Minutes
Fresno County
Community Corrections Partnership Meeting
Friday, February 17, 2012
10:30 a.m.
3333 E. American Ave.
Building 703 – Detention Gymnasium
Fresno, CA 93725
Meeting Called to Order
Agenda Item A
Chief called meeting to order at 10:43 a.m. She welcomed everyone and advised
attendees when speaking they should use the microphones, provide their name,
and provide copies of documents / statements read to the Community
Corrections Partnership (CCP). Lastly Chief Penner stated this will be the last
time the CCP will meet in the Juvenile Justice Campus, Detention Gymnasium.
Future meetings will be held at the Board of Supervisors’ Chambers as it will
provide an adequate format for the meetings.
The following people were in attendance:
Ms. Margaret Mims
Ms. Linda Penner
Ms. Pam Kallsen
Ms. Pam Lassetter
Mr. Tom Gattie
Ms. Karen Roach
Ms. Donna Taylor
Ms. Marilynn Watts
Mr. Leon Hoover
Mr. Ray Banks
Ms. Jeannie Figueroa
Mr. John Navarrette
Ms. Jennifer Kish
Mr. Greg Andreotti
Ms. Beatriz Alexandre
Judge Gary Hoff
Mr. Tongia Sullivan
Mr. Howard Himes
Ms. Christina SteneMeise
Mr. Domingo Zapata
Mr. Pascual J. Ortiz
Ms. Elizabeth
Swearengin
Ms. Elizabeth Egan
Mr. Jerry Dyer
Mr. Pat Farmer
Mr. Mike Reid
Ms. Erica Cabrera
Ms. Bonnie Bitter
Mr. Dennis Reid
Mr. Raul Rodriguez
Mr. Armando Rosales
Mr. Ryan Nyberg
Ms. Lisa Guiliani
Mr. Bill Simon
Ms. Leila Alamri
Ms. Pam Whalen
Ms. Debbie Reyes
Mr. David Ruiz
Mr. Ryan Sanders
Mr. Dale Bauman
Ms. Andrea Story
Mr. Mark Cutshall
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Mr. Chris Maranian
Ms. Debbie Tisdale
Ms. Janet Stutzman
Mr. Art Wille
Mr. Doug Rolly
Mr. Frank Fontes
Ms. Nancy Dominguez
Mr. Mike Elliott
Mr. Kirk Haynes
Ms. Jennifer Venhaus
Mr. Chet Bou
Mr. Alex Gonzalez
Mr. Pete Garcia
Ms. Susan Watkins
Ms. Michelle Le Fors
Ms. Terry Barnes
Mr. Vince Leobardo
Mr. Gary Osmondson
Mr. Tom Trester
Mr. Steve Forker
Mr. Bryan Crump
Ms. Pam Coronado
Mr. Chris Markus
Ms. Kay Hickman
Ms. Emma Hughes
Ms. Joy Thompson
Mr. Greg Reinke
Mr. Rick Chavez
Mr. Kelly Keenan
Mr. Ed Moreno
Informational Item:
Recording of meetings for purposes of keeping accurate minutes
Agenda Item B
Chief Penner stated a voice recorder will be used during all CCP meetings to assist
with the meeting minutes. Upon approval of the minutes the tape will be
destroyed.
Approval of Minutes
Agenda Item C
Chief Penner asked for corrections and / comments to the meeting minutes for
January 13, 2012.
Mr. Art Wille stated he provided the following corrections to Ms. Young via email.
The changes included the following:
Judge Hoff asked if members of a CCP subcommittee included all the CCP
Executive Members, would the subcommittee meetings be subject to the Brown
Act. Mr. Wille stated it would be unless there is not a quorum of the Executive
Members a meeting of the CCP Executive Committee, and public notice would
have to be provided as required by the Brown Act. If less than a quorum of the
CCP Executive Committee participated in one of the CCP subcommittee meetings,
it would not be a meeting of the CCP Executive Committee.
Ms. Mims was not present at the last meeting therefore the minutes will be
corrected to reflect such. Additionally, the corrections will reflect that the
comments were made by Ms. Mims were in fact made by Ms. Watkins.
Ms. Mims Watkins reported there are 108 offenders stayed parole violators
pending revocations with local charges; 76 stayed parole violators pending
revocations without local charges. 76 pending revocations with local charges
with the average stay of 255 days. Fresno County is not experiencing long
sentences as other counties have and the average stay for a local county jail is
255 days. Currently the longest sentence having to be served is 5 years.
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Mr. Taniguchi asked for the following corrections.
Mr. Taniguchi stated the trend is to look at high risk offenders however medium
level offenders should also be assessed some lower level offenders may also need
to be assessed.
Additionally, the following statement was stricken from the January 13, 2012
minutes.
Mr. Taniguchi stated the Public Defender’s Office is trying to ensure there are no
loose ends on their part. They are looking at disproportionate minorities, while
Probation looks at the supervision level.
Mr. Reinke provided the following changes via email for the minutes.
Mr. Reinke stated a lease agreement for office space to house the AB 109
supervision unit and ACT team is planning on going to the BOS in March for
approval. The least is at .57 a square foot. A total of $97,745 was included in
the CCP budget. With the lease payments, utitlity costs and tenant
improvements, this fiscal year’s costs will be within budget. leasing office space
and money for the Adult Compliance Team (ACT) was budgeted at $957,000.
The lease was at .57 cents per square foot. The plan is to go before the BOS on
March 1, 2012 to present the tenant improvement costs.
Review of Brown Act
Agenda Item D
Mr. Wille had nothing to report.
Provide direction regarding AB 109 funding for Fiscal Year 2012 – 13 Budget
Agenda Item E
Budget Instructions have come out. This is the first year with AB 109 and
implementation.
Ms. Penner suggested that the CCP move forward with the current level service
budget.
Mr. Dyer asked for clarification on current level service funding.
Mr. Taniguchi suggested that the CCP look at the main body of funding for the next
fiscal year.
Ms. Penner stated that they need to avoid adding anything further until next years’
budget; the CCP needs to go with the budget already in place.
Ms. Egan stated for the first year the CCP should go with the budget as approved.
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Ms. Penner commented that the plan may not stay the same next year. Ms. Penner
stated an Emergency CCP meeting will be scheduled for March 2nd at 10:30 a.m.
Ms. Figueroa stated the Fiscal / Audit Subcommittee met. The ICRPs need to be
discussed as part of next years’ budget.
Ms. Figueroa noted that ICRP should be allowed; each department can apply only
15%. Due to the costs departments are incurring due to AB 109 it needs to be
made fair so the departments can recoup some of their money.
Mr. Dyer asked if the plan is to approve a Placeholder budget for next year.
Ms. Penner stated the CCP is not approving the budget for next year we will
discuss the budget with current level service. After the states’ budget is complete
the CCP can begin discussing AB 109 (2.0). Ms. Penner asked each agency provide
their budget for the next 12 months of current level services. Chief Penner asked
that the budgets be submitted to Ms. Figueroa prior to the March 2nd meeting.
Ms. Figueroa commented that the consensus is to include 15% for salaries only.
Mr. Dyer asked if something will be sent out to each agency.
Ms. Penner stated Ms. Figueroa will send out directions. Ms. Figueroa added that
she would like to receive the reports by March 1, 2012.
Receive verbal reports from Executive Members
Agenda Item F
Probation
a. AB 109 Updates and Statistics
Chief Penner reported that 192 (611) were packets received for the month of
January; there were 57 Local Prison Offenders (LPOs) and 25 LPOs and Mandatory
Supervised Release (MSR) that received a split sentence. Overall the number of
Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) received by Fresno County Probation
is 749 although state projections were at 388. The LPOs with non-split sentence
was reportedly at 261; there were 122 bench warrants issued with 55 of those
being recalled.
Ms. Penner stated the Administrative Office of the Courts wants to ensure the
Probation Revocation process is being utilized. They have provided training to
Judges, Defense Bar, and District Attorney’s. The Veldevia process will be used; it
is a long standing procedure that is simplified.
Ms. Penner reported that the Chief Probation Officers of California will be meeting
in March. She will give a report of that meeting at the next regular CCP meeting.
Ms. Penner suggested that e a subcommittee be created for the Adult Compliance
Team.
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Ms. Mims agreed that a subcommittee is needed. She will approach Chief Davis
about participating in that subcommittee.
Chief Penner asked for submission of names of that subcommittee at the next
regular CCP meeting.
Sheriff's Department
Sheriff Mims reported that the Sheriff’s Association supported Governor Brown’s
tax measure however it was not unanimous.
They are trying to get clarification from Parole regarding revocations and what
will be accepted.
Ms. Mims provided a handout which contained information that is captured based
on how many AB 109 inmates are in custody on that particular day. Per the
handout there are eight categories of AB 109 inmates booked into the Fresno
County Jail. They are as follows:
1) Flash Incarceration – PC 34354 (c)
2) PRCS Violation – PC 3455 (a)
3) PRCS Warrant
4) MSR Violation – PC 1170(h) / PC 1203.2 (a)
5) MSR Warrants
6) State Parole Violators serving 180 days or less in County Jail
7) Sentenced Felony Serving Time in County Jail – Per PC 1170(h) (*CJO)
8) Sentenced Felony Serving Time in County Jail – Per PC 1170(h) (MSR)
As of February 17, 2012 the Fresno County Jail had 560 AB 109 inmates in
custody. They have also received their first long term inmate with a sentence of
10 years.
Fresno County Superior Court
Judge Hoff reported that the Courts are still trying to identify the loop holes in AB
109 legislation. They are also waiting for clean-up legislation. Judges are also
finding the process equally frustrating. They are finding legal inabilities to do
certain things. He stated there is a need for pre-trial release programs; they need
to be identified and put in place. There needs to be a coordinated overall
approach in order for the plan to work and there needs to be confidence in the
system – when the sentence is handed down, it needs to be carried out.
Additionally, bed space is needed for those that cannot get into pre-trial release.
Lastly Judge Hoff stated they will continue tracking cases with the help of
Technology.
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Behavioral Health
a. Scope of Work for AB109 Mental Health Population
Ms. Taylor stated Behavioral Health is working on getting the scope of work done.
She stated a Request for Proposal (RFP) was sent to over 50 agencies. The
selection review committee felt that Turning Point is the best choice to meet the
County’s needs. A copy of the scope of work submitted by Turning Point and a
summary of the evaluation process was provided.
b. Informational Item: Recommendation of Turning Point of Central
California, Inc. for Contract Award
Ms. Taylor asked the CCP to support their decision to go with Turning Point and
present it to the Board of Supervisor’s in April.
Ms. Figueroa commented that the contract is for the maximum amount. Funding
will come from AB 109 and from Behavioral Health’s buget.
Ms. Egan asked if any of the revenue sources will come from general fund dollars.
The response was no.
Ms. Egan also inquired as to how the effectiveness of their services will be
measured, would it be looking at the recidivism.
Ms. Taylor stated the measurements will be of what was asked for by the CCP
Executive Members
Ms. Hughes stated she met with Ms. Taylor, if Turning Point is approved they can
discuss what data has been and / or needs to be collected.
Ms. Penner asked to move forward with a consensus by the CCP Executive
Members.
Ms. Egan asked how much flexibility there is after they have voted. Ms. Egan
wants to ensure that the body discusses it and shares their thoughts before
presenting it to the BOS for review and consideration.
Mr. Navarrette reminded the Executive Members that prior to presenting agenda
items to the BOS the item must be presented to him with a copy of the minutes to
ensure the item was clearly discussed and voted on.
Ms. Taylor commented that issues will not come from the vendor rather they will
appear in the form of probation violations, crimes, etc.
Ms. Penner commented that having participated in a number of contracts the
outcomes are not all the same. They can only build the framework and the CCP
will have to provide the data. She stated the CCP needs to move forward as it is a
big component of AB 109.
Ms. Taylor stated she will ask Turning Point to give their presentation via power
point at the next regular CCP meeting.
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District Attorney's Office
Ms. Egan reported that hearings have quadrupled. At this time they are focusing
on revocations. The Deputy District Attorney is working with Probation so as to
avoid too much time in court.
Public Defender's Office
Mr. Taniguchi stated his office is gearing up to prepare for hearings. His office is
working on scheduling meetings with the Judges, District Attorney’s Office and
Probation. They want to go over guidelines for sentencing and look at Risk
Assessment that Probation is working with.
Mr. Taniguchi stated he is working on scheduling a tour of the re-entry program
run out of San Francisco. He asked for a representative from Probation. He stated
a representative from Social Services will be attending.
Lastly, his office will continue staff training.
Assessments and tools.
Alliant is helping with Risk
Fresno Police Department
Mr. Dyer relayed information that field officers are feeling a high level of
frustration due to offenders being released from county jail soon after being
booked. They are not sure if the releases are due to normal jail overcrowding or a
result of AB 109.
He is concerned that after the additional floors to the jail are opened they will fill
up quickly resulting in jail releases. He asked what alternatives or systems will be
set in place to hold offenders accountable. Additionally Mr. Dyer believes a 2nd
ACT should be established in year two; he would like the CCP to explore GPS
(Global Positioning System), house arrest and Day Reporting Centers as
alternative for those that are released from jail.
Receive updates from CCP Subcommittee Chairs
Agenda Item F
i. Incarceration/Capacity
Mr. Gattie deferred as Sheriff Mims covered their part.
Ms. Mims stated she wanted to echo some comments, she stated the Sheriff’s
Department shares the frustration. They are looking forward to the Day Reporting
Center and Pre-trial programs so that the people that need to be in jail are kept in
jail. Due to pre-trial not being in place yet many releases are occurring.
ii. Community & Custody Resources
Mr. Himes reported that the subcommittee is looking at the needs for the AB 109
population such as mental health, substance abuse, transportation, and education.
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Mr. Himes stated the subcommittee has 29 members and they just had their 3rd
meeting. The thought process is to look at other programs and practices to find
what the best practices are. They are looking to San Francisco and as far as New
York. The programs will have to be built for different levels of offenders. They
need to look at different approaches and services from different components.
iii. Victim/Mandates
Ms. Kallsen asked to have the Victim / Mandates Guidelines placed on the agenda
for the next regular CCP meeting.
iv. Courts
Mr. Chavez stated Judge Conklin continues to hold AB 109 meetings on Thursday’s
as schedules permit. There is a meeting planned for Thursday, February 23rd.
v. Technology
Mr. Osmondson stated they are waiting for results of interviews conducted by Dr.
Hughes. From that they can work on completing the data base.
vi. Fiscal Review/Audit
Ms. Figueroa provided handouts “AB 109 Expenditure / Claim Reporting.” Ms.
Figueroa stated she asked all agencies to submit their claims. The only agency she
had not received information from was Clovis P.D. The report includes
expenditures based on the 1st and 2nd quarters of submittals for the Fiscal Year
2011 – 12.
vii. Research & Evaluation
Ms. Hughes stated she has completed six out of seven interviews with Executive
Members of the CCP. The Research & Evaluation Subcommittee designed a list of
variables for data. The subcommittee is working on establishing a system that
should prevent double counting offenders.
Ms. Hughes discussed the meeting that took place at Stanford University on
January 20th. She reported Fresno County was the only county that submitted a
research plan at the conference. She stated Fresno County is on its way to
becoming a leader in the state on realignment.
The ACT moved to the data screen developed for their use in the field. They will
begin using the screen this month. The Owen Research Center has developed a
geographical mapping system which indicates a concentration in two locations of
the city where offenders with the top five charges are located.
Additionally Ms. Hughes stated they have developed and designed a list of
variables. They will look at what data already exists and what data needs to be
created. By July they should know which data is being used across the state. They
are also working on data that can be of service to the offenders. Ms. Hughes stated
once the interviews are complete they can begin discussions regarding the
outcomes.
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Announce members of CCP Subcommittees
Agenda Item H
Chief Penner announced the subcommittees and the chairs and co-chairs. A list of
the subcommittees and the members were distributed.
Public Comments
Agenda Item I
Mr. Bill Simon stated he visited a homeless shelter and conducted interviews with
five individuals. Three of the five people interviewed have been repeatedly
incarcerated, and all five had issues with some type of addiction and / or mental
health. Mr. Simon said that continuing to incarcerate individuals with these types
of issues is a waste of money. They need treatment for addiction and mental
health; he believes there is enough money for those services.
Elizabeth Swearengin a professor with California State University, Fresno reported
that she brought in community leaders that presented to 50 to 100 students on
realignment. The discussion was to give them a deeper historical view and
understanding from a cultural, racial and economic stand point. She stated
enough jails cannot be built and prison guards cannot be educated enough to take
care of the types of problems within the prison system. She encourages the CCP to
have a broader list of stakeholders that should be sitting at the internal table and
not the external table.
Adjourn Meeting
Agenda Item J
Meeting adjourned at 12:22 p.m.
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