FROM THE PRESIDENT

January 2, 2012

How’s AB 109 working out for you and your county? Hopefully, reasonably well or at
least moving in a positive direction. While I haven’t heard of any horror stories yet, there
are definitely issues that need to be worked out. From not having enough resources to
supervise a larger than expected number of offenders placed on community supervision,
to sentencing demands that have offenders serving multiple years in local custody, these
are but two of the issues to be worked out. The reality is that the implementation of AB
109 is forcing local jurisdictions to meet the demands of a revised criminal justice
system, at a time when the best options feel like choosing between bad and worse.

I have faith that we can supervise these offenders while keeping the community safe, if
we have a guaranteed funding stream and the time to effectively implement our
respective plans to get the job done. Unfortunately, politicians and the public work on
different timeframes. That’s not specifically meant as criticism or cynicism, rather reality.
Politicians are worried about polls and election cycles, while the public is rightly
concerned about their safety and the cost of getting said job done. Let’s hope that both
realize that it took us decades to get to where we’re at today, and that it’s going to take
more than a few months or a few years to get it right. In order for us to succeed, patience
and persistence will be required. In the end, those of us in the spotlight of realignment
and in the sights of public employee attack groups need to remember Benjamin
Franklin’s quote if we are to remain focused on our goal and survive the journey ahead:

"We must, indeed, all hang together, or
most assuredly we shall all hang separately."
Benjamin Franklin -1776.

Not directly related to AB 109, but as important in its own way, are the trigger cuts going
into effect as a result of lower than projected revenues for the state for the 2011-2012
budget year. Due to the shortfalls, on January 2nd the state began charging counties up to
$125,000 annually for every youthful offender committed to a Division of Juvenile
Justice (DJJ) facility! There is some hope, as those convicted as adults (Direct Files) will
be eligible for transfer to CDCR once they turn 18 years old. That might just help
alleviate some of the costs, but it doesn’t solve the problem altogether. To date, I haven’t
heard of a solution to the funding issue and as a result counties we may end up having to
rehouse most or all of the offenders that they sent to DJJ respectively.

2012 is shaping up to be a watershed year, one in which public employees and their
respective labor groups will again be on the defensive, and a year where decisive battles
must be won if they are to survive. Two separate ballot proposals would restructure
California's public employee pension system by requiring government workers to pay
more for their future retirement benefits and health care. Supporters argue that the
governor’s recently submitted pension-reform package does not go far enough to limit
benefits and address billions of dollars in unfunded pension liabilities. They plan to
pursue whichever approach polls best after their petitions are cleared for signature
gathering. Another proposed ballot initiative, the Stop Special Interest Money Now Act
(AKA: Paycheck Deception, by those of us who would be affected by passage of the
initiative), has actually qualified for the November 2012 ballot. Passage of the initiative
by the voters would prohibit unions from doing the following: making direct monetary
contributions to state and local candidates using member dues, contributing to ballot
measure committees if the funds are collected via payroll deduction, and making
independent expenditures in support of opposition to state and local candidates and ballot
measures made from funds collected via payroll deduction. If the above initiatives are
passed by the voters, the labor movement would be set back decades and likely would
never fully recover.

In the midst of realignment and an election year, you may ask yourself what you can do
to increase probation’s chances for success with realignment and enhance our visibility
on probation related issues. Become part of the solution. Get involved with SCOPO,
become informed about relevant topics to the field of probation, then plan to meet and
educate your local and state legislators about what you do and why it is important to
adequately allocate funding to probation. We need to be at the forefront of the battle to
preserve and expand funding to probation, and be an active part of the discussion when
probation and related labor issues are being discussed. One person and one organization
can’t do this alone, especially considering what’s at stake. Consider this a call for
probation to rise to the challenge, and take the lead in California’s future. Your future.

Stay alert, stay safe, and stand committed.

Paul Brennan
SCOPO President