REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
July 26, 2022
FROM
TRACY REECE, Chief Probation Officer, Probation Department
SUBJECT
Title
Authorization for Release of Data to Evident Change
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve the release of data from AutoMon, LLC to Evident Change for the purposes of assessing the needs of and providing direction for Evident Change’s remodel initiative of the Correctional Assessment and Intervention System and Juvenile Assessment and Intervention System tools.
2. Authorize the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors to sign the authorization for release of data to Evident Change.
(Presenter: Tracy Reece, Chief Probation Officer, 387-5692)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies and Stakeholders.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The required authorization is non-financial in nature and will be submitted by the Probation Department (Department).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
For the past five years, the Department has contracted with Evident Change, a not-for-profit criminal justice research and policy organization that provides case management systems, data analysis and management, continuous quality improvement analysis, and training and technical assistance, including research and evaluation to the justice community.
The Department currently subscribes to Evident Change’s Correctional Assessment and Intervention System (CAIS) and Juvenile Assessment and Intervention System (JAIS) tools. The CAIS and JAIS tools are assessment instruments that score, classify, and provide recommendations to the Department to assist in the supervision of adult and juvenile offenders. The Department accesses these tools through its case management system, referred to as Caseload Explorer. Caseload Explorer (CE) is maintained by AutoMon, LLC (AutoMon). CE is the primary database, which maintains detailed information on client services and actions of approximately 25,000 active cases, both in adult and juvenile community corrections and in juvenile detention.
Evident Change will be conducting a benchmarking assessment, called the remodel initiative, of the current quality, reliability, and validity of their CAIS and JAIS tools. This effort aims to begin redesigning the tools and technical assistance strategies around supporting the installation and implementation of the tools that are anchored in, plan, do, check, and adjust continuous quality improvement efforts. In order to assess the needs and/or direction for Evident Change’s remodel initiative, Evident Change is requesting that AutoMon provide Evident Change with the Department’s JAIS and CAIS assessment data (both the risk and the supervision strategies), CE personal identification number, and demographic information available within CE for review and evaluation (Data). No Personal Identifying Information (PII) will be included in the data feed released to Evident Change. Through this process, Evident Change will bring the JAIS and CAIS tools into better alignment with new and extant research on supporting individuals involved with justice systems, and develop and implement a systematic approach for ensuring both the tools and the practice of using them is consistent and informs relevant literature. This request includes JAIS and CAIS risk and supervision strategies data from assessments performed between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2021. Pursuant to the Department’s contract with AutoMon, AutoMon is prohibited from disclosing or providing the Department’s Data unless expressly permitted in writing by an authorized representative of the Department. The Department requests authorization for release of the Data to Evident Change.
By granting AutoMon permission to release the requested data to Evident Change, AutoMon shall be released from all liability related to the protection of said data and that Evident Change shall bear the sole responsibility for the protection and destruction of the Department’s data once it has been transferred into their possession.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Jamie Ryan, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on June 23, 2022; Finance (Kathleen Gonzalez, Administrative Analyst III, 387-5285) on July 7, 2022; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on July 11, 2022.