Jail Diversion in Santa Barbara County.*

The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office, Santa Barbara County District Attorney, Santa Barbara County Public Defender, Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness, and Santa Barbara County Probation Department need a consolidated criminal justice data system. The Santa Barbara County District Attorney disagrees wholly. The County's Criminal Justice Data Committee (CJDC) includes the Santa Barbara County District Attorney, the Probation Department, the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office, Santa Barbara County Public Defender, Santa Barbara Behavioral Wellness, and the County of Santa Barbara Superior Court as participating partners. Together, the CJDC have developed and worked to establish the Integrated Justice Information System (IJIS). The IJIS is a platform that allows each agency to share, analyze and report data amongst the participating partner agencies. The IJIS has refined a process for matching data from disparate agency systems, which are otherwise not compatible. This system is both flexible and efficient, as it allows agencies to request only the data required to work on a particular project, and outlines limitations on using that data to ensure each agency's confidentiality requirements and regulations are met. Historically, each of the agencies involved in the CJDC have their own caseload and data management systems, which were put in place to meet the specific needs of that agency. Data systems are often highly specialized, developed with the unique needs of agencies in mind, and are constantly evolving due to changes in each respective department. Often times, they are proprietary, making interfacing complicated. It would take years to plan and consolidate all these essential and specialized systems into a single system - if a compatible method of doing so could even be found – and the reality is, such a system would likely be obsolete before it was even implemented. In addition, the cost over time would be prohibitive, and a waste of resources and taxpayer funds for something that can be accomplished in a more efficient manner. The existing IJIS and the Master Name Index (MNI) project of the Criminal Justice Data Committee (CJDC) allows the matching of client data housed in the individual systems and preparation of reports based on matched data. This system has been used to develop the data dashboards and meet the data needs of the departments who are participating. Each agency is responsible for its own data dictionary, and is able to define the specific data that will be shared. This mechanism is more compatible with information technology best practices, which allows agencies to protect their client data as required by individual agency mandates, and yet match data where that data exists and can be shared. LOMPOC OFFICE Ш SANTA BARBARA OFFICE SANTA MARIA OFFICE 115 Civic Center Plaza 1112 Santa Barbara Street 312-D East Cook Street Santa Maria, CA 93454 Lompoc, CA 93436 Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Tel: (805) 737-7760 Tel: (805) 568-2300 Tel: (805) 346-7540 Fax: (805) 737-7732 Fax: (805) 346-7588 Fax: (805) 568-2453

The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office, Santa Barbara County District Attorney, Santa Barbara County Public Defender, Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness, and Santa Barbara County Probation Department need a data analyst to organize and retrieve data for a consolidated criminal justice data system. The Santa Barbara County District Attorney partially agrees. As discussed in our response to