APD Gender Analysis Appendices
Adult Probation Department
GENDER ANALYSIS
2001
APPENDICES
1. Criminal Justice Treatment Network For Women
4. Crime Prevention Act of 2000
Appendix 1: CRIMINAL JUSTICE TREATMENT NETWORK FOR WOMEN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Network Unit is an 18-month voluntary or Court mandated program for women who have been sentenced to probation for drug and alcohol related offenses.
The population is drawn from women of all backgrounds who are:
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18 years or older
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Sentenced to felony probation in the City andCounty of San Francisco;
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On probation or parole for a substance abuse or related offense which requires substance abuse treatment;
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Probationers cannot have a serious history of violent offenses.
The Network Unit has become an integral part of the Adult Probation Department. The Network has provided case management and substance abuse training to probation staff. The Interim Project Director is a Supervising Adult Probation Officer who reports directly to a Division Director in the Department. The Director is required to attend and participate in staff meetings and is a part of the Administrative and Management teams. Having a supervisor in this position has brought greater continuity and closer partnership between the Program and the Adult Probation Department.
The Network has facilitated presentations with the Adult Probation Department as well as other criminal justice and community agencies. The Network will continue to give presentations to community based agencies pertaining to women issues.
SUCCESSES OF THE NETWORK PROGRAM:
Supervising women towards successful completion of probation.
The Network staff has received extensive clinical and substance abuse training, which has afforded them the ability to address the needs of their probationers. Because of their knowledge and ability to work successfully with this complex and difficult population, on average, state prison sentences for Network probationers are significantly lower than other female probationers in the probation department. Further, their knowledge on the subject of substance abuse continues to be an invaluable resource to the other probation officers in the department.
Helping women make healthy choices for themselves.
The medical, social and psychological factors reported by Network women indicated there has not been significant change in these factors. However when the women meet with their case managers on a BI-weekly basis they are given guidance and support to assist them in making appropriate decisions regarding their lifestyle.
Comprehensive case management.
The case management component of the Network that was implemented has been so successful that the Adult Probation Department has adopted the model and has begun to implement it within the Department.
Providing assistance to women to utilize substance treatment.
The Network continues to collaborate with the substance abuse and mental health community. Women in the Network are afforded the opportunity to participate in the POWER program, which is an educational substance abuse program within the Adult Probation Department. Most recently, seven Network women graduated from the POWER Program. Periodically the Network staff provides training and assistance to the POWER probationers.
Providing assistance in obtaining employment, training and education.
Network case managers continue to strengthen their relationships with agencies in the community such as the Northern California Service League, Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, Private Industry Council and San Francisco City College. Many of the Network probationers have been afforded the opportunity to participate in programs offered by these agencies.
Continuing the unification process of women with their families.
In collaboration with the Department of Human Services, the Network has been able to provide case management services to women who are in jeopardy of losing parental rights of their children. Another component of services offered by the Network in conjunction with the Department of Human Services is the Kinship Program. This program provides services for caregivers that have temporary custodial responsibility for the children of Network probationers while they are incarcerated.
CASE ASSIGNMENT
Telecommuters are assigned custody cases as a first priority. Officers are able to interview probationers in jail and then complete their investigation and write the report from their home office. Out of custody probationers may also be assigned to telecommuters as necessary. In that case the officer would meet the client at the office to do the interview.
SUPERVISORY OVERSIGHT
Supervisors oversee the telecommuting program in a number of ways. After an officer is selected to participate in the program, the supervisor provides the officer with an agreement and a safety checklist. The officer will review and sign the agreement. The officer then must set up his/her home office. When that has been completed the supervisor will make an inspection of the premises to make sure that all of the guidelines have been followed. When the supervisor is satisfied, he/she will sign off on the agreement. After that supervisors are required to make annual visits to the home office. Also, under the agreement, a supervisor can make a visit with 24 hours notice to the employee.
Officers agree to maintain their home office to conform to all the necessary safety standards. They must have a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, and a fire protection plan. The equipment must be maintained and kept current. Aisles and walkways must be clear and unobstructed.
Officers must be available from 8 am to 5 p.m. They must respond promptly to requests from the office/supervisor. Only certain files and information may be taken home. Sensitive documents are to be returned to the Department for disposal. They should not be thrown in the household trash.
Officers come to the office to pick up their assignments, read and sign their reports, and attend unit meetings. They also conduct interviews as necessary in the office. Officers also must perform the duties of the officer of the day. From time to time they may be asked to be back up supervisor.
SURVEY OF INVESTIGATING OFFICERS
The audit division of the Controllers Office has recently conducted a survey of all officers. Here are the results from the Investigation Division. The average time to prepare a persistence report is 8.2 hours. When asked what respondents liked about being a persistence officer, the opportunity to telecommute was high on the list. Indeed, only 3 investigating officers have expressed no interest in telecommuting. It is not unusual for an officer to transfer into investigations, become a telecommuter, and experience a renewed interest in the field of probation.
One frustration expressed by telecommuting officers in the survey was that they had problems with out of custody probationers keeping their appointments. However, they felt that the ability to work at home outweighed the problem.
Appendix 4: Crime Prevention Act of 2000
The Crime Prevention Act of 2000 (Proposition 36) focuses on treatment not punishment for individuals convicted of drug-related offences who are eligible under the statute. Upon conviction and following assessment, the Court will sentence the Proposition 36 client to treatment as a condition of probation. The San Francisco Department of Public Health is the lead agency for Proposition 36. Community Substance Abuse Services (CSAS) oversees the administration of publicly funded substance abuse services for San Francisco.
Assessment, placement, monitoring and reporting functions will be administered by the Treatment Access Program unit of CSAS. Funds allocated to Proposition 36 are deposited into the Substance Abuse Crime Prevention Trust Fund.
A report released from the Sentencing Project, a non-profit group in Washington, DC that seeks alternatives to prison, examined female incarceration in Minnesota, New York and California and found that among other things:
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The number of women imprisoned since 1980 has nearly doubled the male population.
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Women of color are the majority of the women who get jail time for drug offenses.
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Two-thirds of incarcerated women have children under the age of 18.
Notable is that the Executive Director of the Human Rights Institute of Columbia University's Law School has summarized that increased jailing of Black women further disrupts family and community ties and, families particularly children suffer collateral damage when a mother is incarcerated. Based upon the statistics collected of women serviced by the Network program regarding employment, ethnicity, education, and children, the Adult Probation Department agrees with this observation and believes that the unfortunate consequences on families and the community of persons being incarcerated apply to all people regardless of ethnicity or gender. The increasing number of women being incarcerated begs for an alternative to incarceration such as Proposition 36.
Budgeting for the proposed Treatment Network-Proposition 36 Unit has been estimated to be $538,352 based on current average salary levels and fringe benefits for eight full time employees: one (1) supervisor, six (6) Deputy Probation Officers, and one (1) Senior Clerk Typist. The Proposition 36 steering committee has recommended two full-time positions (FTEs) to implement Proposition 36 for the Adult Probation Department to be paid from state funds allocated in January by the State for Proposition 36. With the termination of the Network program hanging in the balance, the department is seeking additional funding to support the following positions:
Supervising Probation Officer -8434
(4) Deputy Probation Officers –8444
Senior Clerk Typist –1426
After July 1, 2001 the City and County of San Francisco will receive an additional 4.5 million dollars (approximately) from the State for Proposition 36. The Adult Probation Department needs support for the funding of the additional 6 positions.