A Vision for the Future: Adult Probation Reform in Alameda County

SESSION INFO

Monday, August 19, 2019
2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Session Type: Workshop

This workshop will describe recent reforms being undertaken in the Alameda County Probation Department through its Vision 2023 Strategic Plan. Chief Still will provide an overview of the impetus and process for developing a strategic plan and will discuss how it guides the department’s activities and future direction. As part of the plan’s commitment to client success, the chief will describe efforts to eliminate probation fees. Director Henzi will discuss the agency’s Pathways partnership with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to enhance continuity of care through greater coordination, virtual prison videoconferencing, and expanded reentry services. Ms. Debus-Sherrill will describe the agency’s data-driven decision-making by hosting an embedded criminologist, administering organizational surveys, partnering with universities for evaluation and pilot projects, building an in-house research unit, and sharing data with the public. Come learn how these reforms are impacting clients. All in all, this promises to be a very productive session to attend.

SESSION PRESENTERS

Sara Debus-Sherrill
Embedded Criminologist, George Mason University


Sara Debus-Sherrill is a researcher from George Mason University who works to increase evidence-based practices, evaluate programs’ effectiveness, and facilitate reform efforts in correctional systems. She is currently serving as an embedded criminologist with the Alameda County Probation Department to study reentry efforts.


Christy Henzi
Division Director, Alameda County Probation

Ms. Wendy Still
Board Member, Alameda County Probation


Wendy Still is the Chief Probation Officer of Alameda County and the retired Chief Adult Probation Officer of the City & County of San Francisco. Chief Still has over 40 years of experience in California state government, specializing in adult and community corrections. Her experiences include implementing criminal justice realignment (AB 109), developing gender-responsive and trauma-informed rehabilitation programs, and implementing strategic master plans designed to improve outcomes and reduce recidivism for California’s offender population. Christy Henzi is a law enforcement veteran with over 18 years of experience supervising the justice involved population in the Counties of Alameda, San Mateo, San Francisco and Santa Cruz. In her role as Director in Alameda County she has overseen the development of Pathways Home, a collaboration between Probation and the California Department of Corrections with a focus on removing barriers to re-entry for clients being released from State Prisons