News
California’s Historic Juvenile Justice Evolution
Led by Chief Probation Officers, California has seen a historic shift in how we serve youth referred to our justice system.
Authored by Chief Stephanie James and Chief Allen Nance
California should be proud of the evolution and success in our juvenile justice over the last decade. Led by Chief Probation Officers, along with the state and community-based agencies, California has seen a historic shift in how we serve youth referred to our justice system. California has reduced usage of our local detention facilities by 60% and successfully serve 90% of youth in the juvenile justice system within our communities.
Sacramento County Probation Creates First-of-its-Kind Program for Youth
Sacramento Probation's multi-sensory de-escalation room increases safety for youth
Sacramento County’s multi-sensory de-escalation room is the first of its kind in a juvenile detention facility in the United States. This innovation creates a safe, trauma-informed environment that allows residents to de-escalate without use of force or an isolation room, which helps prevent violence and increases safety. This program is a 2018 California Association of Counties (CSAC) Challenge Award-winning program. CSAC Challenge Awards spotlight the most innovative programs in California Counties.
Riverside Probation: The Inspire Project
Relating to clients proves to have a strong effect on their willingness to participate in and achieve successful supervision
BY DEPUTY PROBATION OFFICER KOURTNEE GERVASI
The Adult Services Division embraces a human service approach toward supervision while focusing on components associated with an effective reduction in recidivism.
Napa County opening an unjail-like reentry facility
Napa County is opening a $23.4 million, 72-bed jail reentry facility for low-risk inmates that looks nothing like a typical jail.
Inmates won’t be inside cells with bars on the doors. No razor-wire fence surrounds the property along Highway 221 near the Syar quarry.
CPOC Statement on 2019-20 State Budget
SACRAMENTO – Today, Chief Stephanie James, President of the Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC), issued the following statement in response to Governor Newsom’s State Budget proposal:
Wall of Change: Ceremony
Explore the stories and perspectives around Marin County Probation’s Wall of Change project. “Ceremony” takes us into the annual recognition event, but allows us to hear transformation stories and perspectives along the way.
Wall of Change: Framing Change
Explore the stories and perspectives around Marin County Probation’s Wall of Change project. “Framing Change” is a glimpse into the creation of a Wall of Change frame, and the stories of how individuals, through various methods of support, have transformed their lives.
Marin’s Wall of Change ceremony celebrates probationers’ success
From Marin Independent Journal
At age 11, San Rafael resident Tylor Bruns started drinking. A year later he started taking pills. By age 20, Bruns was regularly shooting heroin.
“The only time I was able to stop using was when I was in handcuffs,” said Bruns, 26, one of 14 probationers honored Wednesday at the Civic Center in San Rafael and inducted into the probation department’s Wall of Change.
California Probation Chiefs Elect New President, Executive Officers for 2019
San Joaquin County Chief Stephanie James Elected President
SACRAMENTO – The Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) announced their ratified vote to confirm the slate of Executive Officers for 2019 at their quarterly all chief meeting.
The 2019 slate of new executive officers are: President: Chief Stephanie James (San Joaquin County), Vice President: Chief Steve Sentman (Orange County), Secretary: Chief Brian Richart (El Dorado County).
Join in a celebration of probationers and a safer community
By Chief Mike Daly
From The Marin Voice
The Marin County Probation Department would like to invite you to a party celebrating public safety. We know that public safety is important to us all and we want to showcase the folks who have rehabilitated themselves and are ready to be an asset to our community, not a liability.
Probation Hosts Thanksgiving for Detained Youth and Families
From County News Center
The holidays can be a difficult time for justice-involved youth and their families when they can’t celebrate at home. But San Diego County Probation strives to keep families together at these times.
Adult offenders could be held in Ventura County juvenile hall and treated under new law
From the Ventura Star
Young adults could soon get the chance to wipe lower-level felonies off their records under a rehabilitation program shifting them to Ventura County’s juvenile hall.
Inyo County Probation Receives Honors from CSAC
Inyo County’s Juvenile Services Redesign Initiative Receives Recognition & Award
From Sierra Wave Media
Inyo County Probation Department and Health & Human Services staff members are getting some well-deserved time in the spotlight as part of a state organization’s efforts to highlight the best practices of California counties.
Through a series of videos, the California Association of Counties (CSAC) is highlighting recipients of its annual Challenge Awards, including Inyo County’s Juvenile Services Redesign initiative.
Governor Brown Appoints Probation Chief John Keene to California Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision
SACRAMENTO – Governor Jerry Brown announced his appointment of San Mateo County Chief Probation Officer John Keene to the California Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision.
31 Counties Attend Pretrial Training in San Joaquin; Learn About Model Pretrial Program
San Joaquin County Probation Department Hosted Pretrial Training as Counties Prepare for Pretrial Reform in California
Last month, San Joaquin County Chief Probation Officer Stephanie James hosted over 130 representatives from 31 counties throughout California to provide information and a day of training on San Joaquin County’s successful Pretrial Program.
Governor Brown Signs Transitional Age Youth Pilot Program Legislation Relying on Mounting Brain Research of Treatment Options for Youthful Offenders Age 18-21
SACRAMENTO – This weekend, Governor Brown signed into law SB 1106 authored by Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), and supported by the Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC), which will expand the Transitional Age Youth pilot program passed in 2016 that allows for specific counties to operate a deferred entry of judgment pilot program for eligible defendants aged 18-21.
The Number of Youth in Juvenile Detention in California Has Quietly Plummeted
Major portions of San Diego’s juvenile detention facilities sit empty. And it’s not just San Diego. Falling crime rates, combined with more money for prevention and a changing juvenile justice culture, have virtually emptied California’s juvenile halls.
From the Voice of San Diego
In the past decade, the number of children behind bars decreased so dramatically that in San Diego County – and across the state – juvenile halls and camps stand at unprecedented levels of emptiness.
But the tough-on-crime politicians who built many of those prisons predicted a much different outcome.
Solano Probation’s Center for Positive Change Graduates 71
With joy and tears Tuesday, 71 people described as “high-risk offenders” were honored for completing a rigorous program slated to help make their transition back into the community successful.
Gathered in the Solano County Events Center in Fairfield, the students of the Center for Positive Change, run by the county’s probation department, happily acknowledged an audience full of loved ones as they received their certificates from the program’s 2018 completion ceremony.
Some shared their stories, others celebrated in silence as they pondered the bright future ahead.
Congratulations to CSAC Challenge Award Recipients
Inyo, Shasta & Sacramento Counties Receive Top Honors in Administration of Justice Category
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) announced the recipients of their 2018 Challenge Awards that spotlight the most innovative programs developed and implemented by California Counties.
In the Administration of Justice category, top awards went to Inyo, Shasta and Sacramento Counties for their innovative and effective programs.
Starting over: Prisoners face uncertain future after release under state’s realignment law
From The New Times SLO
The letter was written on a single sheet of ruled notebook paper. Neatly folded and just four paragraphs long. The words, penned in a looping cursive, were hopeful but pleading.
“I am in need of a stable, clean and sober living environment,” it stated. “I am totally committed to living life in a productive manner.”
