Agenda

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PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	12/02/2019
Subject: Community Corrections Partnership Applicants for Victims' Representative Seat
Submitted For:	PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE
Department:	County Administrator
Referral No.:
Referral Name:	COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS PARTNERSHIP VICTIMS' REPRESENTATIVE
Presenter:	R. AlQaisi, (925) 335-1089	Contact:	R. AlQaisi, (925) 335-1089

Information

Referral History:

In 2011, the California Legislature passed Realignment legislation addressing public safety (AB 109). This law transferred responsibility for supervising and housing individuals convicted of certain low-level felonies to counties and tasked local county government with developing a new approach to reducing future involvement in criminal activity for this population. Among the major changes to the local criminal justice system created by AB 109:

1) The incarceration of people convicted of certain low-level felonies (specified nonviolent, non-serious, non-sex offenses) to terms in local county jails, instead of state prisons, possibly followed by a mandatory term of supervision by Probation;
2) the local county supervision by Probation, instead of state parole, of people convicted of certain lower-level felonies (non-violent, non-serious, and non-sex offense) after their release from state prison under a new category of supervision called Post-Release Community Supervision (PRCS); and
3) the incarceration of individuals in local jails, instead of state prison, for violations and revocations of both parole supervision and PRCS.

AB 109 also created an Executive Committee of the local Community Corrections Partnership and tasked it with recommending a Realignment Plan to the county Board of Supervisors for implementation of the criminal justice realignment. The Community Corrections Partnership is identified in statute as the following:

Community Corrections Partnership
1. Chief Probation Officer (Chair)
2. Presiding Judge (or designee)
3. County supervisor, County Administrative Officer, or a designee of the Board of Supervisors
4. District Attorney
5. Public Defender
6. Sheriff
7. Chief of Police
8. Head of the County department of social services
9. Head of the County department of mental health
10.Head of the County department of employment
11.Head of the County alcohol and substance abuse programs
12.Head of the County Office of Education
13.Community Based Organization representative with experience in rehabilitative services for criminal offenders
14.Victims’ representative

Community Corrections Partnership Victims' Representative Vacancy
At the September 30, 2019 PPC meeting, the Board was provided with a report on the victims' representative vacancy on the Community Corrections Partnership board. The PPC then determined to proceed with an 6-week recruitment and selection process for the vacant seat using this timeline:

October 11: issue press release and conduct outreach
November 22: Application Deadline
December 2: PPC Meeting Interviews
December 17: Board of Supervisors' consideration of PPC nominations

This appointment, once made by the BOS, will be effective through December 31, 2020. The County Administrator's Office issued a press release for the vacancy.

Referral Update:

As of close of business on November 22, 2019, four applications for the victims' representative vacancy have been received. The four (4) applications are included in Attachment B, with all addresses, emails, and signatures of applicants redacted. All applicants were notified about the public interviews with the PPC on November 25, 2019.

A summary of the information provided by the applicants is included in Attachment C.

Here are short biographies of the individuals applying to fill the vacant seat:

Glenn Bivens is a resident of Pittsburg and works in Martinez. He is currently a Victim/Witness Assistance Program Specialist with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. He completed an Associate Degree in Journalism from Los Angeles City College and complete Criminal Justice courses at Diablo Valley College. Recently, he worked as an Exchange Agent for about 3 years at the Contra Costa County Employment and Human Services Department. He previously worked at the Alameda County Probation Department for around 20 years in roles including Institutional Supervisor and Institutional Officer. Glenn Bivens has volunteer experience with the Contra Costa County Juvenile Justice Commissioner, Black Families Association of Central Contra Costa, Richmond Rescue Mission, and the Darius Jones Foundation.

Mary Knox is a resident of Contra Costa County District 4 and works in Martinez. She had been a Deputy District Attorney in Contra Costa County for 34 years and has handled thousands of cases. She has experience interacting with crime victims and their families. She has a History degree from UCLA and a Law degree from Pepperdine University. She serves on the Walnut Creek Education Foundation Board.

Ana Villalobos is a resident of Pittsburg. She has worked for the Contra Costa County Health Services Department since 2016 as a Health Education Specialist. She has previous experience with Kaiser Permanente in roles including a Healthy Eating and Active Living Manager. This accounts for around 15 years of experience working as a Health Education Specialist supporting and training people to create positive changes in their lives and communities. Ana has a bachelor's degree in Nursing from the University of Mexicali, Baja California. She received her Registered Nurse’s license in 1992.

Shannon Mahoney works and lives in Martinez. She is employed as a Victim Witness Program Manager at the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. She has worked in the Victim Assistance Program since 2006. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from California State University Chico and master’s degree in Counseling Psychology.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

CONSIDER applications submitted to the Clerk of the Board for the vacant seat on the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP).
INTERVIEW applicants for the vacant victims' representative seat on the CCP.
CONSIDER making nominations to the Board of Supervisors at their December 17, 2019 meeting to fill the vacancy on the CCP.

Attachments
Attachment A - 2019 CCP Membership
Attachment B - CCP Victim Representative Applications
Atachment C - CCP Victim Representative Applicant Summary