered by community members with relevant lived experiences to mentor and assist individuals to successfully transition from custody into the community.
SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The proposed action to accept the Fiscal Year 2024-25 CCP Plan contributes to the County of San Diego's Sustainability Goals of engaging the community and providing just and equitable access to services and resources. The CCP Plan reflects community input gathered from a community forum at the Reentry Roundtable and through ongoing community engagement activities, including feedback from representatives of community-based organizations and individuals with lived experience in the justice system. Furthermore, the CCP Plan outlines linkages and access to treatment, behavioral health care, housing, education, employment, medical and public health care, with the goal of expanding the availability of accessible County services and community resources for justice-involved individuals. The Probation Department will continue to gather public input on future CCP Plans to meet the needs of justice-involved individuals and encourage diverse stakeholders to participate in decisions that affect their communities.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with accepting the Fiscal Year 2024-25 CCP Plan. There will be no change in net General Fund cost and no additional staff years.
BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
N/A
Details
ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT
On August 20, 2024, the Fiscal Year 2024-25 CCP Plan was voted on and approved by five of the six members of the CCP Executive Committee with the Court abstaining from voting.
BACKGROUND
California’s criminal justice system fundamentally shifted on October 1, 2011, because of the implementation of the Public Safety Realignment Act (AB 109). AB 109 was enacted to address state budget shortfalls and overcrowded conditions in the California prison system. The law fundamentally altered the criminal justice system by changing the definition of a felony; shifting housing for people with lower-level felony offenses from prison to local county jail; and transferring the supervision of designated people on parole from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to local county agencies. AB 109 and its companion bills address four areas of the criminal justice system including felony sentencing, supervision of people with felony level offenses after release from custody, alternatives to custody, and parole revocations.
The shifting of supervision and housing of people from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to San Diego County required a comprehensive plan, known as the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) Plan, to effectively implement these modifications to the criminal justice system without compromising public safety. The State encouraged CCP plans to maximize the investment of criminal justice resources in evidence-based correctional sanctions and programs.
The State continues to request that counties to submit updated CCP Plans and report on outcomes. The County updates its CCP Plan annually to expand on the progress made since the initial plan was developed in 2011, while addressing current and emerging issues and priorities.
Local Planning - Community Corrections Partnership (CCP)
Public Safety Realignment expanded the duties of the CCP, which provides a structure for county departments to collaborate on criminal justice policies and improvements and to determine service needs and priorities collectively for clients reentering the community from jail and prison. Realignment statutes created a CCP Executive Committee composed of:
• Chief Probation Officer (Chair of the CCP)
• Presiding Judge of the Superior Court
• District Attorney
• Public Defender
• Sheriff
• Harbor Police Chief
• Director of HHSA
The role of the CCP Executive Committee is to approve and present to the Board of Supervisors a CCP Plan that describes the services and programs implemented to meet the goals of AB 109.
In developing the CCP Plan for FY 2024-25, representatives from the CCP Executive Committee provided their respective agency updates. Community input was gathered through a community forum of the Reentry Roundtable held in June 2024. Over 60 participants attended the forum including community members with lived experience, their families, staff from community-based organizations who provide client services, and other stakeholders. During the community forum, participants provided input and asked questions on a variety of topics such as the need for additional reentry services for clients leaving state facilities, guidelines for expunging federal crimes, and the procurement process for contracts serving clients impacted by AB 109.
Community Corrections Partnership Plan
The CCP Plan describes system-wide goals that guide the programs and services provided to individuals impacted by AB 109 and the broader justice-system population. The three overarching goals of the CCP Plan are to: (1) Enhance prevention, diversion, and alternatives to custody; reserve jail for individuals posing a serious risk to public safety or sentenced for serious crimes; (2) Enhance reentry interventions through transition from custody to the community; and (3) Provide evidence-based supervision and intervention services to reduce recidivism.
Each goal has objectives that outline the specific strategies and interventions that are being implemented to achieve the goal. The objectives are further broken down into actionable strategies described through programs and services. There are over 50 programs and services described in the CCP Plan that address prevention, diversion, alternatives to incarceration, reentry, and supervision services.
The CCP Plan includes over 60 outputs and 20 outcomes describing the measurable results of the programs and services operating during FY 2023-24. Outputs provide the numerical counts of program activities such as the number of clients served, the number of services provided such as assessments completed, applications received, referrals to services, housing provided, staff trained, grants awarded, etc. The outcome measures describe changes to the population served and/or program impacts such as reduced justice system involvement, the number of jail days saved from alternatives to incarceration, recidivism rates, etc. The plan is organized to show the alignment between the goals, objectives, programs/services and outputs/outcomes to provide an overview of how the system is progressing on each goal.
The CCP Plan provides an outline of how its programs and services map onto the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM), which provides a framework for understanding how people move through and interact with the criminal justice system. The SIM identifies six criminal justice intercepts where interventions can be implemented to prevent further justice system involvement.
This year’s plan includes information summarizing progress on two key Board initiatives:
• Alternatives to Incarceration
• Supporting Care Coordination for Justice-Involved Individuals Through Funding and Integrated Data Infrastructure
By statute, the County’s CCP Executive Committee is required to recommend the CCP Plan to the County Board of Supervisors, and the plan is “deemed accepted” unless rejected by a four-fifths vote of the Board of Supervisors, in which case the plan returns to the CCP for further consideration.
The CCP Executive Committee voted to approve the CCP Plan on August 20, 2024.
Today’s request is for the Board of Supervisors to accept the Fiscal Year 2024-25 CCP Plan. If the plan is accepted by the Board of Supervisors, it will be submitted to the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) by December 15, 2024. The BSCC summarizes information submitted by counties in a report to the State Legislature regarding the implementation of AB 109.
LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN
Today’s proposed action supports the Justice Initiative of the County of San Diego’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan by promoting the implementation of a service delivery system that promotes safety and ensures a fair and equitable justice system in the defense and prosecution of crimes, while contributing to a system of restorative justice.
Respectfully submitted,
ebony n. shelton
Chief Administrative Officer
ATTACHMENT(S)
Attachment A - Fiscal Year 2024-25 Community Corrections Partnership Plan