Healthy and Safe Communities

Summary of objective implementation status 

In July 2024, Probation was approached by the Sonoma County Superior Court to partner in a grant they were applying for Mental Health Diversion. Probation has not previously played a role in Mental Health Diversion Court, but with this grant, Probation is participating in this collaborative Court by providing a part-time Probation Officer to coordinate drug testing and conduct firearms possession investigations as well as staffing the Courtroom during proceedings. Diverting individuals from the justice system while providing them with resources and accountability without formal justice system involvement further assists in reducing the Jail population.

Though the Jail population has increased, so has the use of alternatives to detention. Probation continues to use the Behavior Response System (BRS) as a means of addressing non-compliant behavior in the community, when permissible through the use of the BRS grid, and rewarding positive behavior to encourage continued compliance. Unfortunately, jail days for individuals on supervision increased slightly from 46 to 49 and is nearly back to where it was pre-pandemic (charts 1.0-1.2). Probation continues to work on improving the use of the BRS.

Pretrial Services continues to monitor hundreds of people on pretrial each day, with the numbers increasing from this same time last year (chart 2). Finally, the use of supervised work crews (SWC) also continues to increase (chart 3).

Chart 1.0

Charts 1.1 and 1.2 below show the total supervised and total jail days. Dividing total jail days (chart 1.2) by number of supervised individuals (chart 1.1) yields the average number of  jail days above (chart 1.0).

Chart 1.1

Chart 1.2

Chart 2

Chart 3

SWC days went up by 38% this year.

Key milestone update 

In January of 2024, the long-term vacancy of the business systems analyst position was finally filled. It remained vacant for nearly a year. This position has taken on data analysis and reporting that helps monitor the implementation of the Behavior Response System.

Probation sought to add a Probation Assistant (PA) to the Pretrial Unit through the Community Corrections Partnership in February 2024. This position was approved by the CCP and added through the County budget process. Based on the position becoming available on July 1, 2024 and how long the recruitment process takes, the position was officially filled on October 29, 2024. This is in addition to the Deputy Probation Officer Position added last year.  In FY 20-21, there were 582 pretrial clients at a point in time. In FY 22-23, using the same point in time, that number expanded to 671. By January 2024, there were 728 individuals on Pretrial monitoring, a record high at the time for Pretrial in Sonoma County, necessitating the request for an additional staff. Pretrial has since, reached above 750 at various times. The demand on the Pretrial Unit has significantly increased and this additional support will positively impact Probation’s ability to provide effective case monitoring. The PA will expand Probation’s capacity to conduct risk assessments and allow the Deputy Probation Officers in the unit to focus their efforts on effectively monitoring clients on Pretrial.

Coordination and partnership update

Probation continues to be in close communication with the Court and justice system partners since the rollout of the Behavior Management System. Additionally, Probation meets regularly with Justice partners, including regular Pretrial workgroup meetings, Best Practices meetings lead by the Sonoma County Supervisor Court, and routine meetings with the Supervising Criminal Court Judge where implementation and program improvement issues are addressed. Probation also meets monthly with all Law Enforcement Chiefs in the County. The Jail population and Pretrial population are a standing agenda item.

Community, equity and climate update

Probation applies an equity lens through the validation and review of program data in relation to use of the Public Safety Assessment (pretrial risk assessment) as well as analysis of data regarding use of behavioral response grid/policy. Probation received the report on the updated validation study of the Public Safety Assessment (PSA), which identifies to what extent there may be differences in how the tool is performing across different racial/ethnic groups. The most recent study includes anyone with a PSA completed from 7/1/20–1/1/22, who was released during the pretrial period, and who had their case resolved in that same time period. Link to full report: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Main%20County%20Site/Justice%20Services/Probation/Documents/Adult-Division/Pretrial%20Services/Sonoma-SB-36-County-PSA-Validation-January-2023-revision.pdf

We are collecting data on the behavioral response system which will enable us to detect whether racial inequities exist in our practices. 

Objective funding

Strategic Plan funding totaling $129,000 was utilized for the Behavior Response System in FY 22-23. The remaining Strategic Plan funds ($321,000) are reserved for the Case Management consultant, with whom Probation is currently under contract.