On behalf of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, I write to oppose AB 702 by Assembly Member Jackson, a measure that will redirect Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) funds, revise the composition of local Juvenile Justice Coordinating Councils (JJCC), and recast various elements of required multi-agency juvenile justice plans.
AB 702 will redirect nearly every dollar of JJCPA funds predominately allocated to personnel costs, which make up the backbone of our juvenile probation departments. We must protect this stable, constitutionally protected funding structure at a time when counties are working diligently toward full implementation of SB 823 (Committee on Budget, 2020). Without our highly trained personnel to administer evidence-based, trauma-informed programming, we jeopardize the consistent delivery of services that have resulted in a 60 percent decline in detention rates and a 73 percent decline in juvenile arrest rates in California over the last decade.
Additionally, while we are not opposed to improving JJCPA reporting and the structure of local coordinating councils, removing the Chief Probation Officer from the role of Chairman creates instability in planning, coordination, and services being provided to youth through existing programs. Under this new structure, counties will be held accountable for outcomes of juvenile services they have undersized influence in to coordinate and guide. Removing the Chief Probation Officer from this critical post removes accountability and oversight inherent to government/court involvement.
For these reasons we must oppose AB 702. We believe implementation of AB 702 will jeopardize our longstanding, collective effort to provide high quality, locally tailored services to our system involved and at-promise youth.
Sincerely,
Dennis Townsend, Chairman
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
cc: Assembly Member McCarty, Tulare County State Delegation, Assembly Member Jackson, Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer & Lange