Los Angeles County Municipal Code Ch. 2.117 Justice, Care and Opportunities Department

A department of the County of Los Angeles, which shall be known as the Justice, Care and Opportunities Department, is hereby created (hereafter referred to in this chapter as "Department").

(Ord. 2022-0026 § 2, 2022.)

The position of Director of the Department is created and hereafter in this chapter will be referred to as "Director". The Department shall be under the direction and management of the Director.

(Ord. 2022-0026 § 2, 2022.)

When interpreting this chapter, words and phrases having initial capital letters shall have the following meanings:

A.

"Adult" means an individual 18 years old and older.

B.

"Alternative Sentencing" means when a person completes their criminal sentence in the community rather than in custody, including, but not limited to, house arrest.

C.

"Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) Recommendations" means the five ATI strategies adopted by the Board on March 10, 2020, which are informed by the recommendations in the Los Angeles County Alternatives to Incarceration Work Group Final Report provided to the Board of Supervisors in March 2020 that informs the County's Care First, Jails Last approach for justice-involved individuals.

D.

"Criminal Justice" means the system of law enforcement used for all stages of criminal proceedings and punishment, involving any contact with law enforcement, prosecutors, defense counsels, courts, correctional facilities, and post-release supervision.

E.

"Diversion" means an intervention that provides an alternative pathway away from the Criminal Justice system.

F.

"Pretrial" means the time between when a person is arrested and when their criminal case is resolved. Resolved means a plea, jury trial conviction or acquittal, or dismissal of the case.

G.

"Reentry" means an individual who is in the community on probation supervision or returning into the community after arrest, incarceration, rehabilitation, and/or completion of a Diversion program.

H.

"Transition Age Youth" or "TAY" means individuals between the ages of 18 and 26, acknowledging the science of adolescent development that shows TAY are in stages of development that require approaches that address their unique strengths and needs compared to those developed for Adults.

(Ord. 2022-0026 § 2, 2022.)

The purpose of the Department includes:

A.

Vetting, planning, coordinating, and overseeing the implementation of the ATI Recommendations and monitoring the outcomes.

B.

Centralizing justice-related data and outcome analysis projects.

C.

Coordinating the development and implementation of justice reform policies.

D.

Leading justice program evaluations.

E.

Serving as an incubator for innovative justice-related pilots, programs, and services, with the exception of the clinical components of such programs.

F.

Building and maintaining a Countywide mechanism for tracking bed availability for the justice-impacted population.

G.

Continuing the work on closing Men's Central Jail without a replacement jail facility.

H.

Centralizing all pretrial and reentry services, as well as implementing and aligning select services designed to prevent individuals from becoming involved with the criminal justice system, with the exception of the clinical components of such programs, for adults and TAY.

I.

Implementing all pre-filing and community-based diversion programs, with the exception of the clinical components of such programs, other than the Office of Diversion and Clinical Re-entry's LEAD community-based diversion program.

J.

Implementing and expanding as necessary all pretrial functions performed by the Probation Department, including the Pretrial Release and Evaluation Program with the Los Angeles Superior Court, to the fullest extent allowed under the law.

K.

Performing any other functions by directive of the Board of Supervisors.

(Ord. 2022-0026 § 2, 2022.)

The Director shall carry out the purposes of the Department.

(Ord. 2022-0026 § 2, 2022.)

Where legally permissible, the Department shall assume the functions, including any existing funding streams, from the following County departments:

A.

The Re-Entry Division of the Department of Health Services Office of Diversion and Re-Entry (DHS-ODR).

B.

Probation Department's Pretrial functions.

C.

The Chief Executive Office's Alternatives to Incarceration and Jail Closure Implementation teams.

D.

Any other County functions by further directive of the Board of Supervisors.

(Ord. 2022-0026 § 2, 2022.)

The Department shall coordinate its activities and delivery of services with the necessary County departments to prevent redundancy, confusion, and achieve maximum effectiveness in service to the public and shall accomplish this through executing one or more agreements.

(Ord. 2022-0026 § 2, 2022.)