Programs, services, and practices that encourage positive life changes and support community well-being.
1. Implement protocols to ensure fidelity to evidence-based practices that promote client success and community safety.
2. Incorporate families and other social supports in clients’ care and treatment plans.
3. Ensure the effective use of high-quality risk reduction programs.
• 75% of case management staff who demonstrate proficiency in evidence-based practices by the end of 2025.
• 80% of the moderate to high-risk clients will be referred to programs that address one or more of the most
influential criminogenic needs as determined by the risk/needs assessment.
• 50% of moderate to high-risk clients who are referred to programs will complete programs that address one or
more of the most influential criminogenic needs as determined by the risk/needs assessment.
• 10% decrease of people assessed as moderate or high risk who are adjudicated/convicted of a new misdemeanor
or felony crime three years after discharge.
• 75% of families of youth who indicate that they feel supported, informed, and involved in the youth’s care and plan
for success.
• 80% of moderate to high-risk adult clients who indicate that they are satisfied with the agency’s efforts to involve
their family members and significant others.
• 75% of clients who indicate that the programs they receive meet their cultural, linguistic, and gender identity needs.
• 25% of CBO operated programs that receive satisfactory scores on the first administered fidelity assessment and
50% on subsequent assessments.
• 50% of agency-operated programs that receive satisfactory scores on the first administered fidelity assessment
and 75% on subsequent assessments.
| TASK | ACTIVITY | ASSIGNED TO | PLAN START | PLAN END |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective 1 | Implement protocols to ensure fidelity to evidence-based practices that promote client success and community safety. | 09/01/2022 | 12/31/2025 | |
| Task 1 | Create a comprehensive, trauma-centered plan to address victim needs. The plan should include continued participation in the Family Justice Center, training for staff, and access to resources for officers and victims (e.g., services for human trafficking victims). | CD Adults | 09/01/2022 | 03/01/2023 |
| Task 2 | Establish an EBP Steering Committee made up of a cross-section of the agency, EBP champions, and key decision makers to plan, implement, and adjust the ongoing use of EBPs. Rotate and stagger the membership to increase agency buy-in. Consider contracting with an experienced consultant to organize and sequence the work and to help the committee build the capacity to independently sustain its EBP plan. Target the committee’s work as follows: 1) Utilize the EBP Organization Checklist to assess progress toward EBP. 2) Create and streamline EBP policies and procedures that support core correctional practices and case management standards (e.g., using assessments, writing case plans, applying rewards for prosocial behavior and behavioral responses to noncompliant behavior, addressing criminogenic needs during appointments, and applying interrater reliability processes to actuarial assessments) and accountability to these standards. 3) Develop and implement an EBP training plan that includes instruction, skill development, and boosters on core correctional practices and cognitive behavioral interventions. Evaluate and update the training plan annually. 4) Develop a trauma-informed training plan that includes: a) assessing trauma, effectively responding to client and victim trauma, and preventing further harm; and b) identifying vicarious trauma experiences by staff and self-care. 5)??Align adult and juvenile behavioral matrices (rewards and incentives; responses to noncompliance) with research/evidence and uniformly apply the matrices across the agency. 6)?Examine structured ways for supervisors to comfortably guide and coach staff toward core correctional practices (e.g., the Supervisor’s EBP BriefCASE). 7)?Determine gaps in services that address criminogenic needs, responsivity needs, and victim needs by creating an inventory of all key programs utilized by the agency, and identify services in need of expansion. Identify areas across the agency requiring subject matter expertise (e.g., ORAS, OYAS, MI, case plans, firearms) and develop a policy that identifies who will fill the roles and how to ensure ongoing succession planning. Develop a step-by-step implementation model that utilizes implementation science to inform and guide the roll out of EBPs (e.g., pilot the practice first, explain the “why” to staff, identify a champion, etc.). | CD Business Services | 09/01/2022 | 12/31/2025 |
| Task 3 | Create a differential supervision plan (e.g., following American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) caseload guidelines) utilizing risk levels to determine supervision level and case assignment. Ensure that the plan is carefully constructed and comprehensive to limit disruption due to client case transfers and changing staff assignments. Adopt new policies prior to implementation that consider the needs of both clients and staff under the new model, such as assigning caseloads to staff, handling overrides, limiting case transfers and step downs, and ensuring client continuity of services and resources (e.g., when PRCS clients are moved to the FS unit). Consider eliminating low-value activities to create time for higher-value activities. | CD Adults | 10/01/2022 | 12/31/2023 |
| Task 4 | Validate the Juvenile Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI) tool to ensure that it is producing accurate and consistent results regarding detention decisions and that it achieves racial equity. Develop a communication plan to inform community and stakeholders of findings. | CD Business Services | 01/01/2024 | 06/01/2024 |
| Task 5 | Improve client success by increasing how clients can acquire needed assessments, keep their probation appointments, and access services. Strategies include mobile and satellite offices, video conferencing software, and a client/provider portal for information sharing. Pilot test any new strategies before implementing them agency-wide and ensure that technical and other support is readily available. Consider using similar strategies to improve victim services. | DM Adult Realignment | 01/01/2024 | 12/31/2024 |
| Task 6 | Develop and sustain a long-term plan and policies to provide coaching in-house for DPOs on understanding and applying the core correctional practices. Initially, contract with an organization that specializes in coaching. Extend the preparation stage and engage a cross-section of staff in the development of the coaching plan by seeking their input. Put the plan in place slowly, in phases, allowing staff to get comfortable with the coaching processes. Ensure that coaching messaging highlights its intended purpose: to promote professional growth and improve services. | DM Admin | 01/01/2024 | 12/31/2025 |
| Task 7 | Develop an ongoing messaging plan (e.g., posters, videos, spotlighted topics, testimonials, skill of the month, email stamps) designed to create a robust organizational culture supportive of the use of evidence-based practices to reduce recidivism. Enter into a contract with an experienced consultant (e.g., under the proposed coaching contract) to construct the messaging plan and methods of delivery, with input from agency staff. | DM Admin | 01/01/2024 | 12/31/2025 |
| TASK | ACTIVITY | ASSIGNED TO | PLAN START | PLAN END |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective 2 | Incorporate families and other social supports in clients’ care and treatment plans. | 09/01/2022 | 12/31/2024 | |
| Task 1 | Eliminate barriers to family and support persons’ participation in a youth’s care at the JF and in the field by developing family access plans. Examples include assessing family accessibility and barriers up front, providing means to participate virtually or by phone, and conducting Youth Care Meetings at nontraditional hours and at storefronts. | DM Juvenile Field | 09/01/2022 | 12/01/2022 |
| Task 2 | Develop and implement a plan in collaboration with VCBH and with HSA and Public Health to increase awareness and participation in available communitybased services for adult clients’ families and others providing support to the client. The plan should explore specific strategies such as creating a one-stop shop at each probation site that mobilizes services to support client families (including embedding a mental health professional in probation offices to assess and refer clients for mental health services); providing consistent and timely information by, e.g., sponsoring engaging presentations on topics such as MediCal and CalFresh; creating informational videos to be shown in the lobby and elsewhere; providing food and transportation; and implementing incentives such as offering free family counseling. The effort would be piloted in one or two locations to learn from and improve before expanding it to other sites. | CD Adults | 09/01/2022 | 09/01/2023 |
| Task 3 | Issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Information (RFI) to enhance youth and parenting programming at the facility, especially programs that are evidence informed. | Accounting Manager | 10/01/2022 | 03/01/2023 |
| Task 4 | Expand the use of youth advocates by revising the JF post orders or expanding their capacity to ensure that referrals for a youth advocate will be made by the JF DPO prior to the youth’s release. | DM Housing | 10/01/2022 | 03/01/2023 |
| Task 5 | Expand and improve the agency’s current incentive policy by asking clients about their preferred incentives, customizing incentives, and including rewards that support clients’ families, such as gas cards, family meals, movie passes, and alternative supervision methods (e.g., virtual appointments). | DM Adult Field | 10/01/2022 | 04/01/2023 |
| Task 6 | Issue a Request for Information (RFI) to assess the viability and costs for a community-based organization to provide mentorship services that reflect the community demographics for adult clients (e.g., faith communities such as HopeBoyz/HopeGirlz, Resource Navigators, persons with lived experience). RFI respondents will be asked to describe proposed processes to maximize participation rates, including, for example, promoting the services and providing incentives. Explore expanding the contract with the current provider (Interface). Accounting Manager 1/1/23 7/1/23 Task 7 Issue a Request for Information (RFI) to assess the viability and costs for a community-based organization to provide a restorative justice process that builds adult clients’ social capital and support. RFI respondents will be asked to describe proposed processes to maximize participation rates, including, for example, promoting the service and providing incentives. Explore expanding the contract with the current provider (Interface). | Accounting Manager | 01/01/2023 | 07/01/2023 |
| Task 7 | Issue a Request for Information (RFI) to assess the viability and costs for a community-based organization to provide a restorative justice process that builds adult clients’ social capital and support. RFI respondents will be asked to describe proposed processes to maximize participation rates, including, for example, promoting the service and providing incentives. Explore expanding the contract with the current provider (Interface). | Accounting Manager | 01/01/2023 | 07/01/2023 |
| Task 8 | Provide practical, family engagement training for probation staff that promotes a clear agency policy regarding family engagement expectations, identifies helpful community resources, and deals with real, everyday issues encountered by clients, their families, and probation staff. Identify the desired training content before seeking a training provider. | DM Admin | 01/1/2023 | 07/01/2023 |
| Task 9 | Utilize in-house and partner assessments more effectively and develop a plan to communicate assessment results to JF and field staff. Provide JF and field DPO training on related assessments and practical ways to use results to bolster youth care. | DM Juvenile Field | 01/1/2023 | 12/31/2024 |
| Task 10 | Develop a service plan (e.g., assessments, case plans, release plans, evidence-informed programming) to ensure the availability of effective services—including augmenting existing services and practices—at the Juvenile Facility | DM Housing | 06/01/2023 | 06/01/2024 |
| Task 11 | Provide orientation sessions for family members to impart consistent information on how the justice system works, probation agency expectations, and how they can best support a loved one under supervision. Implement the sessions on a pilot basis in one or two locations to learn and improve before expanding them to other sites. | CD Adults | 07/1/2023 | 12/31/2023 |
| Task 12 | Develop and conduct a multilingual pre and post family survey for parents and social supports of youth to assess their level of satisfaction with services and whether they felt informed, supported, and involved in the youth’s care. The survey should address potential constraints that could negatively impact the response rate, such as providing multiple ways to respond (mail, email, phone) and/or administering the survey when the family is conducting a visit or attending a probation appointment with their child. | CD Business Services | 01/1/2024 | 06/01/2024 |
| Task 13 | Develop a plan to accommodate more in-person family visits/furloughs while maintaining staff safety. | CD Juvenile | 01/01/2024 | 12/31/2024 |
| Task 14 | Expand Child and Family Team (CFT) meetings to all youth at the Juvenile Facilities. The meeting structure should reflect how Placement and the Field Units are conducting CFT’s. | DM Housing | 01/01/2024 | 12/31/2024 |
| TASK | ACTIVITY | ASSIGNED TO | PLAN START | PLAN END |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective 3 | Ensure the effective use of high-quality risk reduction programs. | 07/01/2022 | 12/31/2025 | |
| Task 1 | Utilize clearinghouses that provide a list of services deemed to be effective based on the best-known research (such as Pew’s Results First Clearinghouse Database or the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare) to identify evidence-based and evidence-informed programs. Putting one agency unit (e.g., the Research Unit) in charge of identifying evidence-based and evidence-informed programs would help ensure an objective review of such programs and a process for the agency to decide which programs to support. | Accounting Manager | 07/01/2022 | 12/31/2025 |
| Task 2 | Develop service delivery checklists to be used when processing RFPs and scopes of work. Checklist items should include priority features such as programming that targets criminogenic needs and the five priority areas of the Ventura County Juvenile Justice Plan (emotional and behavioral well-being, prevention and early intervention, a coordinated systems approach, family support, and prosocial and skill-building opportunities). Develop a policy and process to use the information gathered from the checklists to determine which interventions are recommended for use by agency staff and how identified gaps in services will be addressed. | Accounting Manager | 10/01/2025 | 03/01/2025 |
| Task 3 | Develop a process for conducting a survey that is administered to clients, DPOs, and CBOs to find out if clients’ cultural, linguistic, and gender identity needs are being met and, if not, to identify the service gaps and develop a plan to address those gaps. The process should be constructed in a way that maximizes accurate and comprehensive survey information by considering, for example, using 1:1 interview or focus group formats, using volunteers, observing programming sessions, and/or providing the survey at different stages of clients’ program participation. | CD Business Services | 10/01/2025 | 03/01/2025 |
| Task 4 | Establish a process to routinely conduct program fidelity assessments to ensure service providers are delivering services that are informed by research. The process should include selecting a fidelity assessment tool, determining whether it should be administered in-house or through a contractor, prioritizing the programs to be assessed, and determining which unit (e.g., the Research Unit) would be responsible for coordinating the assessment process. In addition, the process should be collaborative—approaching community-based organizations (CBOs) as partners, providing information up front, training CBOs and nongovernment organizations about the process, and reassuring CBOs that the goal is to improve services. To ensure broad-based support, the agency should develop an implementation plan that includes garnering the Board of Supervisors’ support, acquiring a budget, developing a sustainability plan, and training agency staff. |
CD Business Services | 01/01/2025 | 12/31/2025 |
