Alameda County judge pleads for $3M to continue helping out-of-custody defendants

OAKLAND, Calif. - Alameda County Superior Court's presiding judge is pleading with the board of supervisors to continue supporting what he describes as a successful pilot program that supports out-of-custody defendants awaiting trial – a program that the county's chief probation officer now wants to take over. 

Judge asks for another $3M

Why you should care:

In an unprecedented letter to the supervisors this month, Judge Michael Markman wrote that he needs their help in saving the court's 7-month-old "Pretrial Expansion Program," which is at risk of shutting down in its current form on Dec. 31, if the funding doesn't continue. 

The program provides people who have been charged with a crime and are waiting for trial while out of custody with temporary housing, food vouchers, bus passes, and mental health and substance abuse assistance. The program is currently serving 600 people out of a total population of nearly 4,000. 

Markman asked for $3 million for another year to keep the services going. Meanwhile, the head of Alameda County's Probation Department floated a counterproposal this month to run the pretrial services program instead. 

Probation departments in most California counties run these "pretrial services" programs, Markman's staff pointed out. But Alameda County has been a pioneer in turning over these services to the court system, with the aid of case managers from a nonprofit, to run theirs. 

They fear if the probation department takes the program, the success they've had in getting people to appear in court and re-offend less will take a hit. They also fear that since the probation department's offer to take over the program came so late, there will essentially be no pretrial services come Jan. 1. 

"We're very concerned it will be a big step backwards," said Cory Jacobs, program director for Alameda County's pretrial services. 

Why does probation want to take over? 

Questions linger:

Jacobs and Judge Markman are trying to figure out why the probation department would want to run the program now. 

The plan was for the court to administer the program for a year, and then have Harvard University researchers evaluate it in the second year to produce a robust, public report. Instead, the probation chief told Markman he wants to take over the program on Jan. 1, less than a year after the court's program launched. 

"The Court still has no real idea why the County wants to scrap the program after only ten months," Markman wrote in an email to Brian Ford, the county's chief probation officer, which was also sent to the board of supervisors. "Rushing to re-create in three months a replacement pretrial services "model" that will likely cost millions more than the current program, and that provides a level of services well below that which the current program provides, is the very definition of bureaucratic insanity."

Brian Bloom, a former public defender who now chairs the county's Behavioral Health Advisory Board, said that he feels this is just a "power grab" from the probation department, and he questioned why no other county agencies are speaking up about this issue. 

When asked for comment, neither the Alameda County District Attorney nor the Public Defender's Office would weigh in on the debate. 

Probation responds

The other side:

Meanwhile, Ford, the county's chief probation officer, has presented an alternative draft model of his own.

Ford did not respond for comment or explain his reasoning in detail.

But through interviews with Markman's staff, an email he sent to the judge, his 9-page proposal and a statement from his spokesman, Ford wants to eliminate the Berkeley nonprofit, Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency, known as BOSS, from being the case managers of the court's program and instead, have 19 of his civilian employees do the work. 

Alameda County Probation Department Deputy Director of Strategic Affairs Albert Bañuelos did provide a seven-paragraph statement to KTVU through the office of Alameda County Supervisor Lena Tam.

Bañuelos referred to state laws requiring the county to notify its labor organizations before contracting a community organization to provide services, and the county's existing infrastructure that has contracts with groups that are already in place.

The statement emphasizes that the court's existing pretrial program is supposed by a "one-time" $3 million allocation with a one-year contract with BOSS, which requires an evaluation of the program's outcomes and cost-effectiveness. The statement emphasizes that pretrial services remain a state responsibility.

In addition, Bañuelos said that the probation would provide "courthouse-based intake" and "where appropriate, more intensive assistance."

"Participants would be connected through closed-loop referrals to behavioral health, substance-use treatment, housing, benefits, employment and reentry services," Bañuelos wrote. "The model was developed with input and commitments from multiple County agencies and public-safety partners in support of the Court."

Bañuelos emphasized that probation's draft model "remains under discussion," adding that "our goal is to continue planning collaboratively."

In a Sept. 1 email, Ford estimated that the county could have its model running by the end of the year, when the current pretrial contract is set to expire.

People have shown up in court, committed fewer crimes: data

By the numbers:

The data Markman provided to the county in May shows the program is so far a success, even though only 600 out of 4,000 people are currently being served. To serve the entire population, the program would need about $12 million a year, his staff said. 

But since the program began in February, more than 500 people awaiting trial have been helped.

Of particular note, Markman said, is the higher number of people who end up appearing in court because they were given BART or AC Transit tickets through the program, and the lower number of people who end up not re-committing crimes while they're out on bail. 

The recidivism rate of the pretrial services population is 18 percent, the court's data shows. Typically, the recidivism rate for this moderate-at-risk population is more than 40%. And the data also shows that people came to court about 50% more often if they were in the program versus people who were not in pretrial services, Markman said. 

Before this pilot program began, Markman's staff said it cost $15 million a year to re-arrest people. 

In addition, the data shows that 180 people in the program found stable housing and 200 people were enrolled in substance abuse treatment programs. 

‘Vague’ proposal, more expensive

What they're saying:

In Markman's opinion, Ford's proposal is "vague" and "unrealistic," much more expensive than his would be, and would serve fewer people.

Currently, the court program employs 12 employees from BOSS and operates at $3 million a year. Ford's proposal calls for 19 employees – civilians from the probation department.  Markman also estimated the county would serve almost 500 fewer people under Ford's proposal.

"It seems quite safe to say that [probation's] model is going to cost a lot more than the $3 million budgeted for the existing program," Markman said in an interview.  "Making matters worse…[Ford's] draft model appears to serve far fewer defendants awaiting trial than the existing program."

In addition, Markman said there would be a certain vibe change if probation took the program over. 

"These are people who are presumed innocent," Markman said of the defendants awaiting trial. "They are not people who are convicted. People who were convicted are the people probation serves the best."
 

More people out on bail in California

Why you should care:

The issue of pretrial services comes at a time when there are more people out on bail awaiting trial in California than ever. 

A California Supreme Court decision earlier this summer now requires that the courts release most defendants on their own recognizance or grant them bails they can afford.  Alameda County implemented its pretrial services program in February to comply with this law, and the money is funneled to the county from the state under AB 109. 

Hugh Maynard, 75, was recently helped by the program. 

He told KTVU he got help finding housing in Oakland, and he's been given a food voucher every week. He's also taking classes. He was originally charged with a DUI, which was later amended to a misdemeanor, he said. 

Supervisors wouldn't commit to which plan 

What's next:

KTVU reached out to all the supervisors seeking their comment, and heard back via email from Tam, Elisa Marquez and Nikki Fortunato Bas. 

None would say outright exactly which program they preferred, though they all emphasized that they believe pretrial services are important. 

Lam did add, however, that probation's draft model "reflects collaboration among the Sheriff’s Office, Behavioral Health, Housing and Homelessness, Social Services Agency, and other public-safety partners in support of the Court."

And Bas said that she's committed to the program in its current form, and if there are any changes, they should undergo a "rigorous evaluation." 

‘Every judge’s worst nightmare' 

Big picture view:

Markman said that the potential loss of the county's current program raises serious public safety concerns. 

And he hopes the county supervisors consider seriously the pretrial services program they choose to fund in the coming years. 

"It's every judge's worst nightmare when you release somebody and they reoffend while they're out on bail," Markman said. "And it's a particular nightmare if they re-offend in some form of a violent way. We want to avoid that. We don't want any form of recidivism while somebody's waiting for their trial date. We want people to go about their lives and get to their court dates, try their case and resolve their case so they can move on with their lives. We don't want them reoffending." 

Alameda County