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Receive a presentation from the Solano County Probation Department to include an overview of the Solano County Results First Initiative
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Published Notice Required? Yes____ No__X_
Public Hearing Required? Yes____ No__X_
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Probation Department recommends the Board of Supervisors receive a presentation on the Solano County Results First Initiative to include the program inventory, benefit cost model, and next steps.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
In 2017, the Solano County Probation Department, County Administrator’s Office, and the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) endorsed partnering with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Hub for Criminal Justice Programming to implement the Results First Initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to aid counties in implementing an innovative approach and cost-benefit model which helps policymakers invest in policies and programs best supported by evidence to reduce recidivism.
Solano County law and justice partners work tirelessly to end the cycle of justice involvement for its adult criminal justice population. Ending the cycle of involvement in the criminal justice system clearly benefits the lives of the involved individuals as well as the County, taxpayers, and crime victims. Solano County taxpayers and the communities impacted by crime can realize a benefit of up to $121,479 by avoiding one recidivist, due to the reduced use of the criminal justice system. In this sense, the criminal justice system includes the Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement, the Courts, District Attorney, Public Defender, and Probation.
For the last year, the Probation Department has led the Results First work in collaboration with staff from the Sheriff’s Office, Public Defender’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Department of Health and Social Services, and Solano Superior Court. Members from each agency collaborated to walk through the Results First approach which included creating an inventory of programs that serve the adult criminal justice population, and to develop a benefit-cost model. The focus was to identify and understand the impact of these programs on reducing recidivism for justice involved adults in Solano County, and to measure the value that an avoided recidivist brings to the County. The work completed to date has been summarized in Attachment A Results First CCP Report.
Program Inventory
A Program Inventory Workgroup comprised of County agencies working with the adult criminal justice population was formed to create an inventory of existing rehabilitative programs. The workgroup was tasked with identifying and providing budgetary and participant data about the adult criminal justice programs within the purview of their departments. Programs were then reviewed and matched with evidence/evidence informed program contained within the Results First Clearinghouse Database. The County identified nearly 50 unique programs addressing numerous offender needs across departments. Attachment B Program Inventory contains a list of programs which have been matched to evidence in the Results First Clearinghouse Database to date.
Benefit Cost Model
The benefit-cost model projects the return of investment of a program based on the impact on recidivism, which is discussed below. First, the model relies on high-quality research studies and a combination of several research projects which included an analysis of collected data to estimate the level of effectiveness of programs at impacting crime as seen through repeated trips through the criminal justice system (recidivism). Secondly, the model monetizes recidivism reductions using Solano County specific county costs, sentencing outcomes, and resources used (days on probation, in jail, or in prison).
Utilizing the analysis of Probation Department records with the California State Department of Justice’s (DOJ) data, a base-line recidivism rate was established for the Solano County Adult Criminal Justice population. Solano County created a cohort of those who started supervision in October 2011 who were assessed as a Medium or High Risk to recidivate using Solano County’s risk assessment tool The LS/CMI is a correctional risk assessment tool that helps probation to assess the relative risk to re-offend, as well as design customized case plans and make needs-based referrals to programming. This cohort of 892 clients consisted of: Felony Probationers sentenced to formal supervision by the Court; Mandatory Supervision, who are clients who split their time between a jail term and supervision by a Probation Officer; and Post Release Community Supervision (PRCS) individuals, who would have previously been under parole supervision but are now supervised by Probation after release from prison. This group was tracked over a 5-year period yielding a 67% cumulative recidivism rate, meaning 67% of the cohort had at least 1 new conviction. This group generated 1,440 new convictions over the 5-year period, with 57% of these new convictions being felonies. It’s worth noting that Solano County is the first Results First participating county to use statewide conviction data from the DOJ to perform the analysis. This is significant because the data includes convictions from other counties in addition to Solano, when they exist.
All the programs identified to run through the model are matched to a level of evidence based on the research to apply a research-based estimate impact on recidivism. Attachment C Benefit Cost Results contains a full list of programs run through the benefit-cost model.
Next Steps
Overall, Solano County is committed to providing the appropriate evidence-based interventions and services to clients based upon their needs and their risk to reduce recidivism. There is equal commitment to using a data-driven approach to ensure rehabilitative programs are delivered with fidelity to the evidence, to measure outcomes, and to operate in a fiscally responsible manner. The benefit to the County and the community when recidivism is avoided has been identified and will continue to be reviewed. Lastly, through this project, evidence-based and evidence informed practices are now part of stakeholder conversations. In turn, this creates a focus on evidence-based programs/curricula when developing contracts with community based organizations for services.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no cost for providing the presentation and no additional impact to the General Fund. The cost of preparing this item is minimal and is absorbed by the Department’s budget.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board could choose not to receive the presentation from the Probation Department; however, this is not recommended as this is an opportunity for the Board of Supervisors and the public to receive information on the programs, services, and partnerships in the County that impact recidivism.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Staff from the Sheriff’s Office, Public Defender, the District Attorney, Health and Social Services, and Solano Superior Court all collaborated on the Results First Initiative.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION