County details CGL technical and operational assessments as part of jail transformation plan

Santa Clara County officials on Sept. 12 told the county Public Safety and Justice Committee that a consultant-led technical and operational assessment of county jail facilities is under way and is scheduled to produce phased recommendations by May 2026.

The deputy county executive’s office said the county’s contract with CGL includes two parts: a technical assessment of building condition and an operational assessment of how custody, health and court functions operate across facilities. “The technical assessment … looked at the actual facility in terms of its condition,” Consuelo Hernandez, deputy county executive, told the committee. “The second component … is the operational assessment.”

The county emphasized the operational work involved tours, two-day assessments at individual sites and one-on-one interviews with staff. Hernandez said the Elmwood site’s assessment included a six-hour tour and interviews with representatives from custody health services, facilities and fleet, the sheriff’s custody bureau, county counsel and others. She said the technical inspections concluded at the end of July and a draft technical report is expected later this year.

Why it matters: County leaders said the work will frame a phased plan for facility upgrades or replacement and inform staff and community expectations about timing and scope. The committee was told a final set of recommendations, including suggested phasing for any demolition or remodel work, is expected in May 2026.

Officials said CGL will also hold confidential interviews with roughly 15 to 20 stakeholder groups, including people with lived experience, faith-based providers, service providers, probation and juvenile-probation staff, pretrial services, public defender and district attorney offices, court administrators, and sheriff’s office leaders. “They will also be conducting interviews with about 15 or 20 different stakeholder groups,” Hernandez said. County staff said some interviews will be conducted without county staff present to provide a “safe space.”

Committee members asked for specifics on timeline and phasing. Supervisor Lee and others pressed for clarity on when a recommended phasing plan might be available; county staff reiterated that the May 2026 report will include options (for example, “demo this building or we should remodel this building”) and suggested that each recommended project would have a separate implementation timeline.

Committee members also raised operational constraints tied to facility footprints. Hernandez noted Elmwood’s 62-acre campus and described how dispersed facilities require more staffing and transport to courts and medical appointments, limiting opportunities to consolidate services. The committee discussed historic-preservation considerations: staff said one or two Elmwood buildings may be designated cultural resources and that designation will be addressed in the report.

Action: The committee voted to introduce the county executive’s report on the jail facility transformation process. The roll call recorded Vice Chairperson Lee and Chairperson Ellerberg voting in favor; the motion carried.

What’s next: County staff said the CGL contract work will continue through the fall and that a fuller community-engagement summary will be provided to the full board in November, with the project concluding in May 2026 with recommendations and a phased plan for next steps.