Report 2020-102 Recommendation 14 Responses

Report 2020-102: Public Safety Realignment: Weak State and County Oversight Does Not Ensure That Funds Are Spent Effectively (Release Date: March 2021)

Recommendation #14 To: Los Angeles County

To ensure that the programs and services funded by public safety realignment funds are effective, beginning immediately, Los Angeles should conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of its programs and services at least every three years.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2023

The County remains committed to ongoing outcome-measurement efforts. In addition to the regular review process accompanying budget development, efforts to enhance the County's data infrastructure in support of outcome evaluation activities continue. The County launched a study series on realignment matters in 2020 and is in the process of continuing that effort.

- Consistent with a motion approved by the Board of Supervisors on January 25, 2022, the County Public Safety Realignment Team (PSRT), in coordination with the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee (CCJCC), Chief Information Officer, and the Chief Executive Office, developed an expanded framework in 2022 for evaluating AB 109-funded programs through a series of studies.

- A study on justice outcomes among AB 109 populations was completed and presented to PSRT in December 2022.

- The County has developed a scope of work and solicitation process to engage an external researcher for the next phase: evaluation of AB 109 behavioral health program outcomes. The solicitation will commence in October 2023 with an anticipated start date in early 2024.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2022

The County is committed to ongoing outcome-measurement activities. In addition to continuing efforts to enhance the County's data infrastructure, the County launched a study series on realignment matters in 2020 and is continuing with that work.

On January 25, 2022, the Board approved a motion related to the Assembly Bill (AB) 109 program evaluation, requesting deliverables in two phases:

- Phase 1: The County PSRT, in coordination with the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee (CCJCC), Chief Information Officer, and the Chief Executive Office, are to develop a plan to evaluate all County and community programs that receive AB 109 funding.

- Phase 2: The CCJCC, in consultation with the Chief Executive Office, are to develop contract guidelines for a consultant(s) to perform the analysis, consistent with Phase 1 planning.

County stakeholders finalized the evaluation framework of Phase 1 in April 2022, and an assessment of departmental data availability on programs to be evaluated was conducted shortly thereafter.

The County has also launched a justice outcomes study which will leverage and update prior pertinent analysis, such as the 2020 Justice Metrics Framework Baseline Report and the 2020 Public Safety Realignment Evaluation Study. This ongoing effort will establish the following:

- Justice outcomes for the Post-Release Community Supervision population and the AB 109 straight-sentenced and split-sentenced populations;

- One-year outcomes for the 2011-2020 cohorts; and

- Three-year outcomes for the 2011-2018 cohorts.

The justice outcomes study will serve as a foundational baseline for subsequent program evaluations in Phase 2.

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

Although Los Angeles acknowledged that it is still working to implement this recommendation, it did not provide us with documentation to support the efforts is has taken to date. We look forward to reviewing its next update as part of our annual follow-up process.

1-Year Agency Response

The County remains committed to ongoing outcome-measurement efforts. In addition to the regular review process accompanying budget development, efforts to enhance the County's data infrastructure in support of outcome evaluation activities continue. The County launched a study series on realignment matters in 2020 and is in the process of continuing that effort.

Furthermore, on January 25, 2022, the Board approved a motion related to the AB 109 program evaluation. The motion requests deliverables in two phases.

Phase 1: The County Public Safety Realignment Team (PSRT), in coordination with the Countywide Criminal Justice Coordination Committee (CCJCC), Chief Information Officer, and the Chief Executive Office, are to develop a plan to evaluate all County and community programs that receive AB 109 funding. The development of this plan is currently in progress.

Phase 2: The CCJCC, in consultation with the Chief Executive Office, are to develop contract guidelines for a consultant(s) to perform the analysis, consistent with Phase 1 planning.

The PSRT and partnering stakeholders are actively engaged in scoping and phasing activities as part of the evaluation project.

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

6-Month Agency Response

The County remains committed to ongoing outcome-measurement efforts. In addition to the regular review process accompanying budget development, efforts to enhance the County's data infrastructure in support of outcome evaluation activities continue. The County launched a study series on realignment matters in 2020 and is in the process of continuing that effort with the next study.

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

60-Day Agency Response

LA County remains committed to ongoing outcome-measurement efforts. In addition to the regular review process accompanying budget development, efforts to build and enhance LA County's data and evaluation infrastructure - including data sharing initiatives and master services agreements - will support evaluation activities.

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

All Recommendations in 2020-102

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.