D4 Community Connects – Public Defenders Office
Thank you for spending your lunch hour with us. Today’s guest is from our Public Defender’s Office, a critical service the County offers to our 1.9 million residents.
The Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender is comprised of approximately 240 employees, including 121 attorneys, 30 investigators, 31 paralegals and 58 clerical and support staff. These employees provide legal representation to clients who are charged with the commission of a criminal offense alleged to have been committed in this county. The Office also represents minors against whom delinquency petitions have been filed in the Juvenile Courts of Santa Clara County, and clients who are the subject of conservatorship proceedings in the Mental Health departments of the Superior Court. The Public Defender does not represent people in Family Court, Dependency Court, or Traffic Court.
Here is the presentation that they provided during the call:
UPDATE Portion of the Call:
- DASHBOARD NUMBERS: https://covid19.sccgov.org/dashboards
- More than Half of County Residents Age 75 and Older Have Received at Least One Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine - More than half of county residents age 75 and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine data from the California Department of Public Health’s California Immunization Registry (CAIR2) also show that 43.7% of county residents age 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 232,761 total residents now partially or fully vaccinated. These data reflect strong progress towards the County’s goal of vaccinating at least 85% of residents age 16 or older by August 1, 2021. The data also continue to reflect the ongoing need to focus vaccination efforts on ensuring equitable access for those at greatest risk of serious illness and death, and those at greatest risk of exposure to COVID-19.
- The County’s website at sccfreevax.org provides information and links for making vaccine appointments with providers across the county. Residents without internet access or who need additional assistance can call 211 for assistance in multiple languages. Appointments are filling up quickly, but new appointments will be regularly released as vaccine supply allows.
- Statement Regarding Ninth Circuit Decision on Indoor Gatherings - Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided that the County of Santa Clara can continue to prohibit all indoor gatherings and denied a request from several churches to allow indoor worship services in Santa Clara County. The Ninth Circuit’s decision specifically noted that the County’s framework “does not ‘single out houses of worship’ for worse treatment than secular activities. Nor does the Directive affect whether [churches] may continue to remain open for purposes that do not involve ‘gatherings’.”
- EXPANSION OF COVID-19 VACCINATIONS – The county announced that healthcare providers across Santa Clara County will expand access to COVID-19 vaccination to workers in education and childcare, emergency services, and the food and agriculture industries, starting February 28, 2021. As vaccine access expands to these additional groups, focusing vaccination efforts on the most impacted areas of the community and older residents at greatest risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19 will remain a critical focus and priority. This expansion of vaccine access is planned as the County Health System continues to boost its vaccine infrastructure, increasing capacity at both its large vaccination centers as well as smaller community-based and mobile sites. All of these efforts continue to be limited by both vaccine supply and changing vaccine distribution plans from the State of California.
For any additional questions, please reach out to Basil Saleh and we will follow-up with responses in a timely fashion.
Save the Date:
Our next installment of the D4 Community Connects call takes place on Feb. 25, featuring a special guest from Department of Facilities and Fleet.
Register for the event to receive the call-in link and event reminders here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/d4-community-connects-tickets-138654548487