Board of State and Community Corrections

Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act & Youthful Offender Block Grant March 2023 JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 3 | Pa ge BOARD OF STATE AND COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS Board Members* Chair, Board of State and Community Corrections Linda M. Penner The Chair of the Board is a full-time paid position appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate Confirmation Secretary, CA Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Jeffrey Macomber Director (A), Adult Parole Operations, CDCR Marvin Speed County Sheriff Dean Growdon A sheriff in charge of local detention facility with a BSCC rated capacity of 200 inmates or less Lassen County appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation County Sheriff Shannon Dicus A sheriff in charge of local detention facility with a BSCC rated capacity of more than 200 San Bernardino County inmates appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation County Supervisor Cindy Chavez A county supervisor or county administrative officer appointed by the Governor subject and to Santa Clara County Senate confirmation County Chief Probation Officer Kirk Haynes A chief probation officer from a county with a population over 200,000 appointed by the Fresno County Governor and subject to Senate confirmation County Chief Probation Officer Kelly Vernon A chief probation officer from a county with a population under 200,000 appointed by the Kings County Governor and subject to Senate confirmation Retired Judge Honorable Janet Gaard A judge appointed by the Judicial Council of California Yolo County Chief of Police Andrew Mills A chief of police appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation City of Palm Springs Community Provider Scott Budnick A community provider of rehabilitative treatment or services for adult offenders appointed by Founder of the Anti-Recidivism the Speaker of the Assembly Coalition Community Provider Angeles D. Zaragoza A community provider or advocate with expertise in effective programs, policies and treatment Los Angeles County Alternate of at-risk youth and juvenile offenders appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules Public Defender’s Office Public Member - Office of Public Safety Accountability Norma Cumpian A public member appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation Anti-Recidivism Coalition BSCC Staff Executive Director Kathleen T. Howard Chief Deputy Director and General Counsel Aaron R. Maguire Communications Director Tracie Cone Deputy Director Corrections Planning and Grants Programs Division Ricardo Goodridge Legislative Analyst Adam A. Lwin *Board member composition is pursuant to Penal Code 6025 JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 4 | Pa ge EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: This report is the sixth annual report of the combined Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) and the Youthful Offender Block Grant (YOBG) programs. In fiscal year 2021-2022 he JJCPA-YOBG Grant funds allotted $375 million to counties to help youth in the juvenile justice system or those who were at risk. This report is mandated by Government Code section 30061 and Welfare and Institution Code (WIC) section 1961, as established by Assembly Bill 1998 (Chapter 880, Statute 2016). California counties are required to submit to the Board of State and Community Corrections annual reports on local spending that provide specific data elements such as juvenile court disposition, new petitions (juveniles not previously supervised), wardship placement, and demographic data. The county reports also identify how JJCPA and YOBG funds were spent on programmatic, therapeutic, and intervention efforts from the preceding fiscal year. Most of the counties reported that they are continuing to use the same plans they have devised previously and provided an update on the progress of their current plans. These formula-based funding streams assist California counties in providing youth services, and the reports submitted to the BSCC are designed to show that counties have implemented their own locally relevant programs for youth who are at-risk or previously would have been under state custody and oversight. One common trend among many counties in the prior year is the reduction of petitions or alleged violations by youth submitted to a court. This reduction has been attributed by many counties due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, fewer social gatherings, and the impacts of positive programming and supervision by county probation staff through the JJCPA-YOBG programs. Each year, the BSCC reviews each county’s submission for missing data and information. This report samples several counties’ progress of their annual plans and expenditures, including small, medium to large, to show how counties are using the JJCPA-YOBG funding to provide services to youth in California. ANNUAL PLANS & EXPENDITURE OUTCOME REPORTS: By May 1 of each year, counties are required to submit to the BSCC their annual plans for JJCPA and YOBG spending. These plans describe all programs, placements, strategies, services, and system enhancements that will be supported with JJCPA and/or YOBG funds in the upcoming fiscal year. Previously the BSCC developed an online reporting tool to collect the annual plans and updated the questions. The BSCC added a question on whether counties had fully established Juvenile Justice Councils (JJCC) (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 749.22), and for counties to provide a timeline to indicate when council vacancies would be filled. The BSCC also added a new section for comprehensive plan revisions. Each year counties were asked how their plans were updated from the previous year and, if the plan was not updated, to indicate why. Most counties continue to use their already established annual plans as many program outcomes cannot be achieved within a given year. Counties are not required to use the BSCC’s reporting tool but are strongly encouraged to do so. When counties submit their custom plans, BSCC staff reviews their plans for accuracy and completeness and JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 5 | Pa ge ensures that similar elements such as the county needs, priorities, strategies, focus areas, system enhancements, and most of the elements within the BSCC’s reporting tool are incorporated in the reports. Usually, counties go above and beyond the minimal requirements of AB 1998. County Annual Plans may be found here: https://www.bscc.ca.gov/s_cpgp2223countyjjcpayobgplans/ With the passage of Senate Bill 823 counties continued to modify their plans and strategies to provide appropriate rehabilitation to youth returning to county supervision from the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) within California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on June 30, 2023. Some counties have catered their programs and resources to serve these youths housed in Secured Youth Treatment Facilities (SYTF) and offered more intense rehabilitative evidence-based programming. On October 1 of each year, counties are required to submit to the BSCC combined annual year-end expenditure reports for JJCPA and YOBG. Annual year-end expenditure reports describe programs, placements, services, strategies, and system enhancements that were funded during the preceding fiscal year. These reports include line-item budget detail. These reports also include countywide figures for specified juvenile justice data elements that are readily available in existing statewide juvenile justice data systems. Counties also provide written summaries, or an analysis of how grant-funded programs have or might have contributed to, or influenced, the countywide data that are reported. These reporting requirements direct counties to report data on their entire juvenile justice population and to describe how their use of JJCPA and YOBG funds has or may have impacted the trends seen in that data. All year-end Expenditure & Outcome Reports can be viewed here: https://www.bscc.ca.gov/2022-jjcpa-yobg-expenditure-and-data-reports/ Alpine: Alpine County promotes a community working environment through collaboration and inclusive culture with local law enforcement, county agencies, and the Native American community agency. Alpine is one of the smallest counties in California, with fewer than 1,200 residents. The County partners with its neighbor El Dorado as it does not have a detention facility to house youth. Alpine uses El Dorado County Juvenile Treatment Center to provide youth with safe housing and transports youth to the location. A notable service for Alpine with the JJCPA-YOBG funds is to bridge cultural boundaries for Native and non-Native American youth within the county. The Woodfords Education Center in the Hung-A-Lel-Ti Native American Community provides after-school tutoring to elementary school youth. Small programs like these have slowly helped the youth within the community stay out-of-risk. However, to the socioeconomic status and the remote location of the community, Alpine lacks resources such as community centers or social settings for youths. Smaller counties can struggle with community resources, and additional resources are likely needed to get youth involved and engaged. In the case of Alpine, the county indicates that having a resource probation officer on school grounds is the best approach JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 6 | Pa ge to providing necessary treatment, transportation, counseling, and a proactive approach for at-risk youth. Humboldt: Humboldt County uses a collaborative model, which includes family resources centers, children’s behavioral health, and involvement of local tribes. The county incorporated evidence-based practices and trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy while working with local law enforcement to develop diversion programs for youth. Among many programs, one of note is The Raven Project, which is a peer-based outreach service for youth and young adults in the community to improve mental and physical well-being. This program provides basic supplies, pro-social role models, resources, and referrals, and employs at-risk youth. The County’s juvenile justice action strategy for crime and delinquency is to ensure a collaborative and integrated approach to emphasize the philosophy of wraparound services for youth. They plan to incorporate individual strength-based family case planning, and culturally relevant services and provide community support. With the JJCPA-YOBG funding, Humboldt has developed many programs and interventions to aid youth in reducing recidivism. In parallel to the JJCPA/YOBG Some programs include case management planning process, the County contracts for services in the community and support engaged in an extensive Secure services. The county also provides behavioral Youth Treatment Program (SYTP) interventions through the Effective Practices in development process. The plan Community Supervision program, Interactive outlines an extensive long-term Journaling, Aggression Replacement Training, and detention program for court Aggression Social Skills Training to help not only ordered youth who have committed the youth, but the families involved. an offense listed in 707(b) It further One notable program funded by the JJCPA-YOBG includes a re-entry process to program is the New Horizons program in Humboldt. transition back to the community. This program provides youth with services that allow the youth to remain in the county and encourages family engagement through counseling. This program has allowed the youth to learn to apply new skills to reduce criminal activities. The goal of New Horizon is to reunify the youth with their families, provide wraparound services, mental health, substance abuse counseling, and intensive programming and get them involved in pro-social alternatives. The county contracts with grassroots community-based organizations like the Two Feathers Native American Family Services to provide many positive programs for youth. During the 2021-2022 COVID-19 pandemic, Humboldt, like many counties, experienced challenges. Many youths dropped out of programs and youth were not receptive to the virtual, computer-based treatment interventions. As the state enters into an endemic phase, the county will return to in-person treatment methods and return to originally planned community programs. Fresno: JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 7 | Pa ge The County of Fresno also developed the New Horizon program within its Secure Youth Treatment Facility, which offers mental health, substance-abuse counseling, aggression reduction, cognitive behavioral therapy, and the cognitive learning model “Thinking for a Change.” The juvenile facility currently houses 30 youths with round-the-clock care and rehabilitative support. Within the community, Fresno has school-based support services. The County Probation Department has partnered with local schools and has placed probation officers in rural areas. These added supports are available to intervene, help problem solve, and help youth in at-risk situations. They also assist youth with academics, prevent truancy, and build positive behavior while building family relationships. Fresno’s main goal is to reduce recidivism and make safe the school environment. Fresno has developed a multidisciplinary team in partnership with the family behavioral health court to support the youth. With the partnership of probation, county agencies, and community-based organizations, this program works to address the challenges youth face in school, within the family, with their mental health, and individual development. The program provides around-the-clock service that includes crisis response, individual, group, or family therapy, parenting and behavioral coaching, substance-use prevention, educational and vocational services, and medication and case management services through the JJCPA-YOBG funds. Fresno has identified challenges in its plans and is continuously working to identify ways to further develop those areas. Below is an excerpt of these challenges and identified solutions of overcoming the challenges: Fresno County Areas to Develop Identified Solution Diversion Services Diversion Intake Program. This will allow for another No services available for low level offenses unless alternative while incorporating evidence-based court ordered programs. Family Behavioral Health Court Rationale and Protocols document will be updated to Outdated and do not speak to EBP current evidence-based practices. Re-Entry Beginning at booking of a youth into custody, plans will Incorporate planning for the transitioning of youth be developed to prepare families for the return of their upon release. children upon release. Disparities in Services by Area Fresno County Probation Department hopes to expand The eastern and western regions-access to public satellite sites that provide treatment services, transportation is limited. Limited Youth-Appropriate Substance Use Disorder Programming needs to be cognizant of the Services and Programs developmental needs of youth and be responsive to the Lack of residential options Intensive Outpatient still developing brain and impediments in long-term programs. decision-making. Insufficient Access and Availability of Culturally and Agency collaboration to better meet the cultural and Gender-Responsive Mental Health Services gender needs of the families served. All RFPs that are Expand programming/leveraging collaborative published will include a provision that services are opportunities/share resources. expected to be delivered in a culturally and gender- responsive style. Gaps in Delivery of Evidence-Based Services Planning Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) model Needed programs include substance use disorders, sex offender treatment, core programming to lower recidivism, and crisis de-escalation. JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 8 | Pa ge Fresno continues its commitment to serving youth through a collaborative approach with the community, family involvement, local law enforcement, and the many programs it provides to the youth. The JJCPA-YOBG funds have been a resource providing tools that have benefitted youth, the county, and community-based organizations. Sacramento: In Sacramento, the number of youth in the juvenile justice system continues to decline due to the use of best practices through many of its programs, supervision in the home, field supervision, and family support. The County of Sacramento is using various approaches in the community to provide services to youth from athletic, educational, behavioral, and health services, to various community resources. The county continues to focus on youth who are at risk and those involved in the justice system. Through the support of the JJCPA-YOBG funding the county’s The Northern California Construction Training program in Sacramento County provides probation participants with the opportunity to develop vocational skills and obtain work experience which department offers enhances their ability to gain and retain employment within the community. medical and mental health services as well as alcohol and drug services to youth within the detention facility. When youth are released into the community the county offers various programs to support them through community organizations like the Alternatives to Violence curriculum. Sacramento County also contracts with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition to help members transition back into society through counseling, case management, mentorship, supportive housing, employment, and education assistance. The County Probation Department has focused on keeping children and families together with an emphasis on trauma-informed practices through child and family teams. They are working towards building community supervision to serve in the following areas: • Transitional living opportunities • Educational assistance and vocational training • Employment placement • Family support JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 9 | Pa ge • Parenting skills • Mental health services • Substance abuse treatment The County plans in the next year to support four Juvenile Field Supervision units, including Age of Majority, Community-Based Supervision, Juvenile Sex Offender and Arson, DJJ Valley Oak Youth Academy Reentry, and support a contract with a community-based provider for juvenile sex offender treatment services for those leaving the CDCR Division of Juvenile Justice pursuant to SB 823. Sacramento has reported a continued decline in the population of youth they serve and attributes the decline to the positive programming and the evidence-based options the county provides to these high-risk youth. San Bernardino: The County of San Bernardino identified a large decrease in arrests over the previous year due to COVID-19 restrictions and social gatherings. In addition, recidivism reduction intervention and prevention programs and services were offered to at-risk youth through Probation Youth Day Reporting Centers and through existing county intervention and prevention resources or Community-Based Organizations. San Bernardino continued to conduct home visits for youth who required greater supervision and provided continued access to services and resources during the state of emergency and lockdowns within the county. As with many California counties, San Bernardino uses a collaborative approach with law enforcement partners, education systems such as local school districts, mental health, social services, drug and alcohol, youth services, and the youth’s family to ensure the youth in care receives resources to rehabilitate within the community. The implementation of the Let’s End Truancy, School Probation Officer Program, and Day Reporting Centers funded by the JJCPA-YOBG program have been shown to reduce the number of youths returning to the juvenile justice system, according to the county. This collaborative, multi-agency program includes the district attorney, public defender, and the school to aid the youth in reducing truancy in school. This program has reduced chronic absenteeism countywide. San Bernardino is a large geographical county, and to ensure that youth receive the help necessary, the county uses regional Day Reporting Centers to meet youths and their family’s needs. These centers provide educational activities and social programming. In the next plan, the county will devise an enhancement to the centers to promote cultural competency/diversity and inclusion, community-oriented programs, and gender- responsive and LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Intersex) services. These services are provided through community, education, faith- based, behavioral health, and other partners and collaborators. Kern County: The County of Kern is known for its agricultural community and is one of the most diverse communities in California. The city of Bakersfield is the main metropolitan area, having the highest concentrated population. The Kern County Probation Department provides a continuum of services for youth who enter the Juvenile Justice System. JJCPA and JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 10 | P age YOBG-funded programs primarily serve youth deemed moderate-risk or high-risk to re- offend. The County also reports a decrease in youth being involved in the juvenile justice system, and they tribute this to their evidence-based assessments indicating that low-risk cases have better outcomes when diverted before referral for a formal petition and to the many positive programs within the county. The Youth Programs and Supports provides intensive skills training through evidence- based practices to reduce criminal behavior. This program is designed to offer youth a respectful and safe environment for individualized treatment of criminogenic needs by using evidence-based and cognitive behavioral treatment models. The curriculum is offered within the office as well as offsite at James G. Bowles Youth Detention Center and the Bridges Career and Development Academy. Staff members have been trained in evidence-based techniques such as cognitive behavioral programs, aggression replacement training, cognitive behavioral interventions for substance interventions, and thinking for a change. With the passage of SB 823, Kern has been charged with providing care and supervision of youth in its secure youth treatment facility that may have otherwise been sentenced to CDCR Division of Juvenile Justice. Within that facility, the county has used the JJCPA- YOBG funds for the Youth Re-Entry Supervision program, where the goal is to increase successful transitions from custody to community. The program is geared toward eliminating the youth’s criminal and delinquent behaviors that have been identified through evidence-based assessments. Kern’s Bridges Academy provides a structured and supervised school environment for youth between 16 and 19 to learn vocational and life skills while completing a high school degree. The program also assists youth in job readiness skills such as interviewing and preparation and college enrollment. Tuolumne: A common trend reported by most California counties in the prior year is the reduction of the number of petitions filed in the juvenile population. Tuolumne reports 27 percent reduction but an increase in felony arrests. Tuolumne reported a high prevalence of mental health and substance abuse disorders most of the youth involved in offenses. As a small county, access to quality treatment remains a critical need for the county. The county continues to look for ways to address service gaps of the at-risk youth. Overall access to mental health services continues to be a top identified priority need in Tuolumne. Tuolumne reported that the Juvenile Probation Department lost its only youth behavioral health clinician. The inability to fill that vacancy has placed a burden on the county’s ability to provide mental health services to youth in care. The county has sought out other avenues of services in the interim. Substance abuse services continue to be a major treatment need for youth actively supervised on probation. Probation staff works collaboratively with the Me-Wuk Indian tribe and native youth who come to the attention of the Juvenile Court Tuolumne Band of Mi-Wuk Indians operates the MEWU: YA center that provides both traditional and non- traditional substance abuse service to adolescents. It includes group counseling, medication-assisted treatment, substance abuse testing and 12-step programming to both tribal and non-tribal members. JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 11 | P age Tuolumne continues to work with at-risk youth in the community and the facility to provide services needed to rehabilitate the youth, so they do not return to the juvenile justice system. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE CRIME PREVENTION ACT The JJCPA was created by the Crime Prevention Act of 2000 (Chapter 353) to provide a stable funding source for local juvenile justice programs aimed at curbing crime and delinquency among at-risk youth and juvenile offenders. (See Gov. Code, § 30061, subd. (b)(4).) JJCPA funds are available to address a continuum of responses including prevention, intervention, supervision, and incarceration. State law requires that JJCPA-funded programs be modeled on strategies that have demonstrated effectiveness in curbing juvenile delinquency. Beyond that, counties have broad discretion in how they use JJCPA funds to support and enhance their juvenile justice systems. JJCPA relies on collaboration between the state, local agencies, and stakeholders. Local officials and stakeholders determine where to direct resources through an interagency planning process. The State Controller’s Office distributes the appropriated JJCPA funds to counties based on population. Local agencies and community-based organizations deliver programs and services. This partnership acknowledges the value the state places on local discretion and multiagency collaboration in addressing the problem of juvenile crime in California’s communities. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-2022, the statewide base allocation of JJCPA funds was $107,100,000. An additional $69,905,511was allocated in FY 2021-22 based on revenue growth from enhancing law enforcement activities per Government Code 30029.05(f)(3) occurred in FY 2020-21. Consequently, the total amount of funds available to counties through the JJCPA program in FY 2021-22 was $177 million. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE YOUTHFUL OFFENDER BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM The YOBG Program was established in 2007 by SB 81 (Chapter 175) and was amended in 2009 by SBX4 13 (Chapter 22, Fourth Extraordinary Session). In 2016, further amendments were made by AB 1998. (See Welf. & Inst. Code, §§ 1950 et seq.) The YOBG program, sometimes known as “juvenile realignment,” realigned certain youth in California’s juvenile justice population from state to county control. YOBG provisions prohibit counties from sending certain lower-level offenders to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). Youth who are no longer eligible for DJJ commitment are those who commit an offense that is not listed in Welfare and Institutions Code section 707, subdivision (b) and is not a sex offense as outlined in Penal Code section 290.008, subdivision (c). YOBG supports JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 12 | P age the concept that public safety is enhanced by keeping juvenile offenders close to their families and communities. As provided by statute, “allocations from the Youthful Offender Block Grant Fund shall be used to enhance the capacity of county probation, mental health, drug and alcohol, and other county departments to provide appropriate rehabilitative and supervision services to youthful offenders subject [to the provisions of SB 81].” Within these general guidelines, counties have flexibility in how they use YOBG funds and counties use this flexibility to tailor YOBG-funded programs that fit local needs and priorities. In recognition of the increased county responsibility for supervising and rehabilitating realigned youthful offenders, the state provides annual funding to counties through the YOBG program. In FY 2021-2022, statewide YOBG funding was $160,021,081. An additional $37,824,907 was allocated in FY 2020-2021 based on revenue growth that occurred in FY 2020-21. Consequently, the total amount of funds available to counties through the YOBG program in FY 21-22 was $198 million. FUNDING FOR JJCPA-YOBG Each county receives an annual allocation of JJCPA and YOBG funded based on the formulas prescribed in the statute. For JJCPA, that formula is based on each county’s population. For YOBG, the formula gives equal weight to a county’s juvenile population and its juvenile felony dispositions. The California Department of Finance (DOF) is responsible for calculating the annual amount of JJCPA and YOBG funding to be allocated to each county. The DOF performs this calculation annually, following the enactment of the State budget, using its demographic information for the juvenile population and California Department of Justice data for juvenile felony dispositions. The State Controller’s Office is then responsible for remitting monthly allocations to each county according to the calculations provided by the DOF. JJCPA and YOBG are both part of the funding structure established in the 2011 Public Safety Realignment legislation that created the Local Revenue Fund of 2011. The Local Revenue Fund has a variety of subaccounts, including the Law Enforcement Services Account, which is the funding source for JJCPA and YOBG. The main revenue source for JJCPA is the Vehicle License Fee Fund. Any shortfall in that revenue source is made up by State Sales Tax revenue. The main revenue source for YOBG is State Sales Tax. Any shortfall in that revenue source is made up by the Vehicle License Fee Fund. Proposition 30, approved by California voters in 2012, constitutionally guaranteed the funding for JJCPA and YOBG. (Cal. Const. art. XIII, § 36, Assembly Bill 118, (Chapter 40, Stats. 2011).) Proposition 30 provided that the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Legislation gave local agencies “maximum flexibility and control over the design, administration, and delivery of Public Safety Services as determined by the Legislature.” (Cal. Const. art. XIII, § 36.) To learn more about the JJCPA-YOBG program, please visit: https://www.bscc.ca.gov/s_jjcpayobgjuvjuscrimeprevact/ JJCPA-YOBG Legislative Report 2023 13 | P age