Report 2021-113 Recommendation 31 Responses

Report 2021-113: Batterer Intervention Programs: State Guidance and Oversight Are Needed to Effectively Reduce Domestic Violence (Release Date: October 2022)

Recommendation #31 To: San Joaquin County Probation Department

To ensure program compliance with state law, San Joaquin Probation should, by April 2023, formalize comprehensive program standards for program providers that present clear guidance on the department's expectations and the documentation it will review to verify compliance with state law. The probation department should distribute these standards to program providers during their initial application and approval process and again annually during the renewal process.

1-Year Agency Response

The Probation Department has finalized comprehensive program standards for program providers and distributed to the program providers utilized in the County.

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


6-Month Agency Response

The department has updated the standards for clients programs and certifications.

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

We disagree with San Joaquin Probation's assertion that it has fully implemented our recommendation. Although it appears that San Joaquin has made progress toward formalizing comprehensive program standards, the program standards it provided remain in draft form. Additionally, San Joaquin did not provide documentation to support that it has distributed formalized standards to its program providers during the initial application or annual renewal processes. Until it addresses these shortcomings, we will continue to report this recommendation as not fully implemented.


60-Day Agency Response

The San Joaquin County Probation Department is currently developing a detailed, comprehensive policy for certifying, approving, renewing and monitoring of program providers.

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


All Recommendations in 2021-113

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.