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From San Diego County News Center.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. – March 2, 2026 –  [San Diego] County Probation brought together more than 70 community and healthcare partners at the Youth Transition Campus on Feb. 26 to strengthen coordination for youth reentering the community under the statewide California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Justice Involved (JI) Initiative.

Staff from Probation’s Integrated Healthcare Services unit (IHSU), Probation Institutional Services and contracted healthcare services provider Correctional Healthcare Partners met with representatives from the County’s Behavioral Health Services Next Move program, local Managed Care Plans including Molina Healthcare and Blue Shield Promise as well as Enhanced Care Management (ECM) services providers including Family Health Center of San Diego, the Neighborhood House Association, La Maestra Community and the San Diego Center for Children.

The goal is to improve coordination and build stronger working relationships so youth receive medical, behavioral health and other services immediately after leaving custody. A similar meeting was held at the East Mesa Detention Facility the previous week.

From Mission Local

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY, Calif. – February 28, 2026 –  The San Francisco Adult Probation Department this week launched a mobile unit that will travel to “high-poverty and high-crime communities” across the city to reach people on probation in the streets.

Cristel Tullock, chief of the adult probation department, said the van will go to neighborhoods like the Mission, Tenderloin, and Bayview-Hunters Point, where probation staff will set up a table with chairs out front. Officers will circulate on bikes to tell those nearby that the van is in the area. 

The unit aims to serve the roughly 15 percent of those on probation in the city who are experiencing housing instability, based on the most recent data shared by the probation department. The program will offer a variety of services, like connecting people to housing, job programs, therapy, education programs, and behavioral health services, among other resources.

From the Santa Maria Sun.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – February 5, 2026 –  Looking at Santa Barbara County’s probation routine for formerly incarcerated youth with a fresh pair of eyes, Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley is also providing those juvenile offenders with a new face.

From Mendo Local

MENDOCINO, Calif. – January 13, 2026 –  Addressing the board of supervisors on Tuesday, a panel of county public safety leaders said the challenges they face are increasingly driven by state policy decisions that shift responsibility to counties without adequate funding. From Proposition 36 to juvenile justice reforms and pretrial requirements, officials said Mendocino County is absorbing new duties and liabilities while operating with flat staffing levels and uncertain revenue, complicating efforts to reduce crime and recidivism.

….

Chief Probation Officer Izen Locatelli described mounting impacts from state reforms affecting juvenile justice, probation supervision, and pretrial services. Locatelli said probation has conducted more than 100 assessments under Proposition 36 but emphasized the lack of funding and accountability mechanisms.

The purpose of the assessments is to determine whether a person convicted of drug possession is eligible for mandatory drug or mental health treatment instead of incarceration, with successful completion of treatment leading to a dismissal of the case.

“This was an unfunded mandate with no implementation plan,” Locatelli said. He also warned that recent state laws limiting probation terms and closing state youth facilities have shifted costs and responsibility to counties without adequate reimbursement.

“Essentially no youth can be on probation for longer than 12 months,” Locatelli explained. “Doesn’t matter what the crime is. The only way to do that is to have a judge make a finding that it’s in the best interest of the public and the youth to continue after a year.”

Locatelli reported that the county’s pretrial monitoring program continues to show positive outcomes, with about 80% of monitored individuals appearing for court and 70% avoiding new criminal charges while awaiting trial.