Probation chief outlines services, mobile unit and reentry plans; board proclaims July 2025 Probation Services Week

Kelly Vernon, chief probation officer, told the Tulare County Board of Supervisors on July 15 that the probation department has expanded services, reduced vacancies and launched a mobile services unit intended to reach unhoused and remote populations.

Vernon described the department’s organizational structure, seven operational divisions, and recent initiatives including an adult transition unit (launched in 2023) that works inside the jail to provide pre-release connections to community services; a “Connections” one-stop hub (launched 2022) that co-locates partner agencies and sees roughly 700–710 clients per month, and a mobile service center that began outreach last month. Vernon said the department has about 384 allocated positions (394 counting extra-help staff), has improved recruitment and retention since 2021, and has reduced the vacancy rate to a 10-year low.

Program highlights included partnerships with GEO Reentry (contracted supervision and programming for medium- and low-risk clients), specialized training requirements for staff (24–40 hours annually depending on role), and technology upgrades to streamline hiring and purchasing processes. Vernon also noted a Cognizant AI pilot contract the board recently approved and said the department plans to implement it cautiously.

Vernon reported a relatively low average recidivism rate of about 14.1 percent compared with state averages cited around 54 percent, while acknowledging pandemic-era data distortions. Future projects cited included reinstituting police-probation partnerships with local police departments and opening a library in the juvenile detention facility to support longer-term in-custody programming for youth now held longer under state changes.

After the briefing, the board presented a proclamation recognizing July 2025 as Probation Services Week in Tulare County; the proclamation, read into the record, praised probation’s role in connecting clients to services, balancing accountability and rehabilitation, and reducing recidivism. Several supervisors commended the department’s community integration, recruitment successes and the mobile unit; the board toured the mobile van before reconvening to other scheduled items.

No formal policy changes or funding decisions were taken at the meeting; the proclamation appears on the record as a recognition of departmental work and will be part of the department’s public materials.