Board backs new Justice Services & Support Department with community co-creation; probation to report on record-clearance and staffing ratios

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to receive the report on a proposed Justice Services & Support Department (JSSD) and directed administration to co-create the department’s mission, priorities and program designs with community stakeholders through a formal public engagement process.

Why it matters: Supervisors voiced concern about how the new department would relate to existing violence prevention, public-health and reentry efforts and emphasized that community engagement and integration with ongoing initiatives must guide design decisions.

What was said: Supervisor Ellenburg and others urged transparent, strategic co-design and asked that existing efforts — such as the county’s violence-prevention initiative and school-county collaborative programs — be braided into the new structure rather than siloed. A motion to receive the report and require a co-creation process carried unanimously.

Probation and record clearance: The Board then considered Items 52 and 53 related to the Probation Department. Supervisors questioned reductions to record-clearance and expungement services the department previously provided to the public. Probation leaders said two full-time staff historically supported record-clearance work and that pop-up community events and partnerships with law clinics would continue, but several contracts were eliminated to meet a $1.6 million contract reduction within a broader departmental deficit.

Supervisors asked probation to provide off-agenda reports with: (1) an estimate of how many people not on probation would be affected by the change in expungement services and (2) supervisor/manager-to-line-staff ratios over the past three years so the Board can evaluate staffing levels and impacts. Probation agreed to return with those numbers and to update website materials with next-step guidance for residents seeking record clearance.

Outcome: The Board approved the JSSD-related motion and the probation items and directed multiple follow-ups, including staffing-ratio reporting and service-impact estimates.