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Public defenders, advocates press board not to cut juvenile social‑work staff; supervisors seek budget information
Summary
Public defenders, juvenile advocates and community speakers urged the board not to cut social‑work staff in the Public Defender's juvenile unit; Supervisor Ellsberg said he will request detailed fiscal information from the controller for use during the June budget process.
Several speakers at public comment and multiple supervisors addressed proposed or potential reductions to social‑work positions in the juvenile public defender's office and urged the board to preserve those positions.
Advocates and attorneys described social workers as essential to effective juvenile defense and cost‑saving for the city. Sue Burrell, staff attorney at the Youth Law Center, told the board that “social workers are essential” and said national professional guidelines consider social‑work services part of competent juvenile defense. Abigail Trillin, managing attorney at Legal Services for Children, said social workers “save money and they save children's lives and futures,” adding that probation officers do not provide the same services without social‑work training.
Patricia Lee, managing attorney of the Public Defender's juvenile unit, said the office's social‑work staff helped secure alternatives to commitments to the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) after 2005: “No client was committed to DJJ, and this is an amazing statistic,” she said and added that avoiding out‑of‑home commitments produced savings — noting 20 placement cases last year that avoided higher‑cost placements and citing a savings figure discussed on the record (about $600,000).
Public Defender Jeff Adachi addressed the board, saying he learned of a planned letter of inquiry through news coverage and not direct notice, and expressed concern about process and communication with the board. He said the department had asked for two paralegal positions because of workload and asked for professional courtesy during inquiries.
Supervisor Ellsberg said the matter would be framed for the June and July budget process: he requested that the controller provide information to help review the Public Defender's budget in that later cycle rather than seeking immediate cuts to the current year. Ellsberg said the department is about $1,000,000 overspent and has not produced $850,000 in midyear cuts; he asked the controller to provide a set of questions and data to inform the board's review for fiscal 2009–10.
No formal reductions were adopted at the meeting. Supervisors and advocates said the board needs a clearer factual record and fiscal analysis before considering cuts that advocates warned would raise costs and harm outcomes for youth.
What happens next: Supervisor Ellsberg asked the controller to compile fiscal information for use in the board’s June–July budget hearings; the public defender’s office said it will respond to inquiries but criticized the timing and manner of the initial request.
