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Committee backs one‑year extension and nearly $6 million increase to pretrial diversion contract
Summary
The committee recommended a fifth amendment to extend and increase the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project contract to meet caseload growth driven by the Humphrey and Buffen decisions and COVID‑related releases; BLA found the request reasonable.
The Budget and Finance Committee on April 29 recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve a one‑year extension and a roughly $5.9 million increase to the existing agreement between the Sheriff’s Office and the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, bringing the contract total to about $15.9 million.
Kristen Hollings, chief financial officer for the Sheriff’s Department, outlined the history of the city’s pretrial services, noting major workload increases following the 2018 Humphrey decision and the later Buffen ruling, which limited the superior court bail schedule and accelerated pre‑arraignment timelines. Hollings said the court rulings and expanded supervised release work required a staffing increase and additional case management capacity; the amendment exercises the first of two one‑year extension options and increases the contract value to cover caseload growth and required 24/7 coverage.
David Moroff of the Pretrial Diversion Project said staff increased from just over 30 to about 80 people since 2016 to meet growing demand, and that the program’s safety and appearance metrics compare favorably with industry standards. Hollings and Moroff described “assertive case management” that can require multiple weekly meetings and coordination with treatment programs; they said specialized services such as anger‑management or domestic‑violence interventions are arranged through partners and may be free to clients.
Supervisors probed several operational details: how many clients are on electronic monitoring and who manages it (equipment via a contract with Sentinel; deputies enforce violations), how performance metrics are measured and tracked over time, and whether pretrial tracks outcomes for clients for whom the program recommended no release but judges released them anyway. Hollings and Moroff committed to follow up with additional data on metrics and case outcomes.
Stephen Campbell of the Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office summarized his office’s review and recommended approval, citing reasonable budgeted expenditures and an increase in staffing from about 43 to 53 positions; the committee voted to forward the amendment to the full Board with a positive recommendation.
Next steps: the Board of Supervisors will consider the amendment at a full board meeting; committee members asked staff to supply follow‑up details on metrics and monitoring.
