Conference Agenda
| December 2, 2026 | |
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| 8:30am – 8:50am | Welcome & Opening Remarks |
| 8:50am – 9:50am |
General Session Who Would You Be Without Your Title? Who are you when your grades, job, achievements, and labels are stripped away? In this thought-provoking keynote, Duncan challenges participants to discover who they are beyond what they do. Through powerful stories and practical resilience strategies, they’ll learn how to overcome setbacks, build unshakable confidence, and reconnect with the version of themselves that adversity can’t take away. Speaker:
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| 10:10am -11:10am |
General Session The Language of Optimism Join best-selling author and optimism expert Case Kenny for an interactive keynote exploring how the words you use actively shape what you attract in life. Through a blend of neuroscience, linguistics, and psychology, you’ll discover how language influences motivation, resilience, and the way your brain interprets what’s possible. You’ll learn tactical strategies to navigate stress, difficult conversations, and uncertainty and leave with practical, science-backed language shifts you can immediately apply to build resilience and stay grounded in high-pressure environments. Case’s academic expertise lies at the intersection of linguistics, neuroscience, and mindfulness, studying how language shapes psychology and how the brain responds to the words we choose. Speaker:
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| 11:10am – 12:00pm |
General Session Leading with Purpose, Empowering Change Alameda County will showcase a peer-to-peer strategic planning model that replaces traditional consultant-led and top-down approaches with an inclusive, internally driven process. By engaging staff, partners, and clients through structured town hall meetings, the department gathered diverse perspectives, encouraged candid feedback, and built shared ownership of organizational priorities. Participants will learn practical strategies for designing and facilitating stakeholder engagement, organizing feedback into clear priorities, and translating input into measurable objectives and actionable tasks. The session will highlight replicable tools, facilitation techniques, and decision-making frameworks, along with lessons learned about overcoming resistance, maintaining momentum, and ensuring accountability. Attendees will leave with practical guidance for using collaborative planning to strengthen engagement, transparency, organizational alignment, and long-term success. Speakers:
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1:15pm – 2:15pm |
Breakout Sessions Getting on the Same Page: Building Better Outcomes Through Data Fresno County will share its countywide approach to improving data-sharing, accountability, and outcome tracking across probation and community-based service providers. Using AB 109 data as a starting point, the county developed standardized reporting tools, a data crosswalk, and a shared data dictionary to strengthen coordination and better understand client outcomes and service use. Participants will learn lessons on building partner buy-in, simplifying data collection, and sustaining a collaborative data infrastructure that supports decision-making and demonstrates program impact. Speakers:
One Department, One System: Consolidating Pretrial, Supervision, and Detention in San Joaquin County San Joaquin County Probation took a phased approach to bringing pretrial, assessments and case planning, adult and juvenile supervision, and juvenile detention onto a single case management system. This session will explore how the department built a shared vision across budget cycles and staff turnover, beginning with business process review and gap analysis rather than software configuration. Presenters will discuss how line staff helped validate current workflows, shape future-state processes, and guide implementation decisions, along with lessons from the department’s partnership with equivant. Participants will learn practical strategies for planning system consolidation, sequencing implementation, engaging staff, and maintaining alignment among operations, leadership, and technology throughout a long-term transformation. Speakers:
Probation Off Ramps: Contra Costa’s Prevention and Diversion Strategy Contra Costa County Probation will showcase its comprehensive approach to preventing formal system involvement through early intervention, collaboration, and diversion. This session will explore four key pillars: community-based prevention, Family First prevention planning, internal process improvements, and innovative diversion strategies. Participants will learn how cross-sector partnerships and data-informed decision-making can create stronger pathways that keep youth connected to their families and communities. Speakers:
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2:35pm – 3:35pm |
Breakout Sessions You’re Being Bullied…By Your Own Mind: Resilience 2.0 What if your biggest bully isn’t another person? What if it’s the voice in your own head? This interactive session will help participants recognize the thinking traps that keep them stuck, learn to respond instead of react, and build an inner voice that creates confidence, resilience, and better decisions under pressure. Speaker:
Let’s Get Real – Change is Hard for Youth and Staff San Francisco Juvenile Probation will share its journey implementing RISE, a behavioral development program grounded in Roca’s Rewire cognitive behavioral approach. Presenters will discuss the realities of implementation, including the importance of staff buy-in, partner collaboration, intentional planning, and adapting timelines as challenges emerged. Participants will gain practical lessons on leading organizational change and sustaining meaningful program improvements. Moderator:
Speakers:
Search Warrants for Probation Officers Effective probation supervision requires sound legal judgment, thoughtful decision-making, and a clear understanding of constitutional limits. In this session, Sacramento County will equip officers with practical knowledge to determine when a probation search is appropriate and when a search warrant is required, while strengthening skills in probable cause development, report writing, and affidavit preparation. Through real-world scenarios, participants will build confidence in conducting legally sound investigations that promote officer safety, accountability, and public trust. Speakers:
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3:55pm – 4:55pm |
Breakout Sessions What Youth Say About SYTF and LRPs: Lessons from Sonoma County’s Participant Voice Evaluation Sonoma County will share findings from its participant voice evaluation of Secure Youth Treatment Facility (SYTF) and Less Restrictive Program (LRP) services under California’s juvenile justice realignment. By combining youth perspectives with feedback from staff, service providers, and support networks, the evaluation identifies opportunities to strengthen individualized services, improve collaboration, and enhance reentry planning. Participants will learn practical strategies for incorporating youth voice into program evaluation and continuous quality improvement. Speakers:
Pretrial 2.0: Judicial–Probation Perspectives on Emerging Impacts and the Implications for Probation Operations Recent developments, including Proposition 36 and the In re Kowalcyk decision, continue to shape California’s pretrial landscape. This panel will bring together judicial and probation leaders to discuss emerging impacts on pretrial operations, evolving responsibilities, and resource challenges. Participants will gain insight into how agencies are adapting policies and practices while preparing for future changes. Speakers:
Leading the Future: Integration of Artificial Intelligence with Community Supervision Artificial Intelligence is a powerful tool that can assist community supervision agencies as they manage operations and support client outcomes. This session will move from concept to implementation by showing how AI can be responsibly integrated into daily practice, workforce development, and data-informed decision-making. Through demonstrations, case examples, and discussion, participants will explore how to use AI to increase capacity while protecting human judgment, ethics, accountability, equity, and rehabilitation. Speakers:
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December 3, 2026 |
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6:45am – 7:30am |
Wellness Session CPOC Fun Run/Walk |
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8:30am – 8:45am |
Welcome |
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8:45am – 9:45am |
General Session Be Your Own Hero: Leading Through Accountability, Resilience & Opportunity Presenter Schwartzen Précil grew up as a first generation American in New York City. Without consistent guidance or positive role models, he found himself on the wrong side of the very systems many in this room represent. Rather than let that experience define him, he became the person he needed when he was younger, building a career in character development, recidivism reduction, and court-partnered community service programs in Buffalo, Michigan, and San Francisco before founding Hero Leadership Group, whose HERO curriculum has since been implemented in schools and communities across 30 states nationwide. Using his Pain to Purpose story as the narrative spine, this session introduces the HERO Framework: Honesty, Empathy, Resilience, Opportunity, as a practical model participants can apply on both sides of their work: helping the individuals they supervise reflect on their choices and build resilience after failure, and sustaining their own resilience in work that is demanding and, at times, deeply stressful. Participants will explore strategies to help individuals reflect on their choices, build resilience after failure, and develop a sense of purpose that supports safer communities, while also receiving a brief, practical wellness. Speaker: Schwartzen Précil |
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10:00am – 11:00am |
General Session From Concept to Culture: Launching a Comprehensive Wellness Program in Probation This session will explore how the San Joaquin County Probation Department has developed a comprehensive wellness program to support workforce health, resilience, and organizational effectiveness. Attendees will learn key elements of a successful wellness program, including leadership support, multidimensional wellness initiatives, and strategies for fostering a culture of well-being. Through practical examples, participants will gain actionable strategies for launching or strengthening employee wellness efforts in demanding, high-stress work environments. The session will provide a roadmap for building a sustainable program that supports employees while advancing the mission of the agency. Speakers:
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11:15am – 12:00pm |
General Session Know Your Why There are numerous pathways and motivations that have lead probation professions to dedicate their careers to helping others change their lives for the better and improve public safety. Come listen to a few of the stories from your colleagues around the state about why they chose a career in probation – or perhaps probation chose them – and what keeps them inspired and encouraged to continue the important work. |
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1:15pm – 2:15pm |
Breakout Sessions CalAIM for Justice Involved Juveniles: We’ve Launched…Now How Do We Get This Rocket into Orbit? The CalAIM Justice-Involved Initiative for juveniles has moved from launch to implementation across California counties. This session will focus on how counties are building capacity, strengthening sustainability, and refining local approaches for at-risk youth. Participants will reflect on early implementation experiences, discuss common challenges, share lessons learned, and identify priorities for 2027. Speakers:
AB 109: Be a State Policy Decision Maker for A Day: What Would You Have Done? AB 109 was one of the most significant criminal justice reforms of the modern era. By avoiding one-size-fits-all mandates and giving counties extraordinary latitude for local control and local solutions, the state changed probation practice forever. Fifteen years after its passage, this session will invite participants to look back at the circumstances that drove these major changes, consider the choices leaders faced at the time, and explore how lessons from history can sharpen today’s strategies for moving forward. Speaker:
Foster Care Tiered Rate Structure: Preparing for the Final Phase of Implementation The first major phase of the Permanent Foster Care Tiered Rate Structure (TRS) implementation began January 1, 2026, requiring fidelity of the Integrated Practice Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (IP-CANS) and Child and Family Team (CFT) for all youth and nonminor dependents (NMDs) in foster care. So, what’s next? The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) will provide an overview of and update on the new TRS to help counties prepare for the final implementation phase that goes into effect July 1, 2027. Speakers:
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2:35pm – 3:35pm |
Breakout Sessions CalAIM for Justice Involved Adults: We’ve Launched…Now How Do We Get This Rocket into Orbit? The CalAIM Justice-Involved Initiative for adults has moved from launch to implementation across California counties. This session will focus on how counties are building capacity, strengthening sustainability, and refining local approaches with state and local partners, including CDCR, DHCS, behavioral health, sheriffs, probation, and community-based organizations. Participants will reflect on early implementation experiences, discuss common challenges, share lessons learned, and identify priorities for 2027. Speakers:
Expanding Career Technical Education Pathways for Successful Reentry This session will highlight three Career Technical Education programs operating at EMJDF: the YDA Fire Program, the Virtual Rebuild Auto-Tech Program, and the Re: Coat Painting New Futures Program. Presenters will demonstrate how these programs build workforce skills, increase self-confidence, and prepare youth for meaningful employment in high-demand industries. Participants will explore how career pathways can strengthen reentry outcomes and create long-term opportunities for success. Speakers:
Foster Care Tiered Rate Structure: Preparing for the Final Phase of Implementation The first phase of the Permanent Foster Care Tiered Rate Structure (TRS) implementation began January 1, 2026, requiring fidelity of the Integrated Practice Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (IP-CANS) and Child and Family Team (CFT) for all youth and nonminor dependents (NMDs) in foster care. So, what’s next? The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) will provide an overview of and update on the new TRS to help counties prepare for the final implementation phase that goes into effect July 1, 2027. Speakers:
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3:55pm-4:55pm |
Breakout Sessions From Pilot to Practice: Discover the Real Work of AI Adoption from Probation Chiefs Real conversations with California Chiefs on the work of adopting new technology to provide more capacity to their agencies and responsibly serve their communities. Through candid conversations we will tackle the wins, the losses, and where the technology is headed next in community supervision. Moderator:
Speakers:
Bridging Systems, Building Futures: A Collaborative Approach to Education Access Participants will learn how Shasta County built collaborative partnerships to improve educational opportunities for justice-involved adults. This session will highlight the development of the STEP-UP program, a collaborative effort between the Shasta County Probation Department and Shasta College for early implementation of the Rising Scholars Program for adults in the criminal justice system, and how those early implementation efforts served as the foundation for Shasta’s Rising Scholars Program for justice-involved youth. Participants will explore lessons learned, early outcomes, and strategies for building sustainable collaborations that improve educational access and long-term success. Speakers:
Foster Care Tiered Rate Structure: Preparing for the Final Phase of Implementation The first phase of the Permanent Foster Care Tiered Rate Structure (TRS) implementation began January 1, 2026, requiring fidelity of the Integrated Practice Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (IP-CANS) and Child and Family Team (CFT) for all youth and nonminor dependents (NMDs) in foster care. So, what’s next? The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) will provide an overview of and update on the new TRS to help counties prepare for the final implementation phase that goes into effect July 1, 2027. Speakers:
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December 4, 2026 |
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8:30am – 8:40am |
Welcome |
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8:40am – 9:55am |
General Session The Funny Thing about Stress Keeping our sense of humor, our sanity and our health in our challenging world of Probation! We all know that we should manage our stress, but we don’t necessarily know why or how! It’s Kay Frances to the STRESS-cue! She literally wrote the book on stress! With this energetic, upbeat presentation, attendees laugh while they learn without straining their brains. Kay combines her background as a professional standup comedian with her expertise in wellness and stress management to give fun, funny and lively presentations. Not only will attendees get solid information on wellness and stress management, but they’ll leave this session motivated, energized and ready to take on their challenges with renewed vigor. Speaker:
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| 10:10am -11:10am |
CDCR Warm Hand Off This session will highlight the collaboration between probation and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). We will explore the current warm handoff processes for individuals released onto PRCS and where processes can better align with evolving field practices and operational needs. The session will examine the ongoing collaboration between CDCR and probation leaders to adjust and refine the current workflow. Moderator:
Speakers:
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11:10am -11:30am |
Look Beyond, Look Ahead CPOC President Chief Esa Ehmen-Krause will reflect on the challenges, progress and accomplishments that shaped California probation over the past year, while looking ahead to the opportunities and priorities that will define the profession’s next chapter. This session will highlight where probation has been, what has been achieved together and where the profession must go next. Speaker:
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| 11:30am -12:00pm | Closing Remarks |
