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Board holds wide-ranging audit hearing on AB 109 realignment; departments cite collaboration and gaps on housing, data and staffing
Summary
Supervisors convened a performance audit hearing on AB 109 implementation. The Budget Analyst's office cited 8 findings and 19 recommendations including gaps in data systems, a large CASC budget shortfall, and limited housing for reentry clients; Adult Probation, the Sheriff and the Public Defender described accomplishments and urged more housing and targeted staffing.
The Board of Supervisors held a detailed hearing on a performance audit of San Francisco's implementation of Assembly Bill 109 (public-safety realignment). The audit, produced by the Budget and Legislative Analyst's Office, identified eight findings and 19 recommendations. Severn Campbell summarized the report and said implementing the recommendations could yield an estimated $1.3 million in value from savings, efficiencies or reduced costs.
Amanda Guma, the audit project manager, said the review focused on the first year of realignment and four areas: new initiatives, program costs, staffing, and caseload/average daily population. She said the Community Assessment and Services Center (CASC) has faced delays and a current budget shortfall, and that the city had spent about $11.7 million of general-fund resources over the past three years to support realignment.
Chief Wendy Still of the Adult Probation Department framed San Francisco as relatively well prepared for AB 109 and highlighted changes the department has made: a reentry division, additional deputy probation officers, training, and a new APD strategic plan. Still gave specific measures of early outcomes: "Over the first year of realignment, 2,538 individuals in San Francisco were affected by AB 109," and reported that "56 percent of the PRCS and mandatory supervision clients remained in compliance." She defended higher-than-state-average training hours, saying new deputy probation officers require extensive, mandated training.
Sheriff McCreery (former supervisor) and other justice partners underscored alternative-to-incarceration programs, noted the county jail population remained well below capacity, and emphasized the importance of housing. A representative from the Mayor's Office of Housing said the city currently oversees about 55 units explicitly set aside for reentry populations across 10 developments, and about 1,500 local operating support program units that have higher support for reentry tenants. Chief Still said hundreds of units would be needed to meet demand.
The Public Defender and District Attorney offices described changes to staffing, defense and alternative sentencing planning, and urged additional funding for representation and for data tracking ahead of July 1 transition of parole revocation hearings to county court.
The committee took no final policy vote on the audit itself during the hearing; supervisors and department representatives agreed to continue working on the analyst recommendations and to follow up on housing, data systems, caseload standards and the CASC launch timetable.
Key numbers and program points from the hearing: AB 109-related general fund support of about $11.7 million over three years; APD reported 2,538 people affected by AB109 in the first year; APD training average hours cited (108 hours average annually vs. state '40' annual training baseline and 200 hours for new employees); CASC planned to serve 600 people a year but a larger citywide need (APD said 5,400 offenders in the county).
