Riverside County Grand Jury • 2000-2001 • Agency Response

Submittal to the Board of Supervisors County of Riverside, State of California Submittal Date: July 10, 2001 From:*

Published: July 10, 2001 7 pages
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Findings and Recommendations 8 findings

F1
To complete staffing at all facilities, including the newer ones, an extraordinary number (283) of approved openings for Group Counselors now exists. The Probation Department is currently short of recruiting and processing personnel to bring these new employees on board in a timely manner. Respondent disagrees partially with the finding. RESPONSE: The opening of the Indio Juvenile Hall Expansion, the anticipated opening of the Southwest Juvenile Hall, and normal attrition, does create an extraordinary number of group counselor positions to be filled in the next six to 12 months. The Board of Supervisors has approved the addition of four (4) human resource positions for Probation, as requested, in addition to a Senior H.R. Analyst for the County Human Resources Department dedicated to facilitating recruitment and hiring for the Probation Department. FINDING:
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
Accelerate the hiring process so that all juvenile facilities are fully staffed to meet the requirements of the Board of Corrections. The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. RESPONSE: Probation is actively working with County Human Resources to accelerate the hiring process. These steps include on-line recruitment, more frequent testing, additional Human Resources and Probation staff for pre-background screening, centralized panel interview teams, and background investigation. Human Resources and Probation are also examining the possibility of on-line testing to increase the qualification level of those candidates actually referred to Probation for further screening and processing. RECOMMENDATION:
F2
New units and/or facilities take priority for assignment of available personnel. Until a sufficient number of new people are hired, staff is transferred or borrowed from existing units. Those units are then subject to closure and juveniles must be moved to wherever space permits. Respondent agrees with the finding. FINDING:
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Hire the following staff to expeditiously process applicants: One Supervising Probation Officer to handle recruitment, a. screening, selection, and background investigation. Response to 2001 Grand Jury Report One Senior Probation Officer and one Group Counselor to b. assist in implementation of recruiting plans. Additionally, these individuals will serve in the selection process to interview and screen job applicants and assist in background investigations. The recommendation has been implemented. RESPONSE: On April 17, 2001 the Board of Supervisors approved the recommended positions above. RECOMMENDATION:
F3
Section 1321, Article 3, Title 15, of the Board of Corrections Regulations specified minimum staffing requirements which must be met before a new facility is opened. In addition, restrictions on the $5,000,000 grant received for the Southwest Juvenile Hall, required that it be opened within 90 days of completion. Respondent agrees with the finding. Response to 2001 Grand Jury Report FINDING: The first step in hiring a new Group Counselor is the written state test. Riverside
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Research and implement additional advertising avenues to reach more potential employees. The recommendation has been implemented. RESPONSE: County Human Resources is using on-line job postings and is assisting the Department's recruiter at job fairs and other candidate sessions. RECOMMENDATION:
F4
County administers this test quarterly. San Bernardino County has weekly testing, which provides a steady stream of potential employees entering the system. For every 100 people who begin the process in Riverside, only 13 will eventually be hired. Thus, to hire 283 Group Counselors currently needed, approximately 2,175 candidates must be recruited. Respondent agrees with the finding. FINDING:
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
Administer the state test weekly. The recommendation requires further analysis. RESPONSE: The State test, controlled by the California Board of Corrections, is not available on-line, and apparently cannot be made available. As an alternative, County Human Resources and Probation are exploring alternative, but effective, on-line testing methodologies. For a test period, the state and alternative tests will be administered simultaneously to assure that the outcomes are dependable. The Department will apprise the Board of results in the quarterly budget report. RECOMMENDATION:
F5
To address this critical need for recruiting and hiring the required additional personnel, the Probation Department recently submitted a request to the Board of Supervisors for 3 senior people and one clerk. Only the clerk was approved. Respondent disagrees with the finding. RESPONSE: The four (4) additional human resource positions requested by the Probation Department were approved by the Board of Supervisors. FINDING:
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
Develop new juvenile outreach programs aimed at reaching the "at risk" young people. Response to 2001 Grand Jury Report The recommendation has not been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. RESPONSE: The AB 1913 program was designed with sixteen (16) outreach teams to serve this "at risk" population. Due to start functioning in July, 2001, the program is specifically designed to provide police, probation, and therapist services at designated schools. Another probation officer will be assigned to each of the 16 police departments to provide prevention and early intervention services for minors referred by police, parents or schools for pre- delinquent and early delinquent activities. This officer will attempt to divert the minor and family immediately into effective treatment services. The Department will report on the progress of the program to the Board of Supervisors in the quarterly budget report. RECOMMENDATION:
F6
Many juveniles in detention have a history of methamphetamine use which may have serious after effects on the brain and central nervous system. The abuse of alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs also continues to create problems. Section 1321 requires that "sufficient" mental health staff be available so that other staff not be diverted from supervising minors. Respondent agrees with the finding. FINDING:
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Assign additional mental health providers, where needed, to meet the "sufficiency" requirements of Section 1321. The recommendation requires further analysis. RESPONSE: The County Mental Health Department provides mental health treatment staff to all of the County's juvenile institutions. Consultation with the Board of Corrections failed to yield a definition of "sufficient." It appears that "sufficient" is interpreted at the local level. Therefore, this recommendation will require further analysis and consultation between Probation and County Mental Health. The Departments will report back to the Board of Supervisors in the quarterly budget report on compliance with "sufficiency" requirements of Section 1321. RECOMMENDATION:
F7
There is no inpatient drug and alcohol treatment facility in Riverside County for juveniles. Whenever such placement is ordered, the juvenile must be sent to an Orange or Los Angeles County facility, or to private placement, which is extremely costly and can be located far from the minor's home. Family involvement is difficult under such circumstances. Respondent agrees with the finding. Response to 2001 Grand Jury Report FINDING:
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Evaluate the feasibility of establishing an inpatient drug and alcohol treatment facility in Riverside County for juveniles requiring professional care. The recommendation requires further analysis. . . Response to 2001 Grand Jury Report RESPONSE: The few residential substance treatment facilities for juveniles that did exist in Riverside County have closed within the last two years. Although some private firms have indicated an interest in reestablishing treatment service, an analysis of the potential population and reasons for past facility closings need to be evaluated to determine if another facility is viable in Riverside County. The Department(s) will provide an analysis of the potential population for a residential drug and alcohol treatment facility for juveniles in Riverside County and its likely viability to the Boar d of Supervisors in the quarterly budget report. F:\users\dgRANT\gJURY\fuvprob.do
F8
As a result of working parents who commute long distances and the increase in single parent families, many juveniles receive little or no supervision at home. Consequently, many high risk "latch key kids" within Riverside County are coming in contact with law enforcement and juvenile probation services at an earlier age. Respondent disagrees partially with the finding. RESPONSE: Hard data on the impact of commuting, working parents and the "latch key" phenomenon is not readily available. The general wisdom is that "latch key" kids are at higher risk of delinquency and substance abuse. The AB 1913 program, which is due to open in summer 2001, should give us an opportunity to better analyze the "latch key" phenomenon and perhaps provide services to intervene.
No recommendations for this finding

* This report's PDF did not contain easily extractable text and required Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for analysis. There may be minor errors in the extracted findings and recommendations due to OCR limitations with scanned documents.