Mendocino County Grand Jury • 2005-2006

County of Mendocino Post Office Box 629

Published: July 07, 2006 64 pages Consolidated Report
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Findings and Recommendations 41 findings

F1
The Mendocino County Sheriff Coast Sector Sub-Station is staffed in accordance with its budget: one Lieutenant, three Sergeants, eleven Deputies, one Bailiff, one Detective, and one Secretary.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
The Sheriff’s Department designates the area between Rockport and Gualala as the Coast Sector.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
A Coast Sector deputy sheriff generates approximately 20 hours of overtime every two weeks.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
Coast Sector patrol work is generally limited to dispatch responses, process serving, transportation of detainees, and other departmental duties.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Deputies have recently been issued Tasers and instructed in their use by POST- trained officers (Police Officer Standard Training).
No recommendations for this finding
F6
Storage space for evidence is inadequate.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Detainees at Fort Bragg are normally booked and transported to the County Jail in Ukiah or to another facility within two hours.
No recommendations for this finding
F8
Detainees on the South Coast (from Navarro to the south County line) are taken directly to the County Jail in Ukiah.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
The Coast Sector Sub-Station Holding Cells are clean.
No recommendations for this finding
F10
The Coast Sector Holding Facility lacks an audio monitoring system.
No recommendations for this finding
F11
The handicapped rails, benches, air duct screens, wall panel, and faucet handles of 64 the Holding Cells could be used by a prisoner to hang him/herself.
No recommendations for this finding
F12
The central heating and cooling system in the Sheriff’s Coast Sector Sub-Station is inadequate.
No recommendations for this finding
F13
Given the heavy use of the Sheriff’s Coast Sector offices, cleaning and routine maintenance beyond the regularly scheduled janitorial service provided by County General Services must be performed by the Sub-Station staff.
No recommendations for this finding
F14
The emergency button/bell system installed in the Sub-Station is unmonitored and connected only to offices that are often unoccupied.
No recommendations for this finding
F15
In the opinion of the Sheriff’s Department Coast Sector Sub-Station, methamphetamine, along with other drugs including alcohol, is a major factor in most arrests.
No recommendations for this finding
F16
All schools offer cafeteria and food service, although staffing and student participation in preparation and service vary from school to school.
No recommendations for this finding
F17
All schools have stocked and staffed libraries, although hours, materials and levels of staff certification differ from school to school.
No recommendations for this finding
F18
Mendocino County Office of Education (MCOE) provides legal and consulting services to the districts, financial services including planning, scholarship and college testing information, as well as opportunities for site administrators to meet and confer on a regular basis. School Findings Anderson Valley Unified School District 1. Anderson Valley Unified School District (AVUSD) has been a stable, flourishing educational system for many years at both the elementary and secondary levels; enrollment is presently approximately 590 students.
No recommendations for this finding
F19
The Leggett community thinks of LV as a “basketball” school; two thirds of the high school students play basketball, offered as a team sport from third through twelfthgrades. Pt. Arena Joint Union High School District and Arena Union Elementary School District 19. After several turbulent years of high level administrative turnover, controversies and disruption within the district, the elementary and secondary schools of Pt. of 64 have enjoyed over three years of stability and order . Enrollment is at present approximately 480 students.
No recommendations for this finding
F20
Building on the Anderson Valley Personal Learning Plan model, Pt. Arena has compiled literacy standards and benchmarks for their K through 12 students in the READING WRITING SPEAKING plan, tailored specifically to the district’s population.
No recommendations for this finding
F21
Pt. Arena High School offers the AVID program for all eligible students.
No recommendations for this finding
F22
Pt. Arena High School offers students the opportunity, during regularly scheduled class time, to take AP classes online.
No recommendations for this finding
F23
Through a combination of construction bonds and state funding, the dilapidated secondary school plant will soon be totally replaced; many new buildings are already in use.
No recommendations for this finding
F24
Pacific Community High School, a charter school, shares the campus and facilities of Pt. Arena High School; Pacific Community co-enrolls in sports activities with Pt. Arena.
No recommendations for this finding
F25
The two Pt. Arena districts have adapted the “Blended Model” program to meet the educational needs of all students. Using individualized materials within math and language arts Learning Centers, the Blended Program’s goal is to raise all student achievement to grade level and beyond.
No recommendations for this finding
F26
Pt. Arena HS has a spacious, well-stocked library; certified staff is available three days a week. However, the band practices regularly in the center of the room; music stands and chairs, several instruments, amplifiers and other equipment are located between the stacks and the reading area.
No recommendations for this finding
F27
Roughly 80% of the Pt. Arena High School graduates attend a two or four year college.
No recommendations for this finding
F28
The two Pt. Arena districts have an official Community Safety Committee which includes a local EMT, a transportation representative, a cafeteria representative, a Board trustee, the school principals and a charter school representative.
No recommendations for this finding
F29
These four agencies work diligently and successfully to respond to the concerns of their geographic neighbors.
No recommendations for this finding
F30
All the agencies are monitored by the County Health Department and meet sanitation standards.
No recommendations for this finding
F31
These four agencies work together with other non-profits, Mendocino County Health and Social Services, and California State Departments to meet the needs of their clients.
No recommendations for this finding
F32
All four agencies belong to The Homeless Services Planning Group, an association made up of Social Service departments and non-profit agencies concerned with homelessness for the purpose of coordinating service delivery and avoiding duplication of services.
No recommendations for this finding
F33
All four agencies receive their funding from multiple sources with different guidelines and regulations.
No recommendations for this finding
F34
Grants and contracts received by these agencies rarely provide more than 5-6% for administrative costs and sometimes none. This is far below the actual administrative costs of 10-15%. of 64 35. All agencies acknowledge the need to allocate staff time to apply for grants and short-term financing for long-term needs.
No recommendations for this finding
F35
The authority and ability of the Board of Supervisors (BOS) to directly affect water resource policy is limited by statute and the nature of the autonomous organizational character of County Water Districts.
No recommendations for this finding
F36
The lowest wage paid to an employee of any of these agencies is $8.39 per hour. Most staff members earned between $10 and $17 per hour. Compensation for Executive Directors ranged from $17.60 to $26.23 per hour.
No recommendations for this finding
F37
When possible these agencies provide health benefits to their employees; three provide no retirement benefits to employees, one matches employee contributions to an IRA.
No recommendations for this finding
F38
All agencies are hampered by income shortfalls and slow delivery of contracts and grant funds. Methods used to meet these shortfalls include reducing salaries, reduction of overtime for holidays, and encouragement of voluntary leaves of absence without pay. Agencies also borrow money to cover slow reimbursement from government contractors, cut staff hours, and even lay off employees. Board members have made personal contributions to carry their agency through a shortfall.
No recommendations for this finding
F39
All agencies have an all-volunteer Board of Directors; some of the directors are former clients.
No recommendations for this finding
F40
All agencies wish to increase membership on their Boards and to have memberships more representative of local demographics.
No recommendations for this finding
F41
The Buddy Eller Shelter is almost one mile from the UCC/FB, two miles from the Plowshares dining room, and two and a half miles from the proposed new dining room. Currently the Mendocino Health Clinic provides limited bus service between UCC and Plowshares.
No recommendations for this finding

Comments 16

Agency Responses 2

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No Responses Found 1

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