Housing and Development Newsletter
For decades probation in California has led, collaborated and defended effective reforms within the justice systems. Probation is focused on helping justice-involved individuals transition out of the system permanently through transformative and evidence-based rehabilitation.
Probation departments are a connector in the justice system: interlacing and maximizing the resources available within the courts, local governments, law enforcement, social services, schools, nonprofits and the community to reduce recidivism by balancing direct human services and research-based deterrents and interventions.
Together, this approach provides the help and accountability needed to create hope and restore trust.
The resolution commemorating Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors “recognizes these officers for their significant contribution to making Santa Barbara County a safer place to live.”
By Jade Martinez-Pogue, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @MartinezPogue
July 15, 2021
| 6:33 p.m.
As part of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors call for collective efforts to improve the criminal justice system in the county, the District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department presented additional diversion efforts and developments of a data dashboard at Tuesday’s board meeting.
Sherill Ellsworth, a retired presiding judge from the Superior Court of Riverside County, has been assisting the Santa Barbara County Executive Office as a consultant for the efforts and began the presentation by talking about some diversion efforts that have been made.
“These past several months, we have been brave enough to try lots of things,” Ellsworth said. “Among those things are some small but very important decisions that have been made and some collaboration that has taken place.”
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Housing and Development Newsletter
The District Attorney’s Office also will continue to partner with the Second District Office to implement a Neighborhood Court pilot program in Goleta to serve as a restorative justice-based pre-filing diversion program for misdemeanor offenses and infractions.
The department’s preliminary budget is about $30.5 million, with about half of that funding coming from the general fund contributions.
The District Attorney’s Office requested a little more than $1 million in expansion requests for the upcoming budget year, including funding for an eSCARS electronic suspected child abuse report system a coordinator, two discovery clerks to manage data, 1.5 full-time employee positions for the post-conviction litigation unit, a data analyst and a digital storage system upgrade.
By Jade Martinez-Pogue, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @MartinezPogue
February 3, 2021
| 3:41 p.m.
January proved the be the deadliest month of the pandemic in Santa Barbara County, and the death toll continues to rise as Public Health officials reported a record-breaking 13 additional COVID-19-related fatalities on Wednesday.
Twelve of the individuals who died were over the age of 70, and one was between the age of 30 to 49.
Seven of the deaths were associated with outbreaks at congregate care facilities and 11 had underlying health conditions, according to Public Health.
Seven of the deaths were from Santa Barbara, four were from Santa Maria, one was from the unincorporated area of Goleta, and one was from the city of Lompoc.