Report 2020-102 Recommendation 13 Responses

Report 2020-102: Public Safety Realignment: Weak State and County Oversight Does Not Ensure That Funds Are Spent Effectively (Release Date: March 2021)

Recommendation #13 To: Fresno, County of

To ensure that the programs and services funded by public safety realignment funds are effective, beginning immediately, Fresno should conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of its programs and services at least every three years.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2023

The Community Corrections Partnership (CCP), at their June 13, 2022, meeting, received the Scope of Work to evaluate the CCP funded entities. The Research, Evaluation and Technology (RET) sub-committee of the CCP developed the Scope of Work in consultation with the California State Association of Counties Support Hub for Criminal Justice Programming. The CCP approved a motion that allowed the sub-committee to move forward with developing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to be issued by Fresno County's Internal Services, Purchasing Division with an annual budget of $100,000. The Probation Administrative Services Division, with input from the RET sub-committee, developed the RFP and on March 15, 2023, the County of Fresno issued RFP No. 23-027 to vendors registered in Public Purchase. The RFP response period closed on April 13, 2023. An evaluation panel composed of representatives from the Probation Department, Department of Behavioral Health, District Attorney's Office, and the Sheriff's Office evaluated the proposal solely on the requirements of the RFP. The tentative award notice was issued on June 16, 2023, and the Probation Administrative Services Division is currently working on finalizing the contract with the recommended vendor. The department anticipates on having this contract on the December 12, 2023, Board of Supervisors calendar, and if approved, implementation can begin in January 2024.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2022

The Community Corrections Partnership (CCP), at their June 13, 2022 meeting, received the Scope of Work to evaluate the CCP funded entities. The Research, Evaluation and Technology sub-committee of the CCP developed the Scope of Work in consultation with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Support Hub for Criminal Justice Programming. The CCP approved a motion that allowed the sub-committee to move forward with developing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to be issued by Fresno County's Internal Services, Purchasing Division. In addition, the CCP approved a motion to increase the yearly budget amount for this work from $76,960 to $100,000. The Probation Administrative Services Division is currently working on developing the required RFP document and anticipates on having the RFP released in January of 2023.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

We look forward to reviewing Fresno's progress in implementing our recommendation during its next annual response.

1-Year Agency Response

The Community Corrections Partnership (CCP), at their March 7, 2022 meeting, received a status report from the Research Sub-committee of the CCP on development of a scope of work to obtain a contractor to evaluate funded programs. The Research Committee in working with the CSAC Support Hub recommended areas of focus for the scope of work for the Request For Proposal (RFP) to obtain a program evaluator. Based on the CCP's direction, it is anticipated the Sub-committee will bring an item to the June 2022 CCP meeting for review of a draft RFP. Once this is completed, Fresno County Purchasing Guidelines will be used in obtaining a contractor.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

The Community Corrections Partnership (CCP), at their June 14, 2021 meeting, directed the Research Sub-committee of the CCP to develop a scope of work to be used to obtain a contractor that would evaluate funded programs. The Research Sub-committee is in the process of developing the scope of work. Once this is completed, Fresno County Purchasing Guidelines will be used in obtaining a contractor.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

As was provided in the initial response to the Public Safety realignment Report, the CCP provides ongoing evaluations of programs funded with Community Corrections revenue. The Departments that oversee funding for specific realignment funds will continue to have the responsibility to evaluate the effectiveness of their programs. The Chief Probation Officer will be adding an agenda item to the next Community Corrections Partnership meeting, scheduled for June 14, 2021, to discuss and provide direction regarding the evaluation of funded programs.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2020-102

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.