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Alameda County probation outlines prevention, diversion and mapping plans for youth services
Summary
The county probation department presented its Positive Youth Development structure, prevention/diversion strategies and a juvenile services mapping effort to address geographic and racial disparities; supervisors urged stronger school partnerships and earlier intervention.
The Alameda County Probation Department told the Public Protection Committee on July 25 that it is expanding outreach and mapping for juvenile prevention and diversion services, and that targeting gaps — especially in Oakland — is a top priority.
Deputy Chief (presenter introduced as Dante) said the Positive Youth Development Division encompasses front-end services, placement and foster care and community supervision, and that the department uses actuarial risk-and-needs assessment and a risk-need-responsivity model to match youth with services.
The deputy chief said arrests and referrals have trended down in recent years but that the department still sees a demographic imbalance: in 2023 most referred youth were male (82 percent) and Black youth were overrepresented in supervision caseloads. "We have a disjunct between the utilization of services and who needs the services the most," the presenter said, noting that many services have higher uptake in Hayward than in Oakland.
The Delinquency Prevention Network (DPN) provides a countywide menu of prevention strategies (case management, mentoring, academic supports, counseling, restorative justice, family services and more); the deputy chief said 2,000 DPN referrals occurred in 2023 and that roughly 58 percent of referrals were for case-management services.
The department is conducting juvenile mapping — publishing an interactive list of providers and clickable links — and expects vendor mapping to conclude around mid‑next year. The deputy chief said the department is also working with Oakland Unified to improve referrals and expects improved utilization once school-year outreach begins.
Supervisors asked how the department will close gaps in Oakland and whether case management includes family engagement. The deputy chief said the county is replicating successful models in Oakland and working to strengthen school-district partnerships; he also described wraparound and intensive case-management contracts that provide 24-hour crisis support for the highest-need youth.
Public commenters urged family involvement, data-driven targeting and long-term program commitments (one caller cited past work on the Ceasefire model). Supervisors suggested linking probation efforts to Measure C early‑childhood investments to create more upstream prevention.
The department said it would provide updates and expects to return with additional data to the board and to the Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council.
