SEP 1 8 2015 David H. Yamasaki The Honorable Rise Jones Pichon Deputy Presiding Judge Santa Clara County Superior Court*

R1

Santa Clara County, through the Department of Correction, should find ways to expand women inmates' access to educational and vocational programs. <b>DOC Response</b> The DOC agrees with this finding and recommendation. With the limited resources available, DOC consistently endeavours to bring in new classes and establish new educational programs when opportunities arise and when a need is identified. Two programs under consideration are Cosmetology and Culinary programs. However, the DOC Programs Unit has not received any additional funding for educational classes or educational program development since 2002. The current educational programs have been sustainable because of the support from the Milpitas Unified School District (reimbursed by the State for adult education) and community volunteers. Additionally, on July 1, 2015, the County Board of Supervisors approved the addition of one Custody Support Assistant position to support the Women's Embroidery and Digital Screening vocational programs. Staff will continue to enhance the program curricula and research ways to expand women inmates' access to educational and vocational programs. The department will collaborate more closely with the Office of Women's Policy and the Commission on the Status of Women, as well as community partners, to find more resources to expand vocational programs for women.

R2

Santa Clara County should evaluate the Correctional Assessment and Intervention System tool to determine whether it has been effective in processing the inherent differences between men and women inmates. <b>DOC Response</b> The DOC partially agrees with this finding and recommendation. The Correctional Assessment and Intervention System tool (CAIS) was implemented in 2012 as a risk and needs assessment tool. Its purpose is to develop a continuum of care for each inmate who is assessed. CAIS is a gender-specific tool that measures the risks and needs of inmates in several categories so that the inmates can be placed in the most suitable programs for their needs. As such, CAIS is not an inmate classification system. The current classification system has been used for many years to manage the male and female inmate population safely. Inmates are classified based on the requirements of Title 15 Article 5, which states that inmates will be classified based on the following criteria: Sex and Age; Sophistication; Seriousness of charges/crime; 2 Physical and Mental Health Needs; Gang Affiliation; Assaultive/non-assaultive behaviour using the least restrictive environment "within the limits of the facility. All medium and maximum security inmates are automatically reviewed every 30 days for possible down-class to a less restrictive housing unit, whether or not a request is submitted by an inmate. The Classification unit has a dedicated deputy who works closely with the women's population to reduce security levels and housing assignments whenever possible. The Classification unit has 7 female deputies who have all worked at the Women's facility and all Classification deputies are familiar with gender housing issues when determining classification levels. Many of the female population have mental health challenges that contribute to their negative in-custody behaviour and our Classification unit works closely with staff from the Custody Mental Health unit to determine appropriate housing locations. In support of a new classification system, on July 1, 2015 the County Board of Supervisors approved $30,000 in onetime funding for an independent classification expert to conduct a validation and reliability study of the classification system currently in use at the DOC. Based on the outcome of that study, DOC and County Administration will determine next steps for a validated classification system. The Department of Correction will continue to work with the Office of Women's Policy and the Commission on the Status of Women to ensure that the deputies who work on classification of inmates receive gender-responsive training. The department is establishing a timeline for the training, and if it is not possible to complete it by the end of CY 2015, the department will provide an off agenda report to the Board of Supervisors with a plan for completing the training. Following the training, the department plans to partner with the Office of Women's Policy and the Commission on the Status of Women to reassess the impact of the training.

R3

3 Santa Clara County, through the Department of Correction, should respond to requests from women inmates for reclassification within one month. <b>DOC Response</b> The DOC disagrees with this finding, but agrees with this recommendation. Per Policy 14.05 Inmate Grievance Process, all grievances are responded to There is a Grievance Coordinator who tracks and maintains statistics for all grievances. All responses are kept on file and can be obtained upon request by querying an inmate's name. All requests are answered in a timely manner and all level 3 and level 4 inmates are reviewed every thirty days for possible down-class to a less restrictive housing unit, whether or not they submit a request. These determinations are based on behaviour, charges and known enemies in other housing areas. Inmates may appeal and submit grievances relating to any conditions of confinement, including but not limited to Classification actions. The grievances are tracked until final disposition or as soon as possible. "Additionally the Grand Jury was told by female inmates and staff that requests for reclassification were not answered in a timely fashion and were seemingly ignored." While the Classification unit reviews all requests for reclassification, the custody staff and inmates are not aware of the review, nor are they entitled to confidential information about inmate and the reason for the denial of the request. For instance, an inmate may have enemies in other housing areas that prevent the Classification unit from moving them to that area, and this is further compounded by limited bed space in the housing units. Also, there are inmates who prefer the single cell housing of medium/maximum security instead of a dorm setting with 70 other inmates. To manipulate their housing, they will continue to display negative behaviour in order to avoid being rehoused to the lower 'step-down' classification. Inmates and custody staff do not have access to the confidential information upon which housing decisions are made, and therefore may interpret the response as not "timely" or "ignored". The department will work with the Office of Women's Policy and the Commission on the Status of Women to make ensure the policy is followed. 4

R4

Santa Clara County, through the Department of Correction, should find means to provide Level 3 and Level 4 women inmates with educational and vocational program within their housing units. <b>DOC Response</b> The DOC agrees with this finding and recommendation. DOC staff regularly assesses the educational services that are provided to high medium and maximum security women and looking for ways to enhance these opportunities. As a result of this assessment, recently the Classification, Custody and Programs Units collaborated to implement a pilot educational group program for the high medium and maximum security women. The program was implemented on May 11, 2015. Initial findings reflect that the enrolled participants stay engaged in classes, have demonstrated improved behaviour in the unit, and have shown a willingness to continue in classes. Based on the pilot's initial success, the DOC has extended the pilot program beyond the originally planned completion date. With the success of this program, it is anticipated that a similar model will be utilized in other 'hard to reach' areas, so more inmates can participate in educational and vocational programs. The Department of Correction will bring a report to the Board's Public Safety and Justice Committee regarding the pilot educational programs that focuses on measuring results to determine which programs are most effective. The report will also include an analysis of the department's capacity to deliver the most effective programing to Level 3 and Level 4 female inmates.

R5

Santa Clara County, through the Department of Correction, should require that the Programs Services Unit and the Custody Unit to meet regularly to discuss how to best utilize the available time and space for educational and vocational classes. <b>DOC Response</b> The DOC disagrees with this finding, but agrees with the recommendation. The Programs Services Unit and the Custody Units meet as needed and collaborate to ensure that both educational and vocational classes are provided efficiently and effectively in the available space and classrooms. The Programs Services Unit maintains a schedule for both educational and vocational classes that ensures effective implementation of all programs and supports the schedules of service providers. With the attrition of senior staff and the support of new incoming staff, the Programs Services Unit and Custody Units have established a regular meeting schedule to ensure that both educational and vocational classes are implemented effectively and efficiently, so all participating inmates can benefit from the available programming opportunities.

R6

Santa Clara County, through the Department of Correction, should expand the offering of vocational programs to women inmates, enhancing their opportunities for post-release employment. <b>DOC Response</b> The DOC disagrees with the finding, but agrees with the recommendation. The Grand Jury report on , states that as of September 14, 2014 there were 178 women classified as minimum security (Level 1) and on , it states that there were 630 men classified as minimum security (Level 1). These statistics indicate 6 that with a ratio of 5:178 there is a vocational program available for every 36 women. However, with a ratio of 8:630, there is a vocational program available for 79 men. Therefore the female inmates have a better opportunity to enroll in a vocational program as compared to the men. The DOC agrees with the recommendation that the department should expand the offering of vocational programs and enhance the type of vocational programs offered, so they are current, cutting edge and develop opportunities for post-release employment in today's job market. With the dedication of additional funding for staff and program development, the DOC is willing to explore these opportunities. The DOC recognizes the importance of enhancing vocational opportunities combined with educational opportunities for all incarcerated inmates, in order to impact and lower recidivism. The Department of Correction has been working with the Reentry Resource Center to determine the vocational and educational needs of men and women inmates through focus groups. There is a report being planned, which will guide future service agreements with community based organizations for targeted vocational an educational programming.

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Santa Clara County, through the Department of Correction, should keep statistics regarding the number of women waiting to participate in educational and vocational programs in order to evaluate where more classrooms and instructors are needed. copy of the original <b>DOC Response</b> ATTEST: thegan Dovie Clerk of the Board The DOC agrees with this finding and recommendation. Deputy Clerk Offenders are placed in in-custody educational programs based on a 'first come first served' basis. All educational programs are 'open entry and open exit', therefore offenders are not required to wait for a group or cohort to form before entering or exiting a program. Statistics for the last couple years indicate that most in-custody educational programs offered at Elmwood Women's facility have been operating at about 80% to capacity and therefore offenders who wish to participate in an educational program are able to do so immediately. The DOC agrees that by keeping accurate statistics, the DOC will be able to identify the additional resources needed. The Programs Unit has not received any additional funding for support staff since 2001. Although the unit has expanded and the services provided have increased exponentially with added responsibilities of the realignment population, the lack of support staff has hindered the unit from maintaining statistics on resources that are lacking. Programs support staff is only able to maintain statistics on active participants and track the progress and regress of these participants. The department tracks statistics on women inmates' participation in programs, and will continue to maintain the data and make it available upon request. With the augmentation of additional funding for Programs Support Staff, the DOC could maintain statistics for not only those inmates who are participating in programs but also those who are unable to participate due to certain barriers. This information would be beneficial in identifying and evaluating where more classrooms and instructors are needed. The department will collaborate more closely with the Office of Women's Policy and the Commission on the Status of women, as well as community partners, to find more resources to expand vocational programs for women and to provide statistics of participation and wait lists for educational and vocational programs. The department also plans to provide an off agenda report to the Board of Supervisors about the number of programs provided to women inmates and number of women participating in those programs. The foregoing instrument is a correct opy of the original ITTEST: Megan Doyle Clerk of the Board Date: SEP 1 5 2015 8