The Partnership for Community Excellence
This page is now retired. Please update your bookmarks to direct you to the new home of the Partnership for Community Excellence at:
www.cafwd.org/pce
Fresno County Courthouse
What's New ∙ Mission ∙ Values & Principles ∙ Goals ∙ Resources & Links
Current Activities ∙ Collaboration ∙ Contacts & Advisors ∙ Origins
What's New
For California Prison Realignment Hype, Scary Tales Deserve Skepticism California Project Report (2012)
This article explores the dangers of using anecdotal information to decide whether or not realignment is a success and warns that it is too early to make any determinations about its success or failure. "Assessing the public safety impact of the new realignment policies requires a sophisticated research design and scholarly, objective information rather than emotional, scattershot rhetoric."
Marin probation department's parolee program wins high marks Marin Independent Journal (2012)
Marin County criminal justice staffers won high praise for developing a progressive program that handles nonviolent inmates and parolees formerly supervised by the state.
Flaws in prison realignment need to be fixed Sacramento Bee (2012)
When people are convicted of serious, violent or sexual crimes, they go to state prison. But increasingly over the years, more lower-level offenders also ended up in state prison. So Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a "realignment." Legislators in 2011, with Assembly Bill 109, changed state policies to keep some lower-level offenders in counties. People who have been convicted of committing non-serious, nonviolent and non-sex crimes should be counties' responsibility. But it has become clear that the process legislators set up for counties to decide how to spend state funds for the "realignment" population has flaws. They need to be fixed. It is clear, too, that Sacramento County has major flaws in its own process for allocating state dollars.
Medicaid Coverage for Individuals in Jail Pending Disposition: Opportunities for Improved Health and Health Care at Lower Costs George Washington University, Regenstein & Christie-Maples (2012)
This paper discusses the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which provides an unprecedented opportunity for millions of poor men and women to obtain insurance coverage to address their substantial acute, chronic, physical and behavioral health care needs.
Improving Reentry for Ex-Offenders in San Diego County: SB 618 Third Annual Evaluation Report San Diego Association of Governments (2010)
This report presents findings regarding SB 618’s effectiveness in reducing the recidivism of ex-offenders. Results from this evaluation may prove helpful for other jurisdictions as more inmates are transferred from state control to supervision carried out by local agencies.
Health care reform: It lives! Sacramento Bee (2012)
If this year's election was a referendum on President Barack Obama's first term, then it was also a test of the voters' support for his biggest legislative achievement: federal health care reform. And while polls continue to show widespread public skepticism about the Affordable Care Act, Obama's re-election means the law is probably here to stay.
For CSAC and California Counties, Challenges Equal Opportunities California Association of Counties (2012)
Matt Cate, CSAC's new Executive Director, explains more fully why he decided to join CSAC.
NIC's New Motivational Interviewing e-course National Institute of Corrections (2012)
Overview provides an overview of MI as it may be applied in a correctional setting. By using specific techniques and applying MI, corrections professionals can help increase offenders' motivation to make changes in their lives that will reduce their likelihood of re-offending. This course is a one-hour self-study orientation course and resource for corrections professionals as well as a classroom aid for supervisors and trainers.
Fewer felons eligible to serve sentences in county jails California Watch (2012)
As California struggles to meet a court-ordered reduction of its prison population, newly released figures show corrections officials overstated the number of low-level offenders eligible to be diverted to local jurisdictions as part of Gov. Jerry Brown's public safety realignment plan.
Thinking for a Change: Integrated Cognitive Behavior Change Program. Version 3.1 (2011)
Thinking for a Change (T4C) is an evidence-based, integrated, cognitive behavior change program for offenders that includes cognitive restructuring, social skills development, and development of problem solving skills. Studies have shown that, when implemented with integrity, it can reduce recidivism among offenders. is designed for delivery to small groups in 25 lessons and can be expanded on to meet the needs of specific participant group. The T4C program is used in prisons, jails, community corrections, probation, and parole supervision settings. Participants include adults and juveniles, males and females. More than 8,000 correctional staff have been trained as T4C group facilitators. More than 400 trainers in 80-plus agencies are preparing additional staff to facilitate the program with offenders. T4C is one option in a continuum of interventions to address the cognitive, social, and emotional needs of their offender populations.
Toolkit - How to Assess Jail Populations Californian's for Safety and Justice (October 2012)
This new toolkit helps county officials determine how to assess important aspects of their jail population to enhance risk management and expand effective community supervision programs. For more information see their site or email info@safeandjust.org.
Stanford Criminal Justice Center Awarded Major Grants To Fund Its Research On The Effects Of California's Prison Realignment PR Newswire (October 2012)
Second Annual Conference on Public Safety Realignment, Innovations in Public Safety and Justice in California: Practices in Population Management. November 1-2, 2012 in Sacramento. Link here for all presentation PowerPoints from the conference.
Matthew Cate to Lead CSAC As Executive Director CSAC Bulletin (November 2012)
Partnership's Webinar The audio and PowerPoint from the October 24 Webinar discussing “CDCR’s Rehabilitative Programs Post Realignment” is now available. [Audio] [PowerPoint]
Local Reform in a Realigned Environment, The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) (October 2012)
This report provides a blueprint for replication of model systems intervention in other jurisdictions. Whereas most local efforts to accommodate AB 109 criminal justice realignment have focused on individual offender behavior, Santa Cruz has chosen to address systemic root causes for unnecessary incarceration and moved away from the failed policies that led to the state prison crisis. Scott MacDonald, Chief Probation Officer, Santa Cruz County states “Proven, efficient, and low-cost alternatives to unnecessary incarceration exist, yet they remain largely underutilized. Now there is greater urgency than ever for local justice systems to become more sophisticated and adopt these data driven techniques that better serve the public. The Jail Alternatives Initiative provides the roadmap to this end.”
Partnership Releases Its Report: Pretrial Detention & Community Supervision: Best Practices and Resources for California Counties
On September 25th, the Partnership for Community Excellence released its report, Pretrial Detention & Community Supervision: Best Practices and Resources for California Counties. Effective pretrial practices are important to the success of Realignment and improving public safety, given that 71 percent of current jail beds are occupied by pretrial detainees. Making pretrial release decisions based on a detainee’s risk and needs, versus their ability to post bail, is key to improving public safety and offender outcomes. This report provides a summary of best practices and practical information to assist county leaders in determining how pretrial programs could assist their local jurisdiction. The report includes a summary of national pretrial best practices; summary of five California counties’ experiences in effectively implementing pretrial programs; issues for consideration in implementing a pretrial program; and resources including technical assistance available to counties. [Pretrial Resources]
Blog
The Partnership has initiated a blog designed to capture the various perspectives of those involved in or impacted by Realignment. Our goal is to facilitate learning among stakeholders by showcasing various points of view. If you or someone you know would be willing to contribute to our blog, please contact Sharon at Sharon@cafwd.org or 916-529-0912. We also welcome your feedback and suggestions. Our first regular blogger is an individual who is reentering society after 25 years of incarceration and is introduced by Dr. Joan Petersilia.
Partnership Webinar Series
Upcoming Webinars:
Thursday, December 6, 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Jonathan Caudill, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, CSU Chico and Kory Honea, J.D., Undersheriff, Butte County Sheriff's Department will discuss Strategies for Mutually-beneficial Collaborations: The Case of Grass Root Efforts in Response to California's AB 109 Legislation. This presentation builds on the collaboration literature by exploring the perspectives of a current cooperative effort in Butte County. The presenters explore occupational roles and expectations in collaborations as well as hurdles and specific strategies to circumvent them. CSU, Chico will co-host this Webinar and will have a 40 student live audience in addition to our regular Webinar participants. [Registration]
Audio and Slides for all Webinars:
Access Audio and PowerPoint presentations for all Partnership Webinars. The audio and PowerPoint from the October 24 Webinar discussing “CDCR’s Rehabilitative Programs Post Realignment” is now available. [Audio] [PowerPoint]
Events
• Voyage to Stability: CSAC Annual Meeting. November 27-30, 2012, Long Beach. CSAC has developed a great lineup of speakers and workshops for thier upcoming Annual Meeting that focus on critical policy areas and professional development. The conference includes a workshop on Realignment. [Registration]
• Partnership for Community Excellence in-person meeting. December 5, 2012 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The California Endowment in Sacramento. [Registration]
• Wednesday, December 19, 12pm-1pm, Tom Renfree, Executive Director, County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators
•The Leadership Symposium on Evidence-Based Practice. Implementation Science: Closing the Gap Between Innovation and Practice. January 8, 2013 at University of California, Davis Conference Center. [Agenda & Registration]
For many years we thought that to implement evidence-based practices, we needed to simply focus on the intervention itself and follow what the developers told us to do. Yet, evidence-based practices often fail to get results because of poor implementation. We now know that there is more to evidence-based practices than the practice itself. Much research has been done over the past several years revealing that we have been missing a huge component - implementation science. For more information about implementation science see Implementation Science: A Synthesis of the Literature (2005) and The EBP Movement is Dead: Long Live the EBP Movement (2012). Other information on implementation science. See also the National Implementation Research Network.
• Advancing EBP Regional Conference January 10-11, 2013 at the Embassy Suites Historic in Charleston, South Carolina. The January regional conference program will focus on: How their association can be more helpful to potential state, federal and community champions of EBP. [Registration]
• 2013 California Mental Health & Substance Use Policy Forum February 13 - 15, 2013 at the Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza in Sacramento, California. [Registration]
• Association of Criminal Justice Research (CA) 77th Semi-Annual Meeting. March 21-22, 2013 at the Lion's Gate Hotel, Sacramento. [Registration Form] [Maps] [Conference Schedule]
Publications & Videos
• One year later, local agencies wrestle with jail realignment The Orange County Register (November 2012)
• Attorneys welcome misdemeanor diversion program: County program for low-level criminals to start soon Santa Ynez Valley News (November 2012)
• Solano County moves ahead with plans for offender Day Reporting Center in Vallejo Vallejo Times Herald (November 2012)
• Crime, Correctional Populations and Drug Arrests Down in 2011: As states reform justice and save money, crime continues to decrease Justice Policy Institute (November 2012)
• Prison realignment: One year later The San Bernardino Sun (October 2012)
• Effects of change in California criminal justice system difficult to discern Sacramento Bee (October 2012)
• Using Administrative Data to Prioritize Jail Reentry Services: Findings from the Comprehensive Transition Planning Project VERA (October 2012)
• Enhancing Supervision and Support for Released Prisoners: A Documentation and Evaluation of the Community Supervision Mapping System Urban Institute (October 2012)
• Santa Clara Builds on Realignment, Rehabilitation Successes Public CEO (October 2012)
• Housing and Offender Reentry-The Urban Institute-DC Public Safety Radio (Audio) DC Public Safety (October 2012)
• Managing Broward County’s Jail Population Florida State University (October 2012)
• Attorneys welcome misdemeanor diversion program Santa Maria Times (October 2012)
• More paroled felons stay clean, but revolving door continues Los Angeles Times (October 2012)
• Your Word is Your Bond Crime Report (October 2012)
• Pretrial programs push no-bail release San Francisco Chronicle (October 2012)
• How Prisoners Make Us Look Good New York Times (October 2012)
• Going green: How new programs reduce recidivism CorrectionsOne (October 2012)
• State prison overhaul yields mixed results in Santa Cruz County San Jose Mercury (October 2012)
• State's prison overhaul changes sentencing structures but leaves judges with little discretion San Jose Mercury (October 2012)
• More Addictions treated with Drug Therapy MedPage Today (October 2012)
• Hiring Ex-Offenders: Time For a Different Approach The Crime Report (October 2012)
• Adults with Behavioral Health Needs under Correctional Supervision: A Shared Framework for Reducing Recidivism and Promoting Recovery Council of State Governments Justice Center (Sep 2012) FAQs
• Joan Petersilla: Prison Downsizing in America (July 2012) [video]
Technical Assistance
• Community Oriented Correctional Health Care Services (COCHS). COCHS is currently working with three states – New York, Rhode Island and California – on efforts involving Medicaid expansion and local jail-involved populations. They presented their recent findings on Medi-Cal eligibility of offenders in California under health care reform at the May 15th Partnership meeting. [Presentation] [Data Summary by County] [Methodology]. COCHS provides a range of technical assistance from fostering collaborations and developing satellite health centers within local correctional facilities to implementing electronic health records systems and model policies and procedures and applying performance standards and quality improvement strategies. [More Information]
• MHS Psychological Assessments and Services – Level of Service Community of Users The "Level of Service Community of Users" is an email group made up of the LSI-R™, LS/CMI™ and YLS/CMI users/leaders/researchers in Public Safety organizations across the country and around the world and is a means by which organizations can share best practices, research, policies and procedures that are working for them.
• National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women (NRCJIW) NRCJIW was established to assist practitioners in understanding and applying the lessons learned from research, promising practices, and the insights of justice-involved women themselves, as practitioners strive to transform the criminal justice system into one that is more gender-responsive – and ultimately more effective. " Points of entry to this website include: about NRCJIW; technical assistance; links to various resources; news; and innovators--groundbreaking programs.
Partnership’s Realignment Research Inventory and Tracking
Valerie Jenness and the Partnership sent a request to all of our Collaborators in July encouraging researchers to send information about their current and planned research on Realignment. We have received the following summaries:
• Stanford University, Joan Petersilia/Debbie Mukamal. How Justice Systems Realign in California: The Policies and Systemic Effects of Prison Downsizing.
• National Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Angela Irvine/Jim Austin. Evaluating the First Year of Realignment in California in Seven Counties.
• Napa County, David Lovell. Napa County Criminal Justice Population Management
• University of California, Irvine, Anjuli Verma. Institutional Crisis and Local Criminal Justice Workgroups
• Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice, Selena Teji. Realignment Updates
• Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice, Selena Teji. California Sentencing Institute (CASI)
We believe there is much more research going on and that it would help all researchers and practitioners to know what is planned or in process so we can avoid duplication and practitioners will know when research might become available to inform their processes. Please send this information to anyone you know who is conducting research. Here is the letter from Valerie Jenness, the form, and all research summaries listed above.
Research Summaries – This link will take you to all summaries received to date so check back periodically for updates. See below regarding how you can submit your research summary.
Valerie Jenness, Ph.D., Senior Advisor to the Partnership, is working with us to inventory and track all the planned and current Realignment related research projects. In a letter to researchers, Dr. Jenness states “Our hope is that by making researchers aware of what others are doing and creating a community of researchers working on Realignment related projects that we can elevate and accelerate our understanding of the empirical realities of Realignment. . . . Implementation of Realignment is in unchartered territory, thus it is imperative that research results inform policy and be put to strategic use by those implementing Realignment in the field."
Once we receive a researcher’s information, we will post it on our website, thus making it easily accessible to other researchers, key stakeholders and the public. Researchers will be able to update the form with new information throughout key stages of their work. With consultation from Dr. Jenness, the Partnership will also provide a summary of research that will also be posted to the website.
This ongoing effort is intended to:
- Increase the use of research results by government officials, policymakers and practitioners, effectively encouraging them to make evidence-based policy choices and strategic decisions about implementing Realignment.
- Assist the public in better understanding Realignment and its implications for public safety.
- Improve collaboration among researchers and reduce duplication of effort.
If you are conducting Realignment-related research please complete this form. If you know of a researcher who is conducting Realignment-related research please let them know about this effort.
We are grateful to Dr. Jenness for her assistance with this important project. Dr. Jenness is Dean, School of Social Ecology, Professor, Department of Criminology, Law & Society, and Professor, Department of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine.
MissionThe mission of The Partnership for Community Excellence is to provide information and assistance to enable county officials and local criminal justice agencies to build the capacity, culture, infrastructure and integrated systems necessary to successfully implement Realignment and improve public safety outcomes. Values & PrinciplesThe Partnership models the values and principles of California Forward.
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Goals
The Partnership was established to help county officials effectively, implement AB 109, The Public Safety “Realignment” Act of 2011. This will result in improved public safety outcomes and also over time, improved social services and other community outcomes. Offenders often need significant services because of serious and chronic health conditions, mental illness, or drug and alcohol addiction. They also encounter obstacles in obtaining suitable housing and employment. As a result, the success of realignment is greatly dependent on the extent to which service providers have the necessary capacity to provide for the significant health care, housing and employment needs of offenders.
The ultimate goal of the Partnership is to assist counties in using the new capacity they have gained through Realignment to tackle difficult problems. State and local government spending largely supports education, health and human services, and public safety. If these expenditures are purposefully directed and managed to improve results, then public sector investments will benefit all. Better education will lead to better jobs, which will lead to a healthier population, less crime, and, ultimately less pressure on public budgets.
There are no quick fixes to the problems California faces. Realignment is one of the broadest reforms in California’s history. Effective implementation will require a substantial investment in capacity building, in terms of having the information and data needed to make good policy choices, well trained personnel to make sound operational decisions, and adequate infrastructure such as information systems, data analysis, and quality improvement systems. Public officials cannot simply focus on today’s crises; they must also invest in capacity building to achieve better results over time.
The Partnership seeks to provide information and tools to all counties so that they can develop, execute and refine community strategies that cost-effectively improve public safety outcomes. The Partnership will first focus its efforts in supporting county officials and the new Community Corrections Partnerships who choose to invest in the county’s future, to achieve better outcomes by adopting the following best practices:
- Involving a broad group of stakeholders in developing cross organizational plans and strategies focused on outcomes;
- Choosing practices and programs that have been shown to work;
- Collecting and analyzing data to measure progress; and
- Using effective quality improvement processes to improve results.
The Partnership has three goals.
1. Be an Information Hub of Best Practices for Realignment. Provide the “hub” for central exchange of information to be sure that local public officials and community leaders have the best available information to develop, execute and refine community strategies that cost-effectively improve public safety outcomes.
Objective 1.1. Analyze county needs
Objective 1.2. Identify resources to meet needs
Objective 1.3. Match needs with resources
Objective 1.4. Conduct outreach and foster transparency
Objective 1.5. Measure impact and effectiveness
2. Support Public Safety System Change. Assist counties and their newly established Community Corrections Partnership’s in developing capacity to plan and implement integrated multi-agency strategies focused on reducing recidivism and improving public safety such as assessing offenders risk and needs and utilizing effective alternatives to incarceration, measuring their results, and using quality improvement processes to improve results.
Objective 2.1. Identify models, best practices, and tools for planning, implementation, measurement and quality improvement.
Objective 2.2. Provide or link counties to technical assistance providers to build capacity.
Objective 2.3. Establish and/or support existing practice communities designed to provide expert consultation combined with peer learning to learn and implement an evidence-based practice.
3. Transform Community-Based Governance. Support the creation of a new local governance model centered on collaborative services; this will include helping local governments and their key agencies build the capacity for cultural and system change to focus on improving results.
Objective 3.1. Identify models and best practices for leadership and governance.
Objective 3.2. Provide information, guides, and tools to counties.
Objective 3.3. Provide or link counties to technical assistance to build capacity.
Resources & Links
Click here to browse the dozens of Realignment-related resources, or click these links to be directed to a topic:
What's Realignment ∙ Other Realignment Facts ∙ Realignment Legislation ∙ California Prison Population and Realignment ∙ County-Specific Information ∙ Realignment Plans & Analyses ∙ Local Funding ∙ Implementation Resources for Counties ∙ Realignment Data Analysis ∙ System & Organizational Change ∙ Pretrial Services ∙ Offender Risk & Needs Assessments ∙ Evidence-Based Practices ∙ Evidence-Based Sentencing ∙ Reentry ∙ Jails ∙ Policing ∙ Quality Improvement ∙ Benefits ∙ Health Care ∙ Mental Health ∙ Substance Abuse ∙ Research ∙ Technical Assistance ∙ Funding Opportunities ∙ Other Realignment Resources
Current Activities—June through August 2012
Goal: Establish a hub for central exchange of information.
The Partnership, in collaboration with many other individuals and organizations is currently engaged in the following activities:
1. Our review and analysis of the county AB 109 plans will be released on June 1, 2012. The Partnership will use this as baseline information regarding counties’ plans and activities related to Realignment and will update this information as new county plans are developed or updated.
2. We are identifying national and state technical assistance resources potentially available to counties and working with our collaborators to obtain more information about county needs. This will allow us to prioritize needs and match them to technical assistance resources.
3. Four Partnership teams are completing their work in identifying national evidence-based models and programs and counties implementing these models to provide assistance to counties in the following areas:
a. Charging and Sentencing
b. Pretrial Services and Programs
c. Recidivism and Reentry
d. Community Corrections
4. Two other teams will also be working over the summer to identify or develop tools to assist counties in the following areas.
a. Leveraging Medi-Cal to expand services for offenders while reducing county costs.
b. Develop a Community Corrections Logic Model as one option for counties to use in developing a community corrections system and framework for offender level services.
c. Our report on Offender Risk and Needs Assessment, including the evidence base for the use of risk and need assessments and their use in California, will be released in June 2012.
5. The Partnership launched its web page in April 2012 at www.cafwd.org/pce. The site contains information about the Partnership and about AB 109 and its implementation, including evidence-based practices, technical assistance, funding opportunities, upcoming events. California Forward and the Partnership will initiate development of a full website in June 2012, which will offer downloadable material, interactive tools to create a virtual learning environment, and information and tools to assist counties in successfully implementing Realignment and improving results.
6. We have initiated a new monthly webinar series. The first webinar will take place on June 5, 2012. Terri McDonald, Undersecretary of Operations at CDCR will present “The Future of California Corrections: A blueprint to save billions of dollars, end court oversight & improve the prison system." Other upcoming webinars will be posted on the website.
Collaboration with Organizations and Individuals
We invite all organizations and individuals interested in the successful implementation of the 2011 Public Safety Realignment to join our efforts. Over 100 organizations and individuals are involved in one or more of the following ways:
- Attend Partnership meetings to assist in planning and implementation efforts to assist counties;
- Collaborate as leaders and/or members of one of our teams;
- Provide information and materials such as research efforts and results, analysis, or tools that could be helpful to counties;
- Provide consultation on various issues that affect counties; and/or
- Provide information about national efforts and funding opportunities.
The organizations and individuals with whom we collaborate represent a broad group of stakeholders including state agencies, legislative staff, statewide county organizations, judges, chief probation officers, universities, researchers, practitioners, and technical assistance organizations. We currently collaborate with:
- Association for Criminal Justice Research (California)
- California Institute for Mental Health
- California Police Chiefs Association
- California State Association of Counties
- California State Sheriffs’ Association
- Californians for Safety and Justice and American Civil Liberties Union
- Chief Probation Officers of California
- County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators’ Association of California (CADPAAC)
- County Mental Health Directors Association
- Crime and Justice Institute, National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, Community Oriented Correctional Health Services and the Association for the Advancement of Evidence Based Practices
- Leaders in Community Alternatives
- Legislative staff and the Legislative Analyst’s Office
- Parents Anonymous
- People Improving Communities Through Organizing (PICO California)
- Probation Departments of Yolo, San Francisco and Santa Cruz Counties
- Public Policy Institute of California
- RAND Corporation, The PEW Center on the States, Council of State Governments and Vera Institute of Justice
- Rosenberg Foundation
- Several active and retired criminal justice experts, consultants and attorneys
- State government agencies including the Departments of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Health and Human Services Agency, and Justice and the Board of State and Community Corrections
- Superior Court Judges and representatives from County District Attorney and Public Defender Offices
- Universities: Stanford Law School; Santa Clara Law School; University of California at Irvine, Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Davis; California State University at Chico, Fresno, and Sacramento; and the University of Cincinnati.
Contacts & Advisors
Please direct all inquiries regarding the Partnership for Community Excellence to the Partnership's Director, Sharon Aungst, via email at sharon@cafwd.org or phone at 916-956-0912.
Executive Director, California Forward: James P. Mayer [email: jim@cafwd.org] [phone: 916-491-0022]
Director: Sharon Aungst [email: sharon@cafwd.org [phone: 916-529-0912]
Policy Consultant: Kathy Jett [email: kathyj@cafwd.org] [phone: 916-491-0022]
Project Associate: Danielle Williams [email: danielle@cafwd.org] [phone: 916-491-0022]
Senior Advisor: Valerie Jenness, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Social Ecology and Professor of Criminology, Law & Society, Sociology and Nursing Science, University of California, Irvine.
Senior Advisor: Chief Jim Bueermann (ret.), Executive Fellow at the US Department of Justice and the National Institute of Justice; and Senior Fellow at George Mason University, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy
The Origins of the Partnership
In May of 2011, California Forward was completing a process involving stakeholders, public officials and community leaders to develop a framework for a better relationship among state and local governments. This work was informed by – and helped to inform – informational hearings conducted by the Senate Local Government and Finance Committee on ways to improve results by restructuring the state-local relationship. Simultaneously, lawmakers were enacting the Realignment legislation.
California Forward saw implementation of the legislation as an opportunity to implement the governance framework and improve results. This began with consulting with county officials, professional associations, academic and other experts. Virtually all of those individuals shared the perspective that the legislation created a substantial opportunity to put in place more effective correctional strategies, but they were also perplexed by the demanding timeline and the lack of coordination.
California Forward helped to assess the needs of the Chief Probation Officers of California and some of the pioneering counties, and shared what they were hearing and learning with others interested in contributing to effective implementation. The organization then crafted a conceptual proposal for coordinating and facilitating information and learning, and identified a number of organizations that might take on that role. California Forward was encouraged by a number of those stakeholders to advance a proposal for creating a consortium, with California Forward as the project lead. California Forward’s reputation for nonpartisanship and expertise in fact-based governance were cited as the essential characteristics for the consortium’s success. And while many potential partners wanted to contribute to a partnership, they said their capacity or perspective limited their ability to play the role of convener.
The Partnership for Community Excellence is supported by grants from The James Irvine Foundation and S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; and in-kind support from California Forward.