Probation, public defender and DA report case counts and staffing changes; commissioners flag housing and redaction concerns

At the Feb. 24 joint meeting of the San Mateo County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention commissions, multiple system partners delivered routine updates on caseloads, staffing and community supports.

Ron Reyes, introduced as head of the juvenile division of the private defender program, said the office handled 30 assignments in the prior four weeks: 10 detentions (four described in the report as "707 b" offenses), 18 out-of-custody matters (13 described as "707 p" allegations) and 24 Miranda consultation hotline calls across youth age groups. Reyes said no statements were given in the hotline calls and offered to take questions.

The district attorney’s office reported that between Jan. 28 and the Feb. 24 meeting the office filed 18 felony cases and nine misdemeanor cases (27 total), and that 11 cases were rejected or referred for informal resolution during that period.

Probation announced internal restructuring and promotions: a new assistant chief will replace Michelle Kozel (retiring in March), Nora Cohen will assume juvenile services responsibilities and Margarita Ochoa will take over juvenile services caseload duties (titles and role descriptions were discussed on the record). A juvenile-services report (presented as "Yvonne" in the meeting) showed 328 total juvenile-services cases for January 2026, including 14 diversion cases, 102 court cases and 212 supervision cases managed by seven probation officers; demographic breakdowns by race/ethnicity and gender were provided.

An institutions report indicated 38 minors in custody that morning, including nine in the Secure Youth Treatment facility (one female, eight male), 20 bookings and 18 releases during the month, and average lengths of stay reported for various programs. The probation report also listed EMP referrals and completions (e.g., three EMP successful completions) and CAM referrals and completions.

Commissioners pressed for clarification on whether successful completion of EMP equated to discharge from probation and asked for counts of probation discharges in the prior month; probation staff offered to follow up with those specifics.

Commissioner Bocanegra described Faith in Action’s recent assistance securing rent for families of incarcerated youth and cited an example rental amount of about $2,450 for a two-bedroom unit in Redwood City; commissioners praised the partnership and asked the community to consider donating essentials (T-shirts, underwear, socks) that have been distributed to more than 150 youth over the past 18 months.

Chair Rasmussen read an OICR data-and-research response explaining that JJCPA and YOBG expenditure reports redact case counts fewer than 12 in line with California Health and Human Services de-identification guidance and the HIPAA privacy rule; OICR said it will work to include the redaction criteria in future reports to improve transparency.

No formal motions were taken on these partner updates; commissioners noted resource gaps (female-specific programming and educational representation) and requested follow-up detail on EMP discharges and program availability. Ending: the meeting proceeded to the next agenda item and scheduled a study session on the 2026 realignment block grant plan.

Clarification: transcript uses phrases like '7 0 7 b' and '7 0 7 p' when referring to alleged code offenses; those forms were reported as spoken in the meeting and the commission’s record.