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| PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE |
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| Information |
| Referral History: |
On August 25, 2009, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Public Protection Committee (PPC) a presentation by the Urban Strategies Council on how the County might support and coordinate County and local non-profit organization resources to create a network of reentry services for individuals leaving jail or prison and reintegrating in local communities. This initiative led to the creation of the County’s first Reentry Strategic Plan.
On March 22, 2011, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors accepted and approved the Reentry Strategic Plan, which was the product of a nine-month process initiated in 2009 that involved approximately 200 reentry stakeholders from across Contra Costa County. The “Contra Costa County Reentry and Reintegration Collaborative” (CCCRRC) convened 14 meetings including County, city and state agencies, elected officials, service providers, formerly incarcerated individuals, community-based organizations, and residents from across the county to gather input and advise on the Reentry Strategic Plan. The Contra Costa County Reentry Strategic Plan was intended to outline a path to improve coordination and collaboration among reentry stakeholders and, ultimately, to improve outcomes for our returning residents. The Urban Strategies Council prepared the Reentry Strategic Plan[1], with funding from the California Endowment.
Subsequent to the adoption of the Reentry Strategic Plan in March 2011, the California Legislature passed the Public Safety Realignment Act (Assembly Bill 109), which transferred responsibility for supervising individuals convicted of specific low-level felony offenses from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to counties. This Act tasked local government at the county level with developing a new approach to reducing recidivism among this population. AB 109 took effect October 1, 2011.
AB 109 also tasked the local Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) with recommending to the County Board of Supervisors a plan for implementing Public Safety Realignment. The Board of Supervisors adopted the FY 2011-12 Contra Costa County Realignment Implementation Plan on October 4, 2011 (Item D.5[2]), as developed and recommended by the Executive Committee of the CCP. The Plan was based on an allocation of $4.6 million of AB 109 funding to Contra Costa County and recognized “there is an ongoing need to secure funding for the County’s Strategic Reentry Plan separate and apart from the funding allocated for criminal justice realignment.”
Recognizing the need to develop an overarching Operational Plan to guide the County’s implementation of Public Safety Realignment, the CCP Executive Committee created an Ad Hoc Committee to develop an Operational Plan at its Sept. 6, 2012 meeting. The Ad Hoc Committee developed the plan at meetings held throughout the county during September and October 2012. The Executive Committee adopted the Operational Plan as amended on November 9, 2012[1].
The Operational Plan identified the “Overarching Approach” to AB 109 in the County: Use collaboration, innovation, and ongoing evaluation to foster safety and long-term liberty in Contra Costa; the “Primary Approaches for Identifying Priorities:” Is it consistent with the statutory scheme and legislative intent of AB 109; Agreements of Principle and Practice; and Objectives and Strategies for each stage of the reentry process from “Arrest and Pre-Trial” to “Coordination and Administration of AB 109 Programs.”
Roughly six years have passed since these plans were developed and adopted, and the County’s reentry system has undergone a significant transformation in that short amount of time. Many of the objectives of the plans have been accomplished including the following, to name just a few:
- The County has implemented a Pre-Trial services program that uses an evidenced based assessment tool;
- The County has implemented an Arraignment Court Early Representation (ACER) program to provide timely, informed and appropriate adjudication of all cases;
- The County has initiated a pre-release planning process;
- The County has identified and supported the use of community-based service providers through multiple RFP processes;
- The County has partnered with local law enforcement for information sharing, compliance checks, and service referrals;
- The County has helped to develop and use evaluation practices to assess progress and needs;
- The County has facilitated access to and sharing of inter-agency data, as appropriate;
- The County seeks to maximize interagency coordination, and has recently established the Office of Reentry and Justice to continue in these efforts.
While much has been accomplished, there is now a need to update the Reentry Strategic Plan and the AB 109 Operational Plan
[1] Available at http://www.contracosta.ca.gov/3091/Public-Safety-Realignment
[1] Available at http://www.cccounty.us/DocumentCenter/View/25650
[2] Available at http://64.166.146.245/docs/2011/BOS/20111004_164/9178_Contra%20Costa%20County%20AB109%202011%20Implementation%20Plan%209-30-11.pdf
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| Referral Update: |
In September 2016, the County was notified that it had been awarded a federal grant called “Smart Reentry: Focus on Evidence-based Strategies for Successful Reentry from Incarceration to Community.” During the first year planning phase of the grant, the County is required to develop a local reentry strategic plan that describes our long-term reentry strategy, including measurable annual and 5-year performance outcomes that are related to the long-term goals of increasing public safety and reducing recidivism. One goal of the plan must be achieving a 50 percent reduction in the rate of recidivism over a 5-year period.
The strategic planning process should provide an opportunity for the grant’s Reentry Task Force to ensure stakeholders and policymakers work together to identify and address local policy driven or procedural barriers to effective reentry, especially among the transition age youth (18-25) population.
In developing the plan, we are expected to engage representatives from the fields of public safety, corrections, housing (including partnerships with public housing authorities), homeless services providers, health, education, substance abuse, children and families, victims’ services, employment, and business.
The Reentry Strategic Plan must have the following components:
- A multi-disciplinary, jurisdiction-wide reentry strategy to improve outcomes for individuals coming home from incarceration that incorporates the federally established “Fundamental Principles of Evidence-Based Correctional Practice”
- A detailed implementation schedule and sustainability plan
- A description of the role local governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders will play in the reentry strategy with certification of the involvement of such agencies and organizations
- Extensive evidence of collaboration with state and local government agencies overseeing health, mental health, housing (including partnerships with public housing authorities), homeless services, child welfare, education, substance abuse, victims’ services, employment services, and local law enforcement
- A discussion of the role state corrections departments, community corrections agencies, local jails, and/or juvenile corrections systems have in ensuring successful reentry of individuals into local communities from incarceration.
The Smart Reentry grant budget includes $40,000 for the Reentry Strategic Plan process. The FY 2016-17 budget for the establishment and operations of the Office of Reentry and Justice has designated $20,000 for this purpose. Additional funding for the update of the AB 109 Operational Plan could be provided from the AB 109 Planning and Implementation funds the County has received annually from the State, which is expected to be $200,000 in FY 2017-18.
ORJ staff recommends that the County undertake a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process to identify a contractor(s) who can provide facilitation and plan development services. Ideally, we would like to identify a contractor who is capable of undertaking the update of both plans, as there is a relationship between the Plans and an understanding of the reentry and public safety realignment systems in Contra Costa County that would benefit from a single provider. ORJ staff will assemble an RFQ Advisory Group to solicit input on the development of the RFQ.
The proposed timeline for the procurement process, which is anticipated to take 10 weeks, is as follows:
The timeline includes a mandatory Bidders Conference, which staff will endeavor to include remote access capabilities (webinar).
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| Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): |
1. RECEIVE an update on the status of Reentry Strategic and AB109 Operational Plan updates, and
2. APPROVE the Office of Reentry and Justice to commence a request for proposals process to contract for facilitation and plan development services to assist with the update to both plans, and
3. PROVIDE additional direction to staff as necessary.
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