County of Santa Clara Supervisor Ellenberg progress in developing alternatives to incarceration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6/6/2023
CONTACT
Michael Norris, [email protected]
Cell: 669-250-8572
Santa Clara County Supervisor and Board President Susan Ellenberg shares new progress in development of alternatives to incarceration
Santa Clara County, Calif. – President of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Susan Ellenberg and her colleagues will receive a report on alternatives to incarceration proposed by community stakeholders during the regular meeting on June 6, marking an important chapter in criminal justice reform in Santa Clara County aimed to improve public safety and overall effectiveness of the criminal legal system.
The Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) workgroups and the Final ATI Report were created from Supervisor Ellenberg’s referral from the January 25, 2022 Board of Supervisors meeting. The workgroups, which were focused on Intervention at the Start, Criminal-Legal Process, and Re-entry, met monthly from September 2022 through April 2023 with the intent to explore community-based alternatives to incarceration and other recommendations and strategies to safely reduce the jail population. The workgroups were made up of community members, individuals affected or impacted by the current criminal justice system, law enforcement, and others.
“When residents of our County were saying no to a new jail last year, we worked to act long-term developing alternatives to incarceration that would be safer, more effective at reducing recidivism and less expensive than the cycle of jail,” said President Ellenberg. “Community members and stakeholders throughout the justice system took part in this effort to bring actionable recommendations to criminal justice reform, and lives are going to change because of their work.”
President Ellenberg’s original referral intended to establish a framework to improve public safety while building a system that enables mental health and substance abuse treatment. As noted in the January 24, 2022 referral, the present use of jail facilities disproportionately impacts people of color, those who are poor, unhoused individuals, LGBTQ+ and those who are mentally ill while not measurably improving public safety.
"True alternatives to incarceration require investment in housing, expanded mental health and substance use treatment capacity and living wage jobs. We are far from here,” said Vanessa Ashford, Director of Community Initiatives and Peer Services for Carry the Vision. “Being a part of the ATI work group was an opportunity to amplify the need to direct funding towards the policies we say we support."
“Santa Clara County has invested time and resources in identifying alternatives to incarceration, and the Final ATI Report contains numerous recommendations that need to be seriously considered,” said Sheriff Bob Jonsen, Office of the Sheriff from the County of Santa Clara. “As noted in the report, jails are increasingly acting as the primary place of last resort for many issues impacting society today. We are committed to working with our community partners to find sustainable solutions to keeping people out of the justice system.”
“Alternative responses and interventions are key to our communities moving forward, they are key to our communities being whole, and are a necessity so we can thrive, said Colsaria Hendersen, Executive Director of Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence. “We have long recognized that harm cannot be addressed by uniformed response, punitive measures, and isolation. Our loved ones are a part of us, a part of our community and should be recognized as human beings regardless of their actions. The Final ATI Report, championed by Supervisor Ellenberg, is a start. We must make sure it is given the resources and ongoing advocacy to turn it into the actions our community is depending on.”
A downloadable version of the Final ATI report can be found here. The Board of Supervisors’ meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 9:30am in Board Chambers at 70 West Hedding Street, and will air on the County of Santa Clara’s YouTube Channel. The Alternatives to Incarceration report is Item 17 and is time certain to be heard no earlier than 1:00pm.
District 4 includes the cities of Campbell and Santa Clara, the unincorporated pocket of Burbank, and West San Jose. For more information about Supervisor Ellenberg’s office, visit supervisorellenberg.com.
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Additional quotes from community members and ATI members
“Alternatives to Incarceration workgroups brought together stakeholders to generate ideas to increase access to continuity care such as mental health and substance use treatment to reduce recidivism to support the successful reintegration into the community. Historically, the criminal justice system’s policies, understaffing, and insufficient funding has proven to be unsuccessful. Therefore, policy changes at the federal, state, and county level with sufficient funding to develop alternatives to incarceration would better support individuals with a history of criminal system involvement.”
- Deryk Clark, Division Director, Youth Development, Bill Wilson Center
"The Alternatives to Incarceration work groups were an important, innovative first step in the long and complicated unwinding of our country's historically (and globally) unprecedented practice of mass incarceration. We have a long way still to go, but I believe that it is only at the local level, with input from all stakeholders and populations, and with a deep understanding of local processes and practices, that we can do the necessary work."
- Prof. W. David Ball, Santa Clara School of Law
"True alternatives to incarceration require investment in housing, expanded mental health and substance use treatment capacity and living wage jobs. We are far from here. Being a part of the ATI work group was an opportunity to amplify the need to direct funding towards the policies we say we support."
- Vanessa Ashford, Director of Community Initiatives and Peer Services, Carry the Vision
“Alternative responses and interventions are key to our communities moving forward, they are key to our communities being whole, and are a necessity so we can thrive. We have long recognized that harm cannot be addressed by uniformed response, punitive measures, and isolation. Our loved ones are a part of us, a part of our community and should be recognized as human beings regardless of their actions. The Final ATI Report championed by Supervisor Ellenberg, is a start. We must make sure it is given the resources and ongoing advocacy to turn it into the actions our community is depending on.”
- Colsaria Hendersen, Executive Director, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence
“Santa Clara County has invested time and resources in identifying alternatives to incarceration, and the Final ATI Report contains numerous recommendations that need to be seriously considered. As noted in the report, jails are increasingly acting as the primary place of last resort for many issues impacting society today. We are committed to working with our community partners to find sustainable solutions to keeping people out of the justice system.”
- Sheriff Bob Jonsen, Office of the Sheriff, County of Santa Clara