Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury Rainbow the Reports

The grand jury’s legal obligation to inquire into the condition and management of each local detention facility within the county was fulfilled by touring the facilities, making general inquiries to the staff, and reviewing recent regulatory reports. vi Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury 2024–2025 SANTA CRUZ COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY Photo Credits: Cover picture by Shmuel Thaler / Santa Cruz Sentinel, Picture of Jurors is a personal photo. 2024-2025 Consolidated Final Report 1 “Climate Action” Demands Outreach . County staff alone cannot meet our County’s climate goals. Summary Santa Cruz County, like all other counties in California, was tasked with specific climate action goals by the State of California legislature in 2016 (Senate Bill 32) and again in 2022 (Assembly Bill 1279). The County has responded with proposed written actions that will advance the stated climate goals. But making a meaningful dent in those goals requires citizen cooperation. The County has conducted minimal to no outreach to the community and has failed to achieve widespread citizen engagement in the effort to mitigate climate change, specifically in reducing the production of greenhouse gases (GHG) caused by vehicle emissions. It is crucial to have increased citizen involvement in implementing climate action goals for the benefit of all. The Santa Cruz Grand Jury (the Jury) encourages the County’s Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience (OR3) to engage with the citizens of Santa Cruz County to increase the community’s understanding of the goals and gain the community’s cooperation in reducing GHG’s so that the County can achieve the larger goals established by the State of California. Climate Action Demands Outreach published June 2, 2025 Page 1 of 14 2 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury Table of Contents Background 3 Scope and Methodology 4 Investigation 5 Storymap Website Created for Public Use 5 Other Public Information Sources 6 Reaching out to John Q. Public 8 Conclusion 8 Findings 9 Recommendations 10 Required Responses 10 Invited Responses 10 Definitions 11 Sources 11 References 11 Websites 13 Site Visits 14 Climate Action Demands Outreach published June 2, 2025 Page 2 of 14 2024-2025 Consolidated Final Report 3

“Everybody knows” drunk driving is dangerous, yet we still mount campaigns to raise awareness. “Everybody knows” that wood houses burn down in fires, yet fire departments still develop websites about fire-wise landscaping. And “everybody knows” that gasoline-fueled cars emit pollutants. Unfortunately, to date, the County has no public campaign to directly address this largest pollutant source in the county. Passenger vehicle use is the largest single polluter shown in the CAAP. The goal given by the State of California to the County covers all emissions. Yet the Jury was told that Outreach was not the County’s job.[3] [5] As currently assigned, the responsibility for achieving CAAP goals rests with the County OR3. Climate Action Demands Outreach published June 2, 2025 Page 8 of 14 2024-2025 Consolidated Final Report 9 The County has admitted that it cannot meet its state-mandated climate emission reduction goals without the cooperation of the community at large. Since climate change represents an existential threat to all citizens, the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury urges the County to reprioritize climate Outreach.

We have evaluated the outstanding progress made by our local government towards improving operations. When the agencies accept the recommendations, follow through and meet their expressed commitments, our community benefits from increased government transparency and accountability. 2025 Findings, Recommendations, and Commendations

The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury believes that the public and the professionals, both private and on staff, will benefit from a more customer-focused and efficient process for obtaining building permits. With that objective in mind, the 2024-2025 Santa Cruz County Grand Jury respectfully submits the following findings and recommendations.

The main function of California’s Civil Grand Juries is to promote transparency and accountability within departments and agencies of local government. The following recommendations from the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury will help the Watsonville Police Department more effectively and efficiently engage with the people of Watsonville. This will reduce trauma for those cited for minor infractions and the other community members involved and will also improve relations with the community. Ongoing and straightforward communication between officers and the people they serve leads to officers being seen as positive role models and prevents crime. Handcuffing and Transport published June 18, 2025 Page 9 of 17 72 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury

Human trafficking does occur in Santa Cruz County, but goes largely unrecognized and unreported. Lack of data regarding human trafficking activity, lack of collaboration among stakeholders, insufficient training, and lack of compliance with state and local laws leave us in the dark as to the prevalence of human trafficking. As a result, the issue is not being adequately addressed, and the trafficking problem will continue unabated and possibly increase, unless proactive measures are taken. The Jury is hopeful that recommendations in this report to address the scourge of human trafficking in our community will be seriously considered and adopted. Reducing Human Trafficking published June 30, 2025 Page 18 of 28 98 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury

C1. The Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury commends our County CISO for regularly attending the semi-annual conference of CCISDA (California County Information Services Directors Association). The frequent exchange of information and the comparison of experiences between counties is very helpful. In addition to leading the Consortium, the CISO also now leads an internal group involving IT, the Sheriff’s office, District Attorney, Human Services, and other offices as needed. C2. The City of Santa Cruz remains committed to strengthening its cybersecurity resilience framework and continuously improving its workforce strategies and response capabilities. The Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury commends the City of Santa Cruz for protecting the community by prioritizing its Information Technology Department including hiring a Cybersecurity IT Manager. We also commend the City of Santa Cruz for successfully creating a comprehensive Cybersecurity Plan. C3. The Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury commends the City of Scotts Valley for protecting the local community by hiring a local Scotts Valley firm for administering its Cybersecurity framework and response capabilities. Honoring Commitments published June 17, 2025 Page 17 of 24 32 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury C4. The Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury commends the Sheriff's Office for the services provided to the women at Blaine Street since reopening in 2023. Blaine Street is the minimum security women’s facility in Santa Cruz. Earning the privilege to move from the Main Jail to Blaine Street gives the women a sense of self-worth and pride in their accomplishments. They are appreciative of the vast services offered at Blaine Street and take advantage of these programs to better themselves. The evidence of support for one another as women is a result of the incredible staff, and the programs and services offered. C5. The Santa Cruz Civil Grand Jury commends the Sheriff’s Office for recognizing the need for a dedicated dental clinic and dental services at the Rountree facility location. The benefits are indeed significant for all involved. C6. The Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury commends the Public Defender’s Office for providing funding for holistic care. C7. The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury commends the Santa Cruz County’s Behavioral Health Division for effectively improving access to care, and promoting the mental well-being of our community. C8. The Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury commends County Behavioral Health for providing 24/7/365 mobile crisis response services. Also notable, as part of the Crisis Now Innovation Project, Behavioral Health is conducting ongoing evaluation of current services. The goal is to identify gaps in the crisis continuum of care and develop recommendations to address those gaps.

C1. The Santa Cruz County Grand Jury believes that the management of the Watsonville Police Department is truly concerned about the safety of everyone in Watsonville. This is demonstrated by their desire to protect the vulnerable from harm and treat everyone with respect. (F6) Handcuffing and Transport published June 18, 2025 Page 11 of 17 74 Santa Cruz County Civil Grand Jury