Report 2016-126 Recommendation 19 Responses

Report 2016-126: California Department of Social Services: Its Caregiver Background Check Bureau Lacks Criminal History Information It Needs to Protect Vulnerable Populations in Licensed Care Facilities (Release Date: March 2017)

Recommendation #19 To: Justice, Department of

To ensure that it has complete disposition information, Justice should coordinate with the Judicial Council at least once a year to share information about court reporting gaps and to determine the need to distribute additional information to courts about reporting requirements and the manner in which to report. In addition, Justice should reconvene its advisory committee and meet on a regular basis to discuss, at a minimum, improving the frequency and timeliness with which courts report dispositions to Justice and law enforcement agencies report arrest information to Justice.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From March 2022

As previously reported:

- In 2017, the DOJ reconvened the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on Criminal History Record Improvement, pursuant to Penal Code 13100.1 and meets twice a year to discuss improving the frequency, accuracy, and completeness with which criminal justice agencies are reporting arrest and disposition data to the DOJ.

- The DOJ and JCC established a monthly collaboration meeting to discuss court reporting gaps and to determine the need to distribute additional information to courts about reporting requirements and the manner in which to report.

- The DOJ and JCC regularly collaborate on disposition improvement activities aided by federal grant funding that is available to states.

- The DOJ provides counties with a detailed open arrest report which county law enforcement agencies, prosecuting agencies, and courts review to determine which county agency has the reporting responsibility for dispositions to the DOJ.

In addition, DOJ has now developed an annual statewide disposition gap statistical report that has been shared with the JCC, and will be updated annually. This report will include statistical disposition gap data by county and will be used to support the ongoing DOJ and JCC collaboration meetings.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From April 2021

In addition to what has been previously reported, the DOJ determined that it will not be possible to report information specific to court disposition reporting gaps to the JCC and courts on a quarterly basis. The DOJ does not have visibility into the criminal justice process at the county level to know who will eventually report the disposition to the DOJ. Dispositions may be reported to the DOJ by the law enforcement agency, the prosecuting agency, or the courts; because of this the DOJ does not have data related to the court's unreported dispositions. Law enforcement agencies and courts are mandated to report dispositions to the DOJ, however they are not mandated to provide status updates to the DOJ nor is there a mandate for prosecuting agencies to report disposition data to the DOJ. This issue has been the subject of proposed legislation to mandate more reporting to the DOJ, but to date there are no such mandates. The DOJ will continue to provide county level open arrest reports to counties and let agencies determine the best entity within the county to report available disposition data back to the DOJ.

The DOJ will continue ongoing collaborations with the JCC that are focused on sharing information related to improving processes and technology interfaces that have been the most beneficial for providing services to the courts. Most recently, the DOJ and JCC received a federal grant whereby the DOJ will reimburse the JCC for consultant contract services for Superior Courts to adopt the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) standardized data exchange interface; industry-standard data exchange methods that are standardized, scalable, and sustainable.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

As we indicated in our audit report, Justice is aware of a disposition reporting gap and Justice's response to this recommendation acknowledges such a gap exists. Justice has not explained why it would not be able to identify the extent of this gap by court and report that information. Accordingly, this recommendation remains partially implemented.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2020

Pursuant to California Penal Code section 13100.1, the Attorney General's Advisory Committee meetings were reconvened on September 26, 2017 and continue biannually. The DOJ considers it has implemented this point of the CSA recommendation.

With respect to coordinating with the Judicial Council and sharing information about court reporting gaps, the DOJ continues to work with the Judicial Council (JCC) to discuss disposition reporting gaps and electronic disposition reporting improvements. The DOJ is also statutorily mandated to work with the courts to obtain disposition information. To that end, the DOJ has established recurring conference calls and meetings with the JCC to collaborate on getting more complete disposition information as well as continued outreach meetings with the courts.

The Judicial Council has also been made aware that the DOJ posts quarterly listings of open arrests by county on the California Law Enforcement Website (CLEW) and that they are not entitled to the detailed open arrest reports. As such, the DOJ is developing a supplementary summary report that will be shared with the Judicial Council and the courts on a quarterly basis, as well as posted on the CLEW.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From March 2020

Attorney General's (AG) Advisory Committee continues to meet routinely, discussing the challenges of California criminal justice agencies. Meeting agendas and minutes are posted on the AG's website; https://oag.ca.gov/meetings/145145 and https://oag.ca.gov/meetings/150337 meeting held on March 12 and September 18, 2019, respectively.

The DOJ continues to post quarterly listings of open arrests by county on the California Law Enforcement Website (CLEW) that criminal justice agencies can access securely. While the Judicial Council is not entitled to access the detailed reports of open arrests, they are aware of the postings. The DOJ is developing a supplementary summary report to post on the CLEW that will also be shared quarterly with the Judicial Council. In addition, the DOJ continues interacting with the Judicial Council (JCC) via conference calls, working groups, and meetings to discuss electronic disposition reporting. Past year activities include: (1) Conference calls with the JCC and courts and other groups to discuss electronic disposition reporting and alternatives, including: (i) California Tyler Users Group (CATUG) CRIMINAL TRAFFIC WORKING GROUP; and (ii) California criminal justice agencies; calls hosted by the Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Data Sharing Task Force; (2) Collaboration with the JCC and San Joaquin and Santa Clara courts to test updated web services for implementations of electronic disposition reporting; and (3) Meetings/workshops attended with the JCC, including: (i) Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Data Sharing Task Force quarterly meetings discussing data exchanges, legislation, and policies; (ii) CATUG DOJ Training session, hosted by the JCC, discussing electronic disposition reporting to the DOJ; (iii) California Courts Association New Law Workshop discussing the impact of new laws on courts and disposition reporting alternatives; and (iv) 2020 Annual JCC Law Advisory Committee Meeting discussing electronic disposition reporting to the DOJ.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019

Pursuant to California Penal Code section 13100.1, the Attorney General's Advisory Committee reconvened on September 26, 2017. Meeting agendas and minutes are posted on the Attorney General's website at https://oag.ca.gov/advisory_panels/chri.

Each quarter, the DOJ posts a listing of open arrests by county on a California Law Enforcement Website (CLEW) that criminal justice agencies can access. Each file is encrypted and passphrase protected, and the passphrase only given to the respective criminal justice agency in the county. The Judicial Council is aware of the quarterly posting of the open arrest listings.

In addition to the advisory committee meetings and postings of open arrests, the DOJ participates in other technical meetings and bi-weekly conference calls, hosted by the California Police Chiefs' Association and the California State Sheriffs' Association Information Technology Data Sharing Taskforce, to discuss challenges affecting criminal history. The Judicial Council actively participates on these calls too.

The DOJ continues to engage with the Judicial Council, exploring opportunities related to the collection of disposition information. Recently, the DOJ entered into an Interagency Agreement with the Judicial Council, whereby grant funds will be used to reimburse the Judicial Council for consultant contract services for Superior Court system enhancements to facilitate the electronic submission of criminal history data to the DOJ.

Because the Judicial Council has a limited role in providing disposition information to the DOJ, the DOJ works directly with local law enforcement agencies, District Attorney Offices, and courts to obtain disposition information.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

As it indicates in its response, Justice has entered an interagency agreement with the Judicial Council to improve superior court disposition reporting. This is a positive step towards closing the criminal history reporting gaps that we found during our review. However, sharing information about the extent of the reporting gap, as we recommended, is a critical element of knowing whether the reporting problem is decreasing. Until Justice demonstrates that it is regularly sharing information about the reporting gap with Judicial Council, we will continue to assess this recommendation as partially implemented.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From March 2019

Pursuant to California Penal Code section 13100.1, the Attorney General's Advisory Committee reconvened on September 26, 2017. Comprised of fifteen representatives, which includes the Judicial Council, various criminal justice associations, and state government agencies, the committee agenda generally addresses concerns, presents solutions, and discusses the challenges of California criminal justice agencies. Reconvening every six months, the most recent meeting was held March 12, 2019. Agendas and minutes for each meeting are posted on the Attorney General's website at https://oag.ca.gov/advisory_panels/chri. As demonstrated in the March 12, 2019 agenda, included with our report, the DOJ led a discussion on resolving court reporting gaps, specifically, open arrests, otherwise known as arrests missing disposition information.

In addition to the advisory committee meetings, the DOJ posts a listing of open arrests by county quarterly. Criminal justice agencies have access to the file that is posted on a California Law Enforcement Website (CLEW). Each file is encrypted and passphrase protected, and the passphrase only given out to a criminal justice agency in the county. The Judicial Council, as well as the courts, are aware of the reports and how to access them.

In addition to the advisory committee meetings, the DOJ participates in other technical meetings and bi-weekly conference calls, hosted by the California Police Chiefs' Association and the California State Sheriffs' Association Information Technology Data Sharing Taskforce, to discuss challenges affecting criminal history. The Judicial Council regularly participates on every call. As an example, the February 2019 California Technical User Group Meeting (CA TUG) focused on issues related to electronic disposition submission.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

To fully address our recommendation, Justice must demonstrate that it is regularly sharing information about reporting gaps with the Judicial Council. It claims to have done so in its response, but it did not provide any documentation to support its claim.

1-Year Agency Response

Pursuant to California Penal Code section 13100.1, the Attorney General's Advisory Committee reconvened on September 26, 2017 with fifteen representatives representing the Judicial Council, various criminal justice associations, and state government agencies.

Following an overview of the criminal justice services provided by the DOJ, the committee spent time discussing the challenges of California criminal justice agencies who asked that the DOJ take a more active leadership role in developing standards-based solutions and well-defined exchanges. The DOJ agreed. The meeting concluded with a consensus to hold the meetings bi-annually. Future committee meetings will further identify concerns and solutions for better sharing of information. The next meeting is March 15, 2018, in which the DOJ will provide a status of current activities and upcoming enhancements to electronic disposition reporting.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented

Justice has met initially with its Advisory Committee to discuss reporting gaps related to criminal history information. To fully address our recommendation, Justice must demonstrate that it is regularly sharing information about reporting gaps with the Judicial Council.

6-Month Agency Response

The Attorney General's Advisory Committee will reconvene on September 26, 2017 at 10 a.m. Committee participants include representatives from the California Police Chiefs Association, California Peace Officers Association, California State Sheriff's Association, Judicial Council of California, California District Attorneys Association, California Court Clerks' Association, Chief Probation Officers' Of California, Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, California Highway Patrol, Senate Committee on Rules, Speaker of Assembly, Office of Emergency Services, and the Director of Finance. The agenda for the meeting is included with this response.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

Letters soliciting representatives from various criminal justice organizations, including the Judicial Council, to participate in the Attorney General's Advisory Committee were mailed, requesting responses back by the end of April 2017. This committee will focus on data standardization and the frequency and timeliness that criminal record information is reported to the DOJ. The DOJ anticipates the next committee meeting will be held in September 2017.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2016-126

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.