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6.
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| PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE - SPECIAL MEETING |
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| Information |
| Referral History: |
On February 13, 2018, the Board of Supervisors referred to the Committee a review of the production of the County's Multi-Agency Juvenile Justice Plan. The plan is due to the state on May 1 of each year, as a condition of Contra Costa’s annual funding through the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) and Youthful Offender Block Grant (YOBG). For Contra Costa County, this amounts to over $8 million in annual funding specifically for juvenile justice activities.
Subsequent to the referral, the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (JJCC) met on March 6, 2018 to discussed the revised, consolidated Multi-Agency Juvenile Justice Plan. The JJCC is staffed by the Probation Department and is composed of the following individuals in CY 2018:
- Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, (Current BOS Chair rotates annually)
- Karen Moghtader, Public Defender’s Office
- Dan Cabral, District Attorney’s Office
- Brian Vanderlind, Office of the Sheriff
- Lynn Mackey, Contra Costa Office of Education
- Eric Ghisletta, Martinez Police Department
- Shirley Lorenz, Juvenile Justice-Delinquency Prevention Commission
- Dan Batiuchok, Behavior Health-Health Services Department
- Kathy Marsh, Employment and Human Services Department - Children and Family Services
- Mickie Marchetti, REACH Project
- Ruth Barajas-Cardona, Bay Area Community Resources (BACR)
- Fatima Matal Sol, County Alcohol and Other Drugs Director
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| Referral Update: |
At the April 2018 meeting of the Public Protection Committee, staff was directed to return at a future meeting date with information regarding the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) and the Delinquency Prevention Commission (DPC). This information will allow the Committee to better assess a path forward for potential changes, mergers or consolidation of juvenile justice oversight by multiple advisory committees. Below is a summary of the JJC and the DPC:
Juvenile Justice Commission:
The Juvenile Justice Commission is a state body created by statute and is in effect part of the Superior Court. (Welf. & Inst., § 229.). The charge of JJCs is, among other things, to inspect detention facilities or group homes in counties where a minor has been held in custody. In addition, a JJC may hold hearings from time-to-time and compel the attendance of individuals to testify at such hearings.
The JJC is not subject to the Brown Act, but rather the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Gov. Code, § 11120 et. seq.) and falls within an exemption to that Act specifically for courts. (Gov. Code, § 11121.1 (a).) The exemption allows for the Court to choose not to post agendas or otherwise meet publicly.
Delinquency Prevention Commission:
The board of supervisors in each county has statutory authority to create and appoint members to a Delinquency Prevention Commission. The charge of a DPC is to coordinate on a countywide basis activities of governmental and non-governmental entities related to juvenile delinquency prevention. In lieu of appointing all members, a county board may designate the JJC (the State body described above) to also serve as the DPC. In Contra Costa County, the Board has chosen to designate members of the Court's JJC as the County's DPC by ordinance.
The DPC is a local body implemented in this County by an ordinance. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 233. Ord. Code, Ch. 26-6, “Delinquency Prevention Commission.”) Thus, it is a legislative body for purposes of the Brown Act. (Gov. Code, § 54952 (a), (b).) DPC meetings must be conducted in accordance with the Brown Act.
CONSIDERATIONS:
The County has two advisory bodies that are charged with similar duties. Specifically, the duties of the Delinquency Prevention Commission must also be assumed in parallel by the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council while deliberating and developing the annual multi-agency juvenile justice plan. For this reason, staff recommends that the Committee consider recommending to the full Board of Supervisors:
1. Dissolution of the Delinquency Prevention Commission, including full repeal of County Ordinance Code, Ch. 26-6, “Delinquency Prevention Commission" to effectuate the repeal; and
2. Direct the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council to assume the duties of coordinating juvenile delinquency prevention initiatives through the annual multi-agency juvenile justice planning process.
This would ensure that delinquency prevention activities are evaluated in tandem with other juvenile justice initiatives from a policy and funding perspective. Additionally, this would avoid confusing the duties of the Juvenile Justice Commission and the Delinquency Prevention Commission, which currently share the same membership, but have different open meeting requirements and report to separate governmental entities (i.e. one to the County and one to the State via the local Superior Court). |
| Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s): |
1. ACCEPT a report on juvenile justice advisory bodies within the County; and
2. PROVIDE direction to staff.
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| Fiscal Impact (if any): |
| No impact. |
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