REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 18, 2026
FROM
JASON ANDERSON, District Attorney
SUBJECT
Title
Sponsorship for Second Annual California Prosecutorial Job Fair to Recruit Attorney Candidates
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Authorize the District Attorney to contribute funding up to $5,000 and participate in the California Prosecutorial Job Fair, to be held at the Orange County Conference Center, to attract and recruit candidates for vacant attorney positions in the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office and counties throughout California.
(Presenter: Michael Fermin, Chief Assistant District Attorney, 382-3662)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote and Fulfill the Countywide Vision.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The sponsorship opportunity will cost approximately $1,500 and includes the use of the District Attorney’s (Department) logo and recruitment efforts at an Orange County Conference Center. The Department also may have additional costs up to $3,500 to rent several conference rooms and coordinate with San Bernardino County Human Resources (HR) to conduct testing and certification processes consistent with County HR Guidelines. Sufficient appropriation has been included in the Department’s 2026-27 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department is the public prosecutor and has the mandated responsibility to prosecute crimes committed within San Bernardino County, including city jurisdictions, pursuant to Government Code section 26500. The Department receives over 60,000 crime reports annually to review for investigation and prosecution. For many years, the Department consistently maintained a vacancy rate of 5% to 6% for attorney positions. The vacancy rate was stable until the COVID pandemic. During COVID and near the end of the pandemic, the Department’s vacancy rate increased to nearly 13%. District Attorney offices throughout California are experiencing consistently high vacancy rates.
Since January 2023, the Department has been in continual, rolling recruitment for the Deputy District Attorney I-IV classifications. Working with County Human Resources, the Department implemented an expedited, same-day certification process authorized under Personnel Rule 6.11, which allows a panel of District Attorney Subject Matter Experts to conduct rolling oral examinations of candidates as they apply, with qualifying candidates certified and moved directly into a same-day selection interview rather than waiting for a formal eligibility list. The Human Resources Director at that time approved the process in January 2023, and the following Human Resources Director designee approved an extension of the process in June 2024. While this expedited process has shortened the Department’s time to hire, the Department continues to have ongoing vacancies due to retirements and resignations, requiring the Department to pursue additional recruitment avenues, including the multi-County sponsorship described below.
In September 2025, the District Attorney’s Offices of Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, and San Bernardino Counties coordinated recruiting efforts and co-hosted the inaugural California Prosecutorial Job Fair, a recruiting event held at a hotel facility in Orange County. The event coordinators provided information to over 200 attorneys who attended the event, met with over 40 candidates individually, tested and interviewed twelve applicants and made job offers to three candidates. In addition, 15 law clerks attended and subsequently applied to the Department. Law Clerks provide a significant candidate pool to the Department after they pass the State bar exam.
In coordination with Orange County District Attorney, the Department determined that the event should be held again and it is planned for September 4, 2026. The inaugural event was held at a large hotel with multiple conference rooms, but this year’s event will be held at an Orange County Conference Center and sponsorships are being offered for the first time to help offset associated costs. Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties have committed to attending and hosting, and another seven counties are looking to join as they had participated in the inaugural event. No agreement is required for the sponsorship; Orange County has not asked participating counties to sign a Memorandum of Understanding.
The Department requests approval to provide up to $1,500 to sponsor the event and potentially another $3,500 in other costs related to room rentals unique to San Bernardino County to comply with our rapid certification and interview process authorized by the Human Resources Director, or designee. HR will administer testing and certification for rapid interviewing consistent with the expedited Rule 6.11 process currently authorized for the Department. The Department anticipates an attendance of approximately 200 students and attorneys and expects to receive applications for its open positions resulting from the attendees. Therefore, the Department requests approval to sponsor this recruiting event.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Daniella Hernandez, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on July 24, 2026; Human Resources (Jose Mancilla, Employment Division Chief, 387-6080) on July 30, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (Elias Duenas, Administrative Analyst, 387-4052) on July 29, 2026.