Photo by Adrianne Rainwater © Amador County Civil Grand Jury

Conclusions 2

• CL1 Page 42
  In the Introduction the question was posed, “Should the voters of Amador County have full confidence in the election process as implemented by our County election officials 25 Election Process Review and, consequently, full confidence in the certified outcomes of our County's elections?” After an in-depth look at the processes now in place in Amador County and the State of California, we believe the answer is a definite “yes.” This investigation into the essential elements of a fair election, enumerated earlier in this report, supports this conclusion.
• CL2 Page 70
  The Grand Jury investigation unearthed a number of problems and facts. Upon hearing the original complaint, the Grand Jury expected that this could be a dispute between competing organizations, with one party upset over losing out on County funding. As facts unfolded though, the focus shifted. There is no law forbidding the County from deciding to send contracts to another provider, as long as that provider has all of the qualifications required by State and Federal laws before providing those services. The County, observing the lawful requirements of service provision, could change providers at will, as long as there are no gaps in service and the new provider can adjust to the new demands (again a service gap restriction). The County established a policy of fair bidding and, as such, is doing what the citizens would want of the County – purchase wisely, bid competitively. Amador County, with cooperation of Tuolumne County, solved the problem of requiring too many specialists’ positions to handle programs mandated by law by creating a JPA. The JPA serves many functions beneficial to the counties it represents. Services can theoretically be provided at a lower cost per capita. Using a JPA allows the counties to manage funding shortfalls and decrease or increase of demand. Internal problems, whether a personnel issue or policy problem, are easier to resolve with a JPA answering to a board including supervisors from both counties. Internal problems with a private contractor, again in the area of behavioral, social and mental health, are much more difficult to detect, intervene, and solve. Amador County participated in the formation of the ATCAA JPA, in which services are very robust, and the operating area is very large. It is designed efficiently, with one Executive Director, and other directors and managers who are relied upon to run the day-to-day operations. For over 30 years, this JPA has existed and not seen aberrant behavior from employees who are trained, and work, in an industry in which clinical and behavioral dignity is a must. The JPA and its board were in the process of conducting and completing their investigation and disposition in a personnel matter, when a County director came to the conclusion that he had all the information and determined the process was being hindered by incompetence and apathy. 49 Health and Human Services Contracts Second and third hand information seemed to be the rule on both sides. Much to the discredit of Amador County, the HHS Director obtained all of his information secondhand through Principal-1, trusting that all accounts would not be subjective. The trained clinicians, behavioral health, and social service employees of our County got involved and made decisions on incomplete information. Personal assessments were made, wedges were driven, and ultimately a group of dissenters from within the JPA were given a green light. It is something to note that persons who were to solve petty problems between rash parties, are now entities of rash parties with petty problems. Nexus is a viable entity today, providing services to the citizens of multiple counties. It must be recognized that the very individuals which were providing services at ATCAA, have continued to grow in experience and are now providing those same services at Nexus. Nexus is not just a body of persons who subverted and split from the JPA, they are a private company with many employees, serving the needs of our citizens. They enjoy a reputation for hard work, and their regard for their clients has not been damaged.

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.