Compliance Report: Following up on 2022 and 2023-24 recommendations

Recommendations 18

• R1
  City of Monte Sereno
• R2
  Town of Los Altos Hills
• R3
  Town of Los Gatos Follow-up Because compliance was previously verified, no follow up was necessary. A HOUSE DIVIDED: CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL AND CITY STAFF Summary of the 2022 Report The 2022 Civil Grand Jury (Civil Grand Jury) investigated the behavior of City of Cupertino (City) council members toward City staff and found that council members interfered in the day-to-day operations of the City and behaved inappropriately toward the City Manager and staff, including, but not limited to, routine disrespect and the inclination to doubt the accuracy of the staff’s work. The behavior by certain council members toward staff directly violated the City’s ordinances relating to the council-manager form of government under which the City operates. Furthermore, high turnover in key management and leadership positions caused the City to lose employees with significant capabilities and experience, which adversely impacted the City’s ability to effectively operate. Additionally, the City left unaddressed key findings and recommendations by its internal auditor, Moss Adams LLP (Auditor), such as deficiencies in internal financial controls and existing operating policies and procedures. The Civil Grand Jury made eight recommendations to address the findings. These recommendations include developing good governance training and hiring a consultant to help improve staff morale and the work environment. To oversee ethics violations, one recommendation called for the establishment of an independent ethics commission. Additional recommendations include implementation of a work plan from a May 2022 Fiscal Policy Inventory and Gap Analysis Report from the City’s Auditor, as well as the continued use of annual internal audits. Agency Response In a response sent in February 2023, the City stated it had already addressed two of the eight recommendations and planned to complete or identify opportunities for improvement for the remaining recommendations within the following two years. A link to the agency response from 2023 is below:
• R4
  City of Cupertino In a follow-up response to the 2023-24 Civil Grand Jury, the City stated that an investigator was hired to validate the findings from the original report that led to actions to improve staff morale. (Civil Grand Jury, Continuity Report, 2024). Follow-up In response to a request from the 2025-26 Civil Grand Jury, the City provided documentation detailing the City’s progress. Multiple levels of training in good governance have been provided to staff and council members and an external Enterprise Risk Assessment Report from 2024 details efforts made to identify and address issues of governance. A schedule of the work plan was provided showing significant progress in almost all areas of governance with the remaining items scheduled to be completed -26 fiscal year. Although an independent ethics commission was not established, the City reported that it completed improvements to its ethics policy and procedures manual adopted in March 2024. Finally, facilitators were retained to support conflict resolution and reinforce effective governance in 2023 with further training in 2025. CONSERVATORSHIP: A CASE FOR ZEALOUS ADVOCACY Summary of the 2022 Report The 2022 Civil Grand Jury (Civil Grand Jury) investigated the legal services that the County of Santa Clara Public Defender Office (PDO) provides to conservatees in probate conservatorships. A conservatorship is a legal mechanism in which a court appoints a conservator to manage the finances and/or personal affairs of an individual, known as a conservatee. Conservatees constitute a very vulnerable part of the Santa Clara County community because they have mental or physical limitations. It is vital that the PDO be prepared to fulfill its role of zealous advocacy. The conservatee loses control of the way they live and control of their assets once a conservator is appointed. At the time of the report, the PDO had been appointed to represent proposed conservatees in approximately 300 new petitions per year. Additionally, the PDO was the attorney of record for approximately 3,000 probate conservatees. There was one attorney to handle all the probate cases, although most were not actively monitored once they had been adjudicated. Through its investigation, the Civil Grand Jury learned there are no case management standards, established performance standards, or established training or monitoring programs. The Civil Grand Jury made 13 recommendations, including:
• R5
  Developing a tracking system, data analytics, case reviews, and management;
• R6
  Researching ideal caseloads and staffing required;
• R7
  Developing cross-training;
• R8
  Creating performance standards and quality management standards;
• R9
  Consulting with a third party to evaluate current policies and processes for conservatorship defense and develop a strategic plan for best practices. Agency Response The PDO agreed with 12 recommendations and partially agreed with one recommendation. It reported in February 2023 that some of the work to improve its case management system was already underway, that it had started evaluating additional data tracking categories to establish metrics, and that it had requested additional attorney and social worker staffing in the 2023-24 budget. A link to the agency response from 2023 is below:
• R10
  Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors The 2023-24 Civil Grand Jury followed up with the PDO, which requested that it be allowed to revisit two of the recommendations after January 1, 2024 (Civil Grand Jury, Continuity Report, 2024). The budget request for one additional attorney and one additional social worker was not granted. As a result, the PDO stated that implementation of three recommendations had not occurred. The PDO could not provide a new implementation date at that time. Follow-up The 2025-26 Civil Grand Jury requested that the PDO provide documentation regarding the following:
• R11
  Use of data analytics to establish metrics to track data since January 2024;
• R12
  An internal audit and report of adjudicated case;
• R13
  The adoption of a proactive case management model;
• R14
  A user manual with procedures for implementing and evaluating performance and quality standards for conservatorship attorneys;
• R15
  The contract for a third-party evaluation of existing policies and procedures. In its response, the PDO noted that it had initially anticipated expanding its probate team to include multiple attorneys and support staff. It noted that due to sustained budget reductions, its probate team consists of one senior attorney and one paralegal with part-time support from the social work team. As a result, the PDO has been unable to implement many of the recommendations including procuring a contract for a third-party evaluation, completing an internal audit of adjudicated cases, or providing a proactive case management model. It does not have a revised timeline because many of the items are contingent on improved fiscal conditions. However, the PDO now:
• R16
  Has a “thorough, detailed, and user-friendly manual” created by a retired public defender and probate specialist;
• R17
  Provides a training to San Andreas Regional Center, which provides services to limited conservatees to improve communications;
• R18
  Is in the process of tailoring a new database system to the needs of the probate team, which should allow data tracking by May 1, 2026. CONFLICTS Members of the Civil Grand Jury are conflicted from a Civil Grand Jury investigation if, as a result of prior or current employment or associations, investment in public or private enterprise, financial interest, bias, or personal relationship, they are subject to recusal from participating in a matter before the Civil Grand Jury. One juror recused themselves from this matter. REFERENCES Bibliography 2023-24 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury. Continuity Report. June 10, 2024. (https://santaclara.courts.ca.gov/system/files/civil/continuity-report.pdf). Accessed April 17, 2026. Moss Adams LLP. “City of Cupertino Enterprise Risk Assessment, May 23, 2024.” May 23, 2024. (https:// www.cupertino.gov/files/assets/city/v/1/departments/documents/finance/ budgeting-amp-finance/internal-audit/internal-audit-plan/2024-enterprise-risk- assessment-report.pdf). Accessed April 2, 2026. San José Unified School District. n.d. (https://www.sjusd.org/). Accessed April 16, 2026. San José Unified School District. March 27, 2025. “Naloxone (Narcan) Implementation Plan.” (https://www.sjusd.org/resources/health-information). Accessed April 16, 2026. Williams, James R. “Resolution Relating to County Counsel Review of Local Ballot Measure Questions.” February 28, 2023. (https://sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx? Type=30&ID=183902). Accessed April 2, 2026. This report was ADOPTED by the 2025-2026 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury on this 12th day of May, 2026. ______________________________ Dinesh Ramde Foreperson