Napa County Grand Jury • 2023-2024 • Agency Response
Response to: Napa County Building Department: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing

Superior Court of Napa County*

Published: July 16, 2024 4 pages
View Original PDF

Findings and Recommendations 9 findings

F1 Page 1
The Jury found that Napa County has many dedicated people in county agencies and nonprofits who are working hard to help the elderly age gracefully. The City of Napa agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F2 Page 1
The Jury found that no one appears to be accountable for ensuring that all mandatory reporters know their responsibilities. Many do not have sufficient training to identify elder abuse. Many may not know the correct procedure for reporting elder abuse, exposing them to liability for failing to report. The City of Napa partially agrees with the finding. Employees of Napa Police Department are mandated reporters and we have a documented process for investigating and cross reporting elder abuse cases to Adult Protective Services (APS). Napa PD policy includes a supervisory expectation to report any deviations from the established policy. The City of Napa has no informed opinion about the accountability of mandated reporting requirements for the other agencies in Napa County.
No recommendations for this finding
F3 Page 2
The Jury found that the constellation of services available to the elderly is broad and complex making it a challenge for some people to find the resources they need. The City of Napa agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F4 Page 2
The Jury found that information sources and service delivery are often online. Ongoing efforts to get technology into the hands of the elderly is hampered by their lack of computer literacy resulting in a continuing need for in-person information and services. This finding is not within the purview of the City of Napa.
No recommendations for this finding
F5 Page 2
The Jury found that services such as Providence Home Health Napa "Caregiver Resources" and "Information and Assistance" exist to meet the needs of the elderly and their caregivers. These services appear to be underutilized. This finding is not within the purview of the City of Napa.
No recommendations for this finding
F6 Page 2
The Jury found that more outreach is needed to make the community aware of elder abuse and available services. The City of Napa agrees with this finding.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Page 3
Beginning July 1, 2024, law enforcement establish periodic training that reinforces how to recognize and report elder abuse. The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future. The State of California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (CA POST) has established training guidelines for law enforcement personnel as it relates to incidents of reported or discovered elder and dependent adult abuse. The initial training for Napa Police Officers is handled by the CA POST certified Basic Law Enforcement Academy, pursuant to California Penal Code §13515.295 (identified by CA POST as Learning Domains LD-7: Crimes Against Persons/Death Investigations and LD-37: People with Disabilities). Additional training comes in the form of participation in the POST certified Napa Police Department Field Training Program, through on-the-job-experience, and advanced officer training. The City of Napa Police Department has continued to offer training in this area in a capacity, but recognizes the importance of the Grand limited Jury's recommendation to establish a more formal program for periodic training on this topic. By August 1, 2024, the Napa Police Department Professional Standards and Training Unit will identify and assign a 2-hour CA POST multimedia refresher training to re-affirm a baseline level of knowledge for City of Napa Police Department sworn Police Officers and designated professional staff to ensure employees can properly identify and respond to reports of elder and dependent adult abuse in our community. This individual self-paced training will be 3 documented using the CA POST PASS system and completed by assigned on-duty personnel by September 30, 2024. Additionally, the City of Napa Police Department will ensure departmental policy is updated and clarified. By August 1, 2024, the Napa Police Department Professional Standards and Training Unit will identify dates to conduct in-person review of department policy (City of Napa Police Department General Orders §319 - Senior and Disability Victimization) and regional reporting procedures with on-duty sworn personnel. This in-person training will be documented using Napa Police Department training rosters and will be completed by October 31, 2024. The City of Napa thanks the Grand Jury for its service during the 2023-2024 term. We take our responsibility to address elder abuse in Napa very seriously and will continue to work with our partner agencies to address awareness and prevention. If you or the Grand Jury Foreperson have any questions regarding the City's response, please contact me. Respectfully Submitted, OTIC Steve Potter City Manager City of Napa Cc: Foreperson, 2023-2024 Napa County Grand Jury Sabrina Wolfson, Interim City Attorney Jennifer Gonzales, Police Chief 4
F7 Page 2
The Jury found that an affluent population makes Napa County particularly vulnerable to elder financial scams. Experts predict that emerging artificial intelligence technologies will make financial scams a bigger problem. The best deterrent to this type of fraud is for potential victims to have the capability and strategies to identify them beforehand. The City of Napa agrees with this finding.
No recommendations for this finding
F8 Page 2
The Jury found that the elderly population in Napa County is increasing. As the elderly population increases, the demand for resources needed to keep them safe will also increase. Additional social workers and mental health therapists will be needed in the county. The City of Napa partially agrees with this finding. City services aimed at providing resources to serve a growing elderly population are needed to keep our community members safe. The City of Napa has no informed opinion about the adequacy of social workers or mental health therapists to serve this population in Napa County.
No recommendations for this finding
F9 Page 3
The Jury found that law enforcement training on how to identify and report elder abuse is limited. The City of Napa partially agrees with this finding. The training for Police Officers starts in the State of California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (CA POST) Basic Law Enforcement Academy. Additional limited self-paced multimedia training and advanced investigative training is available through CA POST courses.
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.