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Introduction County of Santa ClaraPublic Safety Realignment Program (AB 109) & Reentry Services FY 16-17 Recommended Budget

Public Safety Realignment Program (AB 109) & Reentry Services

Executive SummaryThe State of California enacted criminal justice systemchanges to respond to a variety of factors present in2011: a significant U.S. Supreme Court decision whichcould have led to arbitrary early release of tens ofthousands of prison inmates; years of state and localgovernment budget deficits; and a high recidivism ratefor criminal offenders. The plan resulted in Public SafetyRealignment, enacted through California Assembly billsAB 109 and AB 117. As a result, individuals who wouldhave been the responsibility of the State prior to thesechanges are now being supervised and housed by localCounty Probation and Sheriff Departments.

Instead of serving their parole time on State parolejurisdiction, these individuals are now under thesupervision of our County Probation Department asPost Release Community Supervision (PRCS) offenders.These individuals are eligible for local supervision iftheir most recent conviction was a non-violent, non-serious, and non-sexual offense. In addition to thosebeing supervised by Probation as PRCS, additionaloffenders are serving their sentences in our local Countyjail facilities under the Penal Code section 1170(h).Many of these offenders will eventually serve a portionof their local time under supervision of the ProbationDepartment, on Mandatory Supervision (MS).

In response to AB 109, the Office of the CountyExecutive, the Office of the Sheriff/Department ofCorrection, Behavioral Health Services Department,Custody Health, Ambulatory Care, Social ServicesAgency, and Probation established the County's ReentryResource Center (RRC) to assist formerly incarceratedindividuals making a successful transition to thecommunity. The RRC opened in February 2012 andalong with the Community Corrections Partnership(CCP) Plan and the Adult Reentry Strategic Plan, pavedthe path for a new way of doing business by focusing onrecidivism reduction strategies; streamlining processesto link inmates to effective in-custody and post-releasecommunity-based programming; identify cost-savingmethods; and support the realignment of parolees andlow-level prisoners under the Public Safety RealignmentAct (AB 109). The County has set an excellent

foundation for a proactive, rehabilitative justice networkwith untold capacity for continued improvement overthe years.

Key Findings and Trends in the First Four YearsDuring the first four years of implementation, betweenOctober 2011 and December 2015, the total realignmentpopulation was 5,629. Of those, 46% were classified asPost Release Community Supervision (PRCS) non-serious felonies released from prison to countyprobation supervision instead of state parole, 38% wereclassified as 1170(h) individuals sentenced to serve theirentire sentence in local jail instead of state prison, and16% as 1170(h) MS spend part of their sentence incustody and serve their remaining time in thecommunity under intensive probation supervision.Additionally, 84% were male, majority were Hispanic(51%) and 73% were high-risk with high needs.

As of December 31, 2015 there were 1,455 active AB 109cases, of which 1,017 are being supervised under PRCSor 1170(h) MS. Additionally, as of December 31, 2015there were 377 AB 109 offenders at the Main Jail andElmwood Correctional Facility, of which 139 were1170(h) Jail, 96 were 1170(h) MS, four PRCS Flashincarceration and 135 PRCS Revocation cases.

Following is a snapshot of the services AB 109 clientsreceived January 2015 through December 2015.

SERVICES

NUMBER OF UNIQUE CLIENTS

PRCS and 1170(h) MS Probation Clients linked to vocational/educational services

176

PRCS and 1170(h) MS Probation clients received Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

176

Custodial Alternative Supervisor Program participants (out-of-custody)

101

Enrolled in Substance Use Services (Residential, Outpatient, Transitional Housing, and/or Intensive Outpatient)

551

Enrolled in Mental Health Services 412

Enrolled in Public Benefits provided by Social Services Agency

774

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County of Santa Clara IntroductionFY 16-17 Recommended Budget Public Safety Realignment Program (AB 109) & Reentry Services

Introduction

AchievementsAn important goal is a continued effort at facilitatingcross-systems communication and collaboration. Inorder to fully make use of the County's reentry programsand resources, there is a need to share what is workingand what needs improvement. Following is a list ofachievements during the fourth year of implementationand during FY 15-16:

■ Implemented the Countywide policy for an inte-grated transition and discharge efforts and planningfor in-custody clients;

■ Created a permanent Referral Tracking System forclients accessing the Reentry Resource Center;

■ Positioned the Reentry Medical Mobile Unit'sCommunity Health Worker with the Main Jail andElmwood's Medical Clinic to transition high riskmedical patients with reentry services;

■ Fully implemented the AB 720 Health Care Enroll-ment for Inmates Program leveraging the Office ofthe Sheriff/Department of Correction's Rehabilita-tion Officers and Social Services Agency's EligibilityWorkers; and

■ Expanded Reentry in-custody programming in thearea of job readiness and employment developmenttraining, family reunification and support, andhealth and well-being.

State Funding Allocation DetailFor FY 16-17, the County expects to receive $44.2million in Realignment State Allocation and $3.5 millionin FY 15-16 Growth Amount for a total of $47.7 million.The State requires counties to back out 10% of theGrowth Amount for a local subaccount that is intendedto promote local innovation and county projects. Tomaintain current ongoing operations approved by theBoard of Supervisors as part of the FY 15-16 AdoptedBudget and adjustments during FY 15-16, $42.7 millionis required. The FY 16-17 Recommended Budgetincludes $4 million in ongoing proposals, leaving abalance of approximately $700,000 budgeted as anongoing reserve for anticipated needs that may ariseduring the FY 16-17 budget. Additionally, the FY 16-17Recommended Budget anticipates a one-time $10.3million in prior years fund balance to support housingprograms, reentry services, a 10% reserve for operations,and one-time expenses for building renovations andfurniture for the Behavioral Treatment Program atMuriel Wright.

Goals for FY 16-17Following is a list of goals for FY 16-17 that will lead upto the Five Year Public Safety Realignment Program andRecidivism Report;

■ Implement recommendations from the Jail Diver-sion and Behavioral Health Services Subcommittee;

■ Align reentry efforts with the Board approvedrecommendations from the Bail and Release WorkGroup;

■ Support the County's efforts to incorporate reentryservices in the New Jail Project and offer new educa-tional opportunities for inmates while in custodyand upon release in the community;

■ Support efforts to expand faith based services inElmwood and the Main Jail, and

■ Expand the Reentry Resource and Court Outreachservices in South County.

Current and Emerging Issues

Jail Diversion and Behavioral Health Services ProgrammingThe Board of Supervisors approved the creation of a JailDiversion and Behavioral Health Subcommittee of the

Re-Entry Network to consider best practices andprograms that would divert individuals from beingdetained at the County's jails. This effort will identifystrategies for preventing individuals with mental health

Accessing Education, Employment, Family Reunification, Health & Well-Being, and Legal Services

136

Enrolled in Housing Programs 83

Accessing Faith-Based Reentry Resource Centers 106

SERVICES

NUMBER OF UNIQUE CLIENTS

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Introduction County of Santa ClaraPublic Safety Realignment Program (AB 109) & Reentry Services FY 16-17 Recommended Budget

needs from becoming offenders and identify gaps andstrategies for community based treatment solutions forindividuals with mental health and substance useproblems who have a history of, or are at risk ofoffending. Establishing this Subcommittee andhighlighting the progress that the County has madethrough Reentry, the County gained the opportunity toparticipate in a national initiative called Stepping Upinitiative convened by the National Association ofCounties, the Council of State Governments JusticeCenter and the American Psychiatric Foundation tohelp our efforts to reduce the number of adults withmental and co-occurring substance use disorders injails.

Diverting low-level nonviolent offenders with mentalillness and/or substance abuse away from jails towardmore appropriate community-based mental healthtreatment enhances public safety by addressing repeatoffenders, provides judges, prosecutors, and lawenforcement agencies with alternatives toincarceration.

In order to ensure that the County implements aneffective Jail Diversion Program, planning must beextensive and will rely on examining the potentialpoints of intercept for diverting persons with seriousmental illness and/or chronic substance dependencies.Setting aside $2 million in AB 109 funding is theCounty's first initial investment towards this effort andwill provide funding to support recommendations fromthe Jail Diversion and Behavioral Health Subcommitteeand lessons learned from the Stepping Up initiative. InFY 16-17 it is anticipated that the County will pilot newdiversion programs that will target specific mentally illindividuals at key criminal justice intercepts such as atthe pre-arrest stage and jail booking.

Reentry Programming at Elmwood and Main JailOn February 9, 2016 the Board of Supervisors approvedfive service agreements to support in-custody reentryservices in the area of job readiness and employmentdevelopment training, family reunification and support,and health and well-being for custodial adults. Servicesare in place and will continue through June 30, 2018.

The Department of Correction and the ProbationDepartment will identify and refer individuals to in-custody reentry services and programming. The targetpopulation for services focuses on inmates in minimumand medium security level housing units identified by

Rehabilitation Officers. In the minimum security levelhousing unit, the target is to provide services to aminimum of 240 females and 1,200 males annually. Inthe medium security level housing units, the target is toprovide services to a minimum of 240 females and 800males annually.

The Office of Reentry Services (ORS) and theDepartment of Correction worked collaboratively tonegotiate the scope of services, deliverables, andperformance standards with selected agencies. ORS willmonitor and track agencies for compliance withcontractual requirements, quality of services,operational capacity, number of participants enrolled inprograms, demographic information for participants,and timely submission of reports. ORS will work withthe Department of Correction and selected vendors toevaluate the capacity to expand in-custody reentryservices to the Main Jail.

Muriel Wright Residential Treatment Nationally, jails are becoming some of the largestavailable mental health facilities in the country.Currently, an overwhelming majority of inmates inSanta Clara County jails suffer from mental health andsubstance use problems and, in many cases, theircriminogenic behaviors are a consequence of theirmental illnesses and/or substance use problems. In arecent study, 24% of the jail population were identifiedas seriously mentally ill, with the most serious chargebeing a misdemeanor. A safer, and a more dignified andsustainable option for helping mentally ill offenders is incommunity based treatment which would, in turn, alsoreduce the costs of incarceration and improve offenderoutcomes.

The Administration recommends the conversion andutilization of a portion of the Muriel Wright Center toestablish a residential treatment facility. The MurielWright Center, built in 1963, served young boys and girlscommitted by the Juvenile Justice Court. Due todeclining census at the Muriel Wright Center, theProbation Department transferred the remainingclients to James Ranch and ceased operations in FY 12-13. The recommended action will providesupervision and services such as mental health andsubstance abuse use treatment, motivationalinterviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, medicationevaluations, crisis intervention services,employment/vocational training, and provision of after-care services. The program will serve adult male and

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County of Santa Clara IntroductionFY 16-17 Recommended Budget Public Safety Realignment Program (AB 109) & Reentry Services

Introduction

female offenders ages 18 and over that are residents ofSanta Clara County with chronic mental health illnessand substance abuse conditions that are recentlyreleased from jail.

Reentry Housing One of the goals of AB 109 and the County's AdultReentry Strategic Plan is to fund short and long-termaffordable housing for formerly incarcerated individualswho are at risk of recidivating in Santa Clara County.The FY 13-14 Budget allocated $4 million from theFY 12-13 AB 109 Fund Balance towards housingprojects for reentry clients. In February 2016, the Boardof Supervisors approved the transfer of the remainingfunds from the AB 109 Reserve to fully fund the existingreentry housing programs for the remainder of FY 15-16and FY 16-17. These funds are not sufficient to meet thedemand of clients. In order to meet the needs of clientsin mental health or substance abuse treatment centerswho need permanent supportive housing, an allocationof $1,500,000 is recommended to develop additionalhousing capacity. Specific housing projects will bedeveloped during FY 16-17 and brought back to theBoard of Supervisors. Examples of housing projects aretenant-based rental, acquisition of housing units,supported shelter beds, and specialized housingprograms for individuals currently enrolled or existingCounty diversion programs.

In FY 16-17, the Office of Reentry Services will continueto implement the housing plan and work with reentrystakeholders to enhance existing strategies forpermanent supportive housing and identify newhousing slots.

Community and Peer Navigators for Reentry ClientsCommunity and peer navigators are critical to improvethe continuity of care between jail and the communityand offers an unparalleled opportunity to fostercollaboration between law enforcement agencies, faith-based organizations and direct service providers.Community health workers provide case managementservices, home visits, chronic case managementeducation, medication reconciliation, and makeprimary care and specialty medical appointments. Peersupport workers provide support and navigation tocommunity services for reentry clients by providingpeer assistance and mentoring on a one-to-one basis,assist with pre-release support and linkage tocommunity resources. The FY 16-17 RecommendedBudget adds an additional two community healthworkers to support the Valley Homeless HealthcareProgram's Medical Mobile Unit at the Reentry ResourceCenter and an additional two peer support workers tosupport and link individuals released from custody toFaith-based resource centers and other communityresources. Effective community peer support will be apriority as the County expands treatment and programservices.

Summary of Departmental Ongoing Allocations for FY 16-17 Base and Recommended

Department FTEFY 16-17

Base Cost

FY 16-17Recommended

OngoingChanges

FY 16-17Recommended

One-timeChanges

FY 16-17Total

County Executive/Office of Reentry Services 13.0 $1,928,130 $132,661 $126,000 $2,186,791

Employee Services 0.0 $10,000 $10,000

Information Services 5.0 $1,162,760 $1,162,760

Public Defender – Expungement Services 3.0 $531,909 $531,909

Pretrial Services 5.0 $751,562 $751,562

Sheriff/Department of Correction 71.0 $12,371,704 $12,371,704

Probation 50.0 $9,844,545 $9,844,545

Facilities & Fleet 0.0 $520,000 $2,500,000 $3,020,000

Mental Health 15.0 $4,223,076 $171,142 $4,394,218

Custody Health 26.0 $5,200,982 $5,200,982

Department of Alcohol & Drug Services 14.0 $5,232,622 $244,292 $5,476,914

Total 214.0 $42,776,282 $3,953,993 $10,359,945 $56,765,220

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Introduction County of Santa ClaraPublic Safety Realignment Program (AB 109) & Reentry Services FY 16-17 Recommended Budget

Social Services Agency 7.0 $896,625 $896,625

Valley Medical Center 5.0 $102,367 $405,898 $508,265

Criminal Justice System-wide Costs $3,000,000 $7,408,945 $10,408,945

Summary of Departmental Ongoing Allocations for FY 16-17 Base and Recommended

Department FTEFY 16-17

Base Cost

FY 16-17Recommended

OngoingChanges

FY 16-17Recommended

One-timeChanges

FY 16-17Total

Total 214.0 $42,776,282 $3,953,993 $10,359,945 $56,765,220