Gran Jurado del Condado de Tulare
2017-2018
Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
4 hallazgos
F1:
The RTI Leadership Team was a collaborative effort with input from the Administration, the School Psychologist, an Intervention Teacher, Academic Coaches, A Resource Specialist, and an Intervention Program Coordinator. The RTI Process created by the Leadership Team adequately outlines the steps to be taken when addressing student behavioral issues.
F2:
The DRF does not allow for determining the timeline from the date of the incident, the date of review by the Principal, or the date of the notification to the Parents.
F3:
The Administrative RTI process outlined does not give notification to the parents in a timely manner. It could take up to 7 days for written notification of the DRF to be received via U.S. mail.
F4:
More than 200 DRF’s were delivered to the TCGJ for review. Additional information regarding disciplinary action was requested by the TCGJ on 13 DRF’s to determine adherence to the RTI “Behavior” Process. There is evidence to show that in some cases the Administration timeline for additional action has not been met. The additional Administrative actions taken on the 13 Referral Forms were lacking in details. CONCLUSION: The RTI Process created by the Leadership Team adequately outlines the steps to be taken when addressing student behavioral issues. The TCGJ considers the RTI “Behavior” Process to be a living document that should be updated to reflect process improvements. Improper timeliness and insufficient communications in the RTI Process could possibly lead to an unsafe environment.
Recomendaciones adicionales
2
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
The DRF should be revised to include a date line that indicates when the Principal is signing off and sending a copy of the referral to the parents. 26
R2:
Parental involvement in the RTI “Behavior” process to determine solutions to the student behavioral issues should be more immediate. REQUIRED RESPONSES: 1. Pleasant View School Board President 2. Superintendent of Pleasant View School District
Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
7 hallazgos
F1:
Female detainees are housed in 3 module units.
F2:
Inmates are responsible for their own behavior.
F3:
Corizon Health’s contract has recently been renewed by Tulare County Board of Supervisors.
F4:
Female inmates are provided with sanitary supplies, lactation supplies, and other necessary items.
F5:
TCSDDD strictly enforces hygienic requirements.
F6:
Pest control practices address the management of rodents, bedbugs, and other pests.
F7:
Inmates are allowed to work at the prison farm and kitchen to provide food for TCSDDD.
Hallazgos y recomendaciones aún no extraídos.
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Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
4 hallazgos
F1:
Housing assistance requires documentation, such as tax returns for income verification.
F2:
Documentation is difficult to obtain for necessary services.
F3:
Transportation passes are not readily accessible.
F4:
Access to services is often complicated or unobtainable due to a lack of necessary identification or documentation. CONCLUSION: The health and sanitation of the homeless could benefit from improved communication, cooperation, and coordination within the various support agencies. Transportation, health care, access to facilities, housing services, and assistance with applications for documentation and financial support could help lift people out of homelessness.
Recomendaciones adicionales
4
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
Increased direct outreach to the homeless should be provided.
R2:
Reduce difficulties for homeless to obtain housing.
R3:
Research possible funding sources for portable shower facilities and increased restroom access.
R4:
Investigate transportation accessibility to services and resources. REQUIRED RESPONSES: 1. Health and Human Services Department 2. Tulare County Board of Supervisors 3. Tulare County Association of Governments
Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
5 hallazgos
F1:
With the recent upgrade, TCAS can accomplish their mission and vision for expanded services.
F2:
During an unscheduled visit to the facility, the runs and cages were found to be kept clean and well maintained.
F3:
TCAS personnel are knowledgeable and dedicated to providing animal care and associated services. Approximately 10-20 volunteers are an integral part of maintaining routine operations.
F4:
TCAS is providing excellent services to Tulare County residents.
F5:
After four days at TCAS, feral cats may be euthanized. CONCLUSION: The operation and services provided by TCAS are continuously improving. Services are provided at a reasonable cost and in a timely manner. Areas of improvement include call response times, adoptions, and reduction of euthanasia, as reported by TCAS to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors.
Recomendaciones adicionales
1
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
Continue to explore improvement options at TCAS. REQUIRED RESPONSES: Tulare County Health and Human Services Director
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Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
7 hallazgos
F1:
KDMCED meets its administrative benchmark for timely median patient registration and triage according to the statistics presented by Kaweah Delta documents.
F2:
KDMCED is unable to meet its established benchmark of 204 minutes for “door to discharge” due to patient volume.
F3:
Forty to sixty percent of walk-in patients could be treated at other facilities because they are considered non-emergencies.
F4:
Patient volumes have increased substantially, leading to lengthier wait periods. The emergency facility was designed to accommodate 72,000 patients per year.
F5:
The waiting area is currently inadequate for the patient volume, but plans being enacted will expand the waiting area (i.e. temporary tent).
F6:
Pending main hospital admission or transfer, many patients are boarded in the emergency area until beds in the main hospital are available.
F7:
Kaweah Delta is expanding the amount of main hospital beds and facilitating transfers to other facilities to increase room availability for patients. CONCLUSION: The KDMCED has been serving the community for many years with limited resources and legal limitations. Community demand has outpaced the rate of facility expansion. Plans are in place and are being enacted to increase the facility capacity to help meet the needs of the community.
Recomendaciones adicionales
3
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
Continue to develop and improve an educational program to inform the community of other medical options for non-emergency care.
R2:
Continue with plan to open quick care area to assist with minor emergencies.
R3:
Continue with the planned expansion. REQUIRED RESPONSES: Kaweah Delta Healthcare District
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Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
5 hallazgos
F1:
With the passage of Proposition 36, the Tulare County Recovery Court program was implemented in 2001by the Tulare County Probation Department. This measure allowed non-violent drug possession offenders to qualify for probation in lieu of incarceration. Under this measure, if the defendant fails to complete this program or violates any conditions of probation, then probation can be revoked. The defendant may be required to serve jail time.
F2:
The passage of Proposition 47 in 2014 required that money saved as a result of this measure be spent on school truancy and dropout prevention, victim services, mental health, drug abuse treatments, and other programs designed to keep offenders out of prison and jail. This measure classifies petty theft, receiving stolen property and forging or writing bad checks of $950 or less as a misdemeanor offense.
F3:
Tulare County Probation Department and the Recovery Court: A. Tulare County Recovery Court is a 16 week outpatient drug rehabilitation program. Medi-Cal covers the $900 - $1000 outpatient drug rehabilitation program costs, while the defendant pays approximately $70 -$90 a month in drug testing for 16 weeks. The defendant then transitions to After Care and the costs for drug testing are approximately $50-$70 a month. If a defendant returns to drug rehabilitation for 16 weeks on a first or second probation violation, monthly drug testing frequency and costs will increase from 5-7 drug tests to 7-9 drug tests. B. Tulare County Recovery Court has 200-226 probationers at any one time. C. The Recovery Court Judge has the discretion on a third probation violation to allow a defendant to stay in Recovery Court, or to send the defendant to the more expensive Drug Court program. D. The Cost of Supervision for the Recovery Court program is a $20 per month fee, for each qualifying defendant.
F4:
Random Drug Testing and the third-party testing facilities: A. The Tulare County Probation Officer can check drug test results online through the AverHealth Drug Testing system. B. Probation violations include a missed test recorded as Failure To Appear (FTA). C. A positive drug test is a violation of probation. D. Drug testing is done every Friday at 8:30 a.m. in Visalia and on Thursday’s in Porterville at the AverHealth testing facilities.
F5:
Tulare County Probation Accounting and Collections Department: A. There are five Probation Claim Investigators, three Accounting Clerks, and one Supervisor in the TCPACD. They worked on approximately 30,000 accounts for fiscal year 2018 including both juvenile and adult probation cases. Approximately 20,000 were delinquent accounts. Approximately $9.4 million is attributed to unpaid adult probation obligations. B. Approximately one percent of debt obligations will be collected by the California Franchise Tax Board (CFTB). The CFTB collects by way of liens on defendant property, checking account or wage garnishments. There are two Probation programs serviced by the CFTB for Tulare County: a. Intercept Program including amounts more than $10 delinquent and no payments made in 30 days. b. Court Ordered Debt Collections including amounts of $100 or more delinquent and no payments made in 90 days. C. In Recovery Court, the defendant has two financial payment options: 1. Make a one- time payment of all court ordered restitution and other administrative costs, including any prior offenses. 2. Pay in installments. D. A defendant who claims he/she does not have the ability to pay monthly installment payments must complete the Financial Evaluation Form with TCPACD. A financial assessment will be completed which may modify an installment payment plan. E. TCPACD makes daily calls to defendants who are delinquent in their payments. They advise them that the case may be sent to the CFTB and wage garnishments and tax liens may be pursued. They do not advise defendants that delinquencies will be reported to the major credit bureaus. F. California state procedures are followed by the TCPACD to verify information and to apply monies on named accounts. CONCLUSION: TCPACD is meeting California State and local procedures pertaining to the collection of delinquent court ordered debts, restitutions, and fines.
Recomendaciones adicionales
2
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
Inform probationers that the TCPACD will report delinquent accounts to the national credit bureaus
R2:
TCPACD should conduct a feasibility study to determine what amount a single collector is able to recoup, and if additional collectors would increase collection rates. REQUIRED RESPONSES: 1. Tulare County Probation Department. 2. Tulare County Board of Supervisors.
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Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
4 hallazgos
F1:
Tulare County employees receiving public document requests are offered annual training on the CPRA.
F2:
Requests for records may be submitted to any department or agency within Tulare County, but all requests must go through the TCBOS Clerk’s Office as stated by agency personnel.
F3:
Two of the four CPRA requests received by the TCBOS Clerk’s Office did not meet the ten day requirement for responding to the request, either by informing the requestor that records would be produced or by providing an extension notification about this determination.
F4:
The county does not provide procedural information for CPRA requests. This information is available online. CONCLUSION: CPRA regulations were not consistently followed by the TCBOS Clerk’s Office.
Recomendaciones adicionales
3
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
Set up separate files for each CPRA request.
R2:
Establish a date-based tracking system for each CPRA request received.
R3:
Inform requestors of CPRA required procedures. REQUIRED RESPONSES: 1. Tulare County Board of Supervisors 2. Tulare County Chief Administrative Officer
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Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
3 hallazgos
F1:
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING ($91.8 Million) (DISCRETIONARY FUNDS) A. LOCAL FUNDS 1. Measure R Local $4,199,499 4.58% 2. Maintenance Assessment Districts 471,851 .05% B. STATE FUNDS 1. Local Transportation Funds 3,657,490 4.00% 2. Road Maintenance & Rehabilitation Account (4,570,058) (5.00%) 3. Highway User Tax Funds (Gas Tax) 10,805,973 11.8% THE ROADS OF TULARE COUNTY 17 C. FEDERAL FUNDS 1. Regional Surface Transportation Funds 1,000,000 1.1% 2. State Exchange Funds 987,784 1.1% 3. Forest Reserve Funds 100,000 0.1% (REIMBURSEABLE FUNDS) A. LOCAL FUNDS 1. Measure R Regional & Farm-to-Market Advance 19,757,920 21.5% 2. Developer Fees 132,000 0.1% B. STATE FUNDS 1. High Speed Rail 190,000 0.2% C. FEDERAL FUNDS 1. Highway Bridge Program 6,447,744 7.0% 2. Highway Safety Improvement Program 1,875,050 2.0% 3. Active Transportation Program 356,500 0.4% (REVENUE FROM SERVICES & RESERVES) A. Services to Other Departments 3,031,113 3.3% B. Reserves (includes obligated advances of $3.5m) 34,226,404 37.3%
F2:
MAINTENANCE TREATMENT EXPENDITURE OPTIONS A. Cost Per Mile: 1. *Overlay: (County Crews) = $180,000 per mile (Contracted) = $300,000 per mile ** *(Asphalt material placed by paver over 0.2 inch thick) **(Contracted work includes purchase and maintenance of specialized equipment) 2. *Blade Patching: (County Crews) Approximate Cost is $120,000 per mile *(Asphalt placed by equipment up to 0.2 inch thick) 3. Chip Seal, Slurry Seal, Black Seal: (County Crews) Approximate Cost is $25,000 per mile. B. Cost Per Day: 1. Hand Patching: (County Crews) Approximate Cost is $25,000 per day 2. Pothole Patching: (County Crews) Approximate Cost is $12,000 per day a) 2017 Maintenance and Repairs were completed by County Crews. • Over 300,000 potholes patched (averaging 99 per mile) • Over 300 other repairs completed • 5123 traffic signs maintained, installed, repaired or replaced • 524 miles of road striped • over 28,170 square feet of road stenciled 18 CONCLUSION: The Tulare County road maintenance system is a multi-faceted and complex operation, requiring extensive coordination efforts. While the contracted work is more expensive, the County can not justify the cost of purchasing and maintaining the necessary specialized equipment based on current needs, as contracted work includes purchase and maintenance of specialized equipment.
F3:
Highway User Tax Funds (Gas Tax) 10,805,973 11.8% THE ROADS OF TULARE COUNTY 17 C. FEDERAL FUNDS
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Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
4 hallazgos
F1:
Approval of the initiated resolution or petition for unification occurs when: A. A resolution is approved by the majority members of a city council, county board of supervisors, governing body of a special district, or a local agency formation commission. B. Within 120 days, following the first public hearing, the county committee on school district organization must grant or deny the resolution or petition. The county committee transmits the resolution or petition, report, and recommendation to the State Board of Education. C. The State Board of Education holds a public hearing and then approves or disapproves the resolution or petition. D. If approval is received, the county superintendent calls an election in the area determined by the State Board of Education.
F2:
A feasibility study must be done by a third party to ensure the following: A. The school districts affected by unifying must be financially viable after unification. B. Unification cannot result in racial or ethnic segregation. C. The state cannot be financially impacted by the unification by more than 10% of the existing school district’s budget. D. School districts seeking unification should have a minimum enrollment of 1500 students.
F3:
There can be substantial cost savings in: A. Administration B. Transportation C. Food Service D. Facility E. Custodial and maintenance
F4:
Salary schedules would incur significant cost increases because California law requires uniformcertificated employee salary schedules for years of training and years of experience. Normally, high school districts have higher pay schedules than elementary school districts. CONCLUSION: There is a procedure for unifying school districts that wish to be unified. Some school districts choose not to unify for specific reasons. The decisions to unify are made on a case-by-case basis. 40
Recomendaciones adicionales
1
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
All non-unified school districts are encouraged to research unification due to the potential for cost savings. REQUIRED RESPONSES: This investigation requires no response.
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Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
4 hallazgos
F1:
Statistics prove that when patrol aircraft is utilized, property crime and theft decrease, while apprehensions increase.
F2:
Surveillance equipment helps protect and limit infringement on individual civil rights, especially in heavily policed communities.
F3:
The TCSO has been working with numerous state and federal agencies to make Drone (UAV) units available to as many departments as possible.
F4:
UAVs can search a 20 acre field in a matter of minutes, rather than using 4 deputies, and spending hours looking for a victim or a suspect.
Recomendaciones adicionales
1
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
The Tulare County Grand Jury encourage TCSO to continue pursuing technological advancement in its operations. CONCLUSION: The TCSO is looked upon as the leader in surveillance techniques, and are well-equipped in current technology. REQUIRED RESPONSES: 1. Tulare County Sheriff Office. Disclaimer Grand Jury reports are based on documentary evidence and the testimony of sworn or admonished witnesses, not on conjecture or opinion. However, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing such evidence except upon specific approval of the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, or another judge appointed by the Presiding Judge (Penal Code Section 911, 924.1(a) and 929) Similarly, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing the identity of witnesses except on an order of the court for narrowly defined purposes (Penal Code Section 924.2 and 929) 22
Hallazgos & Recomendaciones
14 hallazgos
F1:
EOCSD does not have administrative policies, fiscal policies, personnel policies, or purchasing policies as required.
F2:
EOCSD failed to provide subpoenaed documents after a two week extension including: A. Policy and procedures manual B. Board bylaws C. Complete board meeting minutes for 2017 D. Procedures for billing and delinquent account collection E. District Resolution approved by the Tulare County Board of Supervisors to maintain bank accounts outside of the county treasurer
F3:
EOCSD failed to comply with the requirement of SB135 in selection of a treasurer.
F4:
The available office hours are inadequate to accommodate the needs of the community. EOCSD is not consistently adhering to the posted office hours.
F5:
According to the Tulare County Auditor’s records, EOCSD is delinquent in filing an audit for FYE 06-30-2016.
F6:
EOCSD does not have a General Manager.
F7:
The sole EOCSD employee is designated as an office manager. The office manager duties encompass some tasks of a General Manager.
F8:
There is limited understanding by the board members of employee duties performed. There is no established schedule for work hours or a system of tracking hours worked.
F9:
A site visit to the EOCSD office discovered no designated disabled parking.
F10:
Board meeting minutes received for 2017 indicate that previous meeting minutes were not approved
F11:
Agenda packets are not provided in a timely manner to board members.
F12:
The board of directors has not adopted rules or bylaws for conducting its meetings.
F13:
The EOCSD board consistently operates with fewer than five board members. Meetings have been cancelled for lack of a quorum.
F14:
EOCSD has not established bonding for their employee handling finances. CONCLUSION: Special districts with limited resources are often met with difficulties filling the required board seats. The Tulare County Board of Supervisors must be more proactive in discharging their supervisory duties over special districts with dysfunctional boards such as EOCSD.
Recomendaciones adicionales
8
No vinculadas a hallazgos específicos.
R1:
Hire a qualified general manager.
R2:
Divide financial and administrative duties among more than one employee.
R3:
Cross train board members in the operation of district functions.
R4:
Seek grant funding to become compliant with state regulations requiring all customers to have their water metered by 2020.
R5:
Petition the Tulare County Board of Supervisors to appoint new board members for EOCSD.
R6:
Contact the California Special District Association for education and guidance.
R7:
Investigate the feasibility of consolidating with other districts.
R8:
A forensic audit be conducted of EOCSD within six months. REQUIRED RESPONSES: 1. Tulare County Board of Supervisors (R1-R8) 2. East Orosi Community Services District Board President (R1-R8) 3. County of Tulare Auditor-Controller (R8) 4. LAFCO (R7)