For years prisons in California have
been overcrowded, creating an unsafe and
unhealthy environment. In fact, the
overcrowded conditions led to a ruling
by the United States Supreme Court which
required California to reduce its prison
population, resulting in something
referred to as "Realignment." In effect, the
state relinquishes it's jurisdiction
over certain prisoners and turns them
over to local probation. So what's been
the impact for the Marin County Probation Department?
The people that are
being released and I should note
that they are not being released from
prison a day earlier than they are scheduled to be released.
They're not being released in a busload onto the
streets with a good luck, show up every
once in awhile, we hope it works out okay.
The people being released to the
probation departments
are people falling under a criteria, both
men and women.
They're not the worst and not the most dangerous. They're the
three non's -- is a term you'll hear --
it's the non-serious, non-violent, 
non-sex offenders.
Those people will be released under the jurisdiction
of the chief probation officer for supervision.
If someone is deemed a violent, serious felon
or a high-risk sex offender,
they will not come out on our program.
In the old days prior to realignment, people were given what's 
called "gate money" and two hundred dollars
and they were told to report to their state parole
agent within forty-eight hours.
Mysteriously, some of those people never
showed and their two hundred dollars
went to something typically illegal,
and that's a real big problem.
What Marin County Probation Department is doing:
if the person being released from prison is
within a four-hour radius, we will drive
all the way to the prison and pick
that person up personally,
put him in our car
and transport them back home.
And so in the interim our probation
officers will have a long conversation
with that person about expectations
and we will also listen to them about
what support do they need.
We help them link in the public benefits early on 
so they're not out in the community
without some food or a place to stay.
Our department's made a commitment that
people won't be on the streets
so if we have to help find housing,
provide short-term housing, we've done
that.
Of course the housing and the food 
and the basics need to be taken care of.
But we will also work with their
mental health issues, drug and alcohol issues.
We have a dedicated psychologist to do an assessment on 
their psychological and mental health needs.
If there's any employment services, general assistance services,
to navigate those types of things on their own
would be very difficult for the most well put together person.
Once we get a snapshot of where their needs are
and then what their motivation is -- what
they will kind of build off of --
that's when we put together a final case
plan in conjunction with each offender.
We really try to
blanket these folks with as much support
and services as possible and give them a
well-mapped out plan so they're successful in the future.
One of the evidence based principles 
on reducing recidivism is
time structure --
don't let the people come out and just
kind of
tell them good luck and here are some appointments and
and good luck in the community.
Tell them where they need to be for a
period of time -- you should go here and here and here  --
structure their time so it's not back on maybe 
in the community kind of
well, I didn't have a lot to do so I went and saw my old friends.
So we try just structure their time on the things 
that are going to get them the resources they need now.
There has not been a significant increase 
in crime throughout Marin
and the jail is at it's all-time low.
We are very satisfied that we're
supplying adequate linkages to
services with the folks that we are now
in charge of supervising.
I think things in Marin County as related
to realignment are
close to a best-case scenario
and we've become a model for a lot
of other departments.
The offenders are being supervised so
public safety is being acknowledged right away
and then we're given a chance to do the things
that will keep them out of the criminal justice system.
Not only is realignment historic,
but it's finally been a recognition by the Legislature
to finally fund adult services.
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and within the last four years
there has been a push to fund adult services.
And with adult services
comes recognition of programs
and that programs can work.
And if you fund probation properly,
probation works.
