DISCUSSION
In 1996, the Board of Supervisors established the Shasta County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council ("Council"). The Council was established at that time so that the County would be eligible to apply for grant funding under the Juvenile Crime Enforcement and Accountability Challenge Grant Program, codified at Welfare & Institutions Code Sections 749.2 et seq. Under Welfare & Institutions Code Section 749.22 (WI 749.22), Council is required to, at minimum, have the following members: (1) The Chief Probation Officer, as Chair; (2) A representative from the District Attorney's Office; (3) A representative from the Public Defender's Office; (4) A representative from the Sheriff's Office; (5) A representative from the Board of Supervisors; (6) A representative from the Department of Social Services; (7) A representative from the Department of Mental Health; (8) A representative from a community-based drug and alcohol program; (9) A representative from a city police department; (10) A representative from the county office of education or a school district; (11) An at-large community representative; and (12) Representatives from non-profit community based organizations providing services to minors.
The recommended appointments to the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council are in accordance with Welfare & Institutions Code Section 749.22 (new or revised members are italicized): Tracie Neal, Chief Probation Officer; Tom Bosenko, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office; Stephanie Bridgett, Shasta County District Attorney’s Office; Vacant, Shasta County Public Defender’s Office; Steve Morgan, Shasta County Board of Supervisors; Monique McKee, Shasta County Superior Court; Jodie VanOrnum, Shasta County Office of Education; Steve MacFarland, Shasta County Juvenile Justice Commission; Robert Paoletti, Redding Police Department; Rocky Harpham, Anderson Police Department; Donnell Ewert, Shasta County Social Services; Dianna Wagner, Shasta County Mental Health; Linda Ram, Child Abuse Prevention Coordinating Council; Susan Wilson, Youth Violence Prevention Council; Tom Wright, Wright Education, Inc. The Council met in a public meeting on February 23, 2017 and voted to recommend appointing Steve Morgan and Linda Ram to the Council as the representatives from the Board of Supervisors and non-profit community based organizations providing services to minors, respectively, to fill the vacancies.
Under WI 749.22, this Council is responsible for developing a comprehensive, multi-agency juvenile justice plan aimed at decreasing crime and delinquency among at-risk youth. In 2000, the State of California established the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act Program ("JJCPA Program"). The JJCPA Program was created by the Crime Prevention Act of 2000 to provide a more stable state funding source for implementing a Juvenile Justice Plan (“Plan”) developed by the Council. The Council is required to review annually the Plan and make modifications as necessary. As such, it is necessary for the Board to approve membership appointments to the Council. This will enable the Council to review the existing Plan. |