SACRAMENTO (April 14, 2016) – The Board of State and Community Corrections named 18 people to serve on the executive steering committee that will guide the process for awarding the majority of the state’s Proposition 47 savings.

The voter-approved initiative reduced penalties for some low-level crimes and directed that 65 percent of the savings from reduced incarceration rates be distributed by the BSCC to programs that reduce recidivism, especially substance-use disorder and mental health treatment. Assembly Bill 1056 provides additional programmatic priorities for the types of recidivism-reduction services that would be funded, such as reentry housing assistance for offenders who have served their sentences and have been released from incarceration, and employment-related services such as job skills training.

The BSCC received 128 statements of interest from people seeking to serve on the ESC. Board Members and Co-chairs Scott Budnick, of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, and Leticia Perez, Kern County Supervisor, narrowed the list to 54 semi-finalists who represented diverse interests, including the formerly incarcerated. The Board authorized the co-chairs to add one more member, preferably an expert in employment or restorative justice.

The limited-term Executive Steering Committee will develop the grant program criteria for final Board approval. It will also rate the proposals and make recommendations to the Board for awards. The awards are expected to be made in Spring 2017.

The BSCC looked to seat an ESC that is representative of California’s diverse population who bring a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, professional expertise, life experiences and geographic representation. The initiative also directed the Department of Finance to determine the state savings. In the coming fiscal year, the BSCC will receive approximately $19 million to distribute as grants. That amount is estimated to climb to $57 million of ongoing funding by year three.

The proposition voters approved established that public agencies will be the lead agencies applying for Prop 47 grants. These public agencies will work in cooperation with local service providers.

The BSCC is a multi-faceted organization that provides assistance to the counties on community corrections issues. The agency annually administers and awards millions of dollars in grants designed to reduce recidivism, sets standards for the training of local corrections officers and the operations of local corrections facilities, and administers the current lease-revenue bond process for local jail improvements.

For more information contact Tracie Cone at 916-322-1054 or tracie.cone@bscc.ca.gov

The list of ESC members, along with brief bios, is below.

 

1. Scott Budnick (Co-Chair)

Scott Budnick grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Emory University in 1999 with degrees in Business and Film. He began his film career working in casting and as an Assistant to director Todd Phillips for DreamWorks. He then went to work for former TriStar Pictures chairman, Mike Medavoy at Phoenix Pictures, where he worked first-hand in the development of over forty films. A year later, he returned to work with Phillips where he was chosen as Executive Vice President of Phillips’ Production Company and develops/produces projects under the Green Hat Films banner, now based at Warner Bros Studios. Mr. Budnick has produced such films as the The Hangover series, Old School, Project X, Starsky and Hutch, School for Scoundrels, and Due Date.

2. Leticia Perez (Co-Chair)

Leticia Perez is a third generation Bakersfield resident. She is a proud Highland High School graduate who went on to earn her Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara, before journeying to Indiana to fulfill her dream of earning a Juris Doctorate. Leticia returned from Law School in 2006 and chose to work with indigent clients while volunteering her free time on the Boards of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Community Service Organization, and New Life Recovery Training Center. Her dedication to the practice of law and her service to the community earned her the respect of her peers and their selection to her being the first woman to preside as president of The Kern County Bar Association’s Criminal Defense Section. Leticia was nominated for, and served as Chair of the Kern County Planning Commission. She later became the consultant for the California State Senate Committee on Economic Development and the State Permitting Process. Currently, Leticia is the Vice Chair of the Kern County Board of Supervisors. Leticia was recently elected as the 2nd Vice President of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and serves as the Chair of the Latino/a Caucus. She is also a California State Governor appointed member of the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC). Leticia is a sought after speaker on issues ranging from the nuances of the California Environmental Quality Act regulations, alternative energy development, socioeconomic policies and procedures effecting the Central Valley, and recipes to the best hard-shell-tacos South of the Kern River. She is a frequent guest on local and valley wide radio and television. Her political career has been reported on by the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and she has been featured on the Daily Show with John Stewart. Leticia’s mother was a Vietnam era Army Nurse and Leticia comes from a family of veterans. In fact, she married one, and it is because of her marriage to her husband that Leticia has become an avid proponent of mental health support for combat veterans who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD.

3. John J. Bauters

John J. Bauters is Policy Director for Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ), the proponents of Proposition 47. He manages CSJ’s statewide legislative and budgetary policy priorities aimed at reducing recidivism, improving victim’s services, and increasing smart justice investments in communities affected by crime. Prior to the CSJ, John spent more than a decade as an advocate on homelessness and housing issues, including many years as a legal aid attorney for people experiencing homelessness. His prior work includes serving as the Director of Housing Law at Cabrini Green Legal Aid in Chicago, where he defended residents of public housing facing eviction for alleged drug and criminal-related activity in jury trials. John has extensive experience working with individuals who face challenges accessing housing, including people with criminal records. In 2015, while he was Policy Director at Housing California, John was instrumental in the crafting of Assembly Bill 1056, which gave the BSCC additional guidance on how to prioritize reallocation of state savings realized by Prop 47.

4. Christine Brown-Taylor

Christine Brown-Taylor is the San Diego County Sheriff Department’s first Reentry Services Manager. She oversees the Reentry Services Division which was created in response to California’s Criminal Justice Realignment Act. The Division is responsible for the reentry and rehabilitation programs in the seven detention facilities in the County of San Diego. In 2015 the Sheriff’s department received two Challenge Awards by the California State Association of Counties for the Veterans Moving Forward Program and Medi-Cal Expansion to Increase Healthcare Access. Prior to joining the Sheriff’s Department, Christine was employed by University of California, San Diego as the SB 618 Program Manager for the community case management component of the San Diego Prisoner Reentry Program. Christine was responsible for managing an annual budget of $1.7 million, supervised 15 university staff and provided consultation and staff development to two CDCR prisons during her six years with the program. Christine began her social work career as a coordinator of a Rape Crisis Center in northwest Ohio. She began working closely with the justice involved population soon after moving to California in 1996. Christine has experience working with small and large nonprofit organizations providing a variety of services. Christine has provided training and conducted workshops throughout California on evidence based practices and case management of the justice involved population. Christine holds a Master of Social Work degree from San Diego State University.

5. Charity Chandler-Cole

Charity is a living testament to the power of resilience and redemption. Having experienced a life of hardship, abuse, neglect and defeat, as well as being told countless times that she would never amount to anything, Charity took her life into her own hands and set out to prove to the world that regardless of her circumstances, she was destined for greatness. Charity graduated with Honors from Loyola Marymount University earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Studies and has received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration, with an emphasis in Management and Leadership from California State University, Northridge. Charity is also the Director of Contracts Administration for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the world’s number one AIDS healthcare provider and advocate, a wife and mother to four beautiful children. In addition to work, being a wife and mother, Charity is an advocate and serves on the Juvenile Justice Standing Committee, a subcommittee of the Board of State and Community Corrections and sits on the Board of Directors for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition in addition to participating in numerous panels, congressional briefings, town halls, keynotes and a TEDx event with topics ranging from recidivism reduction to human trafficking. Charity possesses an unwavering passion for youth and women and an unbridled desire to save them. Having experienced both the juvenile justice and foster care systems, Charity understands the challenges plaguing young people and uses her powerful story to inspire others who are now walking down the path she walked. Charity is also using her powerful story of redemption and triumph to inspire other young men and women under the mantra, “If Charity can do it, then so can I.”

6. Isaiah Crompton

Isaiah Crompton is blessed with 25 years in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. He has achieved certification from the California Association of Drug and Alcohol Counselors (CADAAC) as a CADAAC I and II Drug and Alcohol Counselor, worked for ten years as a forensic addiction counselor for Kern County Mental Health, and founded and served as Executive Director of Isaiah’s Sober Living, which works primarily with parolees, especially individuals who struggle with dual addiction. Mr. Crompton was born to a large African American family in East Bakersfield, CA. Even though both of his parents worked and were strong, church-going business people, he became enamored with the drug culture of his neighborhood. Early drinking and drug use led to selling drugs and being sent to jail a number of times until his early twenties. For the last five years of his addiction, Mr. Crompton was homeless, living in his childhood neighborhood. Finally, he was arrested and sentenced to San Quentin Prison for a three-year term. Upon parole, he completed the program at the Salvation Army Adult Recovery Center of Bakersfield. That program inspired him to prepare professionally and personally to help others seeking recovery, and this service has been the primary focus of his life. Mr. Crompton has been clean and sober for 25 years. He is married with a wonderful family of children and grandchildren who love spending time with him. As a community volunteer, Mr. Crompton worked hard to support Stop the Violence, a Bakersfield based non-profit organization. He is also the founder and CEO of Caught Up, The Intervention Game. Both are focused on helping kids avoid the lures of drugs, violence, bullying and other domestic problems that want to steal away their lives. Mr. Crompton has spent more than 20 years working with men and women whose lives are seriously affected by mental health and substance abuse problems. He is now in a position where he can continue helping people reenter our communities and live productive lives.

7. Shelley Curran

Shelley Curran is the Director of the Criminal Justice Services (CJS) office of the Judicial Council of California. In her capacity as the director of CJS, Ms. Curran leads a team of attorneys, researchers, and analysts to implement the Judicial Council’s priorities related to criminal law and procedure including the implementation of criminal justice realignment, the imposition of criminal and traffic fines and fees, Propositions 36 and 47, adult collaborative courts, the Recidivism Reduction Fund Court Grant Program, evidence based practices, and community supervision. Ms. Curran served on the AB 1050 Executive Steering Committee of the Board of State and Community Corrections to define recidivism and regularly represents the council to state and national stakeholders, the Legislature and Governor’s Administration, and other state and local justice system partners. Prior to joining the Judicial Council in 2009, Ms. Curran served as Principal Consultant to the President pro Tempore of the California State Senate on budget and legislative matters related to adult and juvenile criminal justice, civil rights, and the judiciary. She also spent seven years as a Policy Analyst with Consumers Union where she advocated on behalf of low-income Californians on matters related to credit and finance. Ms. Curran has a B.A. from Indiana University, Bloomington and a M.A. in policy analysis from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

8. Hon. George Eskin

Judge George Eskin (Ret.) was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He is a 1965 graduate of the UCLA School of Law and worked for five years in the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office as a trial prosecutor and later as the Assistant District Attorney. Following four years in the private practice of law, Judge Eskin was appointed Assistant District Attorney in Santa Barbara County in 1975 and one year later, he became Chief Assistant to Los Angeles City Attorney Burt Pines and guided the establishment of an innovative program for the prosecution of domestic violence cases. In February 1981, he resumed the private practice of law in Ventura and Santa Barbara, emphasizing the defense of criminal cases. Certified as a specialist in criminal law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization for 25 years, Judge Eskin was honored by the Ventura County Criminal Defense Bar Association in 1990 for his “outstanding contributions” to the criminal justice system, and in 1997, the Criminal Defense Bar Association of Santa Barbara presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also a recipient of the 2002 Ventura County District Attorney Woodruff J. Deem Medal of Justice. Judge Eskin was a member of the California Commission on Personal Privacy, the California Judicial Nominees Evaluation (JNE) Commission and the Santa Barbara County Human Services Commission. He is the recipient of the Anti-Defamation League’s 2005 Distinguished Community Service Award. Judge Eskin has been an active contributor to the California High School Mock Trial competition for more than 30 years as a coach, consultant, scorer and presiding judge. Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court by Governor Gray Davis in August 2003, he served as a volunteer judge in Santa Barbara’s Teen Court program. During his tenure on the bench, Judge Eskin’s primary assignment was a criminal trial department, where he established a special Military Veterans Treatment Court Calendar. He was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to serve four years on the Criminal Law Advisory Committee to the Judicial Council. Santa Barbara Women Lawyers Foundation honored him as its 2012 Founding Father, and he received the 2013 John T. Rickard Judicial Service Award by the Santa Barbara County Bar Association. He retired from the bench in October 2013 and served in the Assigned Judges Program until August 15, 2015.

9. Mark Ghaly, M.D.

Mark Ghaly is the Director for Community Health for the LA County Department of Health Services. His role at the Department of Health Services focuses on how community resources and community efforts can help build a stronger and richer health services delivery system in the safety net. He has a particular focus on strengthening the service delivery network in South Los Angeles. Dr. Ghaly is also working to enrich the health care services provided to youth in the juvenile detention system and for children within the County’s child welfare system. Dr. Ghaly was appointed by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to convene stakeholders, including community-based organizations and formerly incarcerated people, to recommend a process and schedule for developing a regional strategy for Proposition 47 funds. Dr. Ghaly represents the county and city of Los Angeles—which have high numbers of individuals eligible for felony reclassification— in the area of reentry policy. Prior to joining the L.A. County Department of Health Services, Dr. Ghaly was the medical director at a San Francisco Department of Public Health Clinic called Southeast Health Center in the Bayview Hunters Point community. Dr. Ghaly attended Brown University and received his M.D. and his M.P.H. in health policy from Harvard University. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco.

10. Frankie Guzman

Frankie Guzman is a staff attorney at the National Center for Youth Law (“NCYL”). At NCYL, Frankie works to end the practice of prosecuting children in California’s criminal justice system. Raised in a poor, mostly immigrant community plagued by drugs and violence, Frankie experienced his parents’ divorce and his family’s subsequent homelessness at age three, the life-imprisonment of his 16-year-old brother at age five, and lost numerous friends to violence. At age 15, he was arrested for armed robbery and, on his first offense, was sentenced to serve 15 years in the California Youth Authority. Released on parole after six years, Frankie attended law school and became an expert in juvenile law and policy with a focus on ending the prosecution of youth as adults. Frankie’s work has focused on improving data collection and analysis to better understand the impact that transfer laws have on youth, working with local courts and prosecutors to reduce transfers of youth, educating the public to raise awareness about the harms of transfer, and most importantly, coalition building to create a movement for change that includes the communities most affected by adult prosecutions of children. Through partnerships with community organizations and advocacy groups, Frankie has helped lead the effort to reduce the number of youth prosecuted as adults and serving time in adult prison. Recent successes include SB 260 (2013), SB 261 (2015), and SB 382 (2015). Even more recently, Frankie played a significant role in developing the youth justice portion of the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016 to end direct file in California.

11. Stephanie Louise James

Stephanie L. James has been the Chief Probation Officer for the San Joaquin County Probation Department since March 2012. She has worked for the Department since 1994 and worked her way up through the ranks. As Chief Probation Officer, she has championed the use of evidence based practices, positive youth development, and data driven decision making within Probation and with her county partners. She has been instrumental in the development and writing of the San Joaquin County Public Safety Realignment Plan as well as ongoing implementation of all plan components and budgetary oversight. She is the primarily liaison between all partner agencies of the Community Corrections Partnership and continues to stress evidence based practices and data driven decision making throughout realignment planning. The San Joaquin County Community Corrections Partnership has received numerous recognitions and is being seen as a model CCP throughout the State. Stephanie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, as well as a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from California State University, Sacramento. She is an instructor for the Chief Probation Officers of California Command College and the Supervisory Leadership Academy. She has been awarded the Outstanding Professional in Law Enforcement Award from the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission of San Joaquin County and the Don L. Asher Memorial Law Day Award. She also serves as a Board Member for the Workforce Investment Board, the One Charter School, and Give Every Child a Chance. Stephanie is an active member of numerous committees and collaborative workgroups in her field and is often called upon to present at trainings and conferences. Stephanie and her husband have four daughters, aged 12 to 18, and are active in their schools and sports activities.

12. John Jones

As the Ella Baker Center’s Outreach Coordinator, John works toward building and maintaining collaborations with other organizations, as part of an effort to end mass incarceration and support economic dignity. Currently, John is involved in Proposition 47 reclassification outreach. Being a formerly incarcerated individual, and father of three, John has been a leader/organizer in the community in the areas of ending mass incarceration (Prop 47, AB 109), community safety (Measure Z), education (Measure N), economic dignity (Measure FF, Revive Oakland, Oakland United) and building bridges between the different ethnicities and community organizations in Oakland.

13. Richard Kuhns, Psy.D.

Dr. Kuhns has spent the last three decades working in the fields of rehabilitation and social services. He began his career in public service working for the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Department in both Corrections and Administration. He then worked for Del Norte County Mental Health in a collaborative program between Probation, the school district, and Mental Health to rehabilitate youth, integrating them back into the mainstream school system and off probation. After completing his Doctorate in Psychology, Richard worked for the Shasta County Department of Mental Health in the AB 2034-funded program, which involved direct contact and engagement of the homeless mentally ill. This program had positive outcomes in lowering hospitalization, incarceration, and homeless episodes. While at Shasta County Mental Health, Richard teamed with non-profits, faith-based organizations, governmental agencies, and local law enforcement to work with clients where they were, such as homeless encampments and the local emergency homeless shelter. Richard was asked to participate in a POST Training demonstrating to law enforcement best practices in approaching and engaging mentally ill homeless persons. Richard is now the Director of Shasta County’s Housing and Community Action Programs, which includes the Shasta County Community Action Agency and the regional Housing Authority for the counties of Shasta, Trinity, Modoc, and Siskiyou. As the Director, he has been very involved in creating local housing assistance programs that target homeless military veterans, AB 109 individuals, and victims of domestic violence. He currently manages a variety of programs, including the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME, CalHome, VASH, Family Self-Sufficiency, and Emergency Food and Shelter Program. Richard believes that housing is not a reward for success but is mandatory for success.

14. Ron Lane

Ron Lane is a Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for the County of San Diego. He is the General Manager of the County’s Public Safety Group, working closely with the Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s Office, Probation Department, Office of Emergency Services, Citizen’s Law Enforcement Review Board, the Public Defender, Child Support and the Medical Examiner. Together, these departments provide critical public safety services to the citizens of San Diego County and have over 7,500 employees and an annual budget of over $1.6 billion. Prior to this assignment, Ron served as the Director of the County of San Diego’s Office of Emergency Services, and was the Director of the County’s Emergency Operations Center during the 2007 Firestorm. He has worked for the County of San Diego since 1989, and has served in the municipal courts, Chief Technology Office and Department of Child Support. He is also a retired Colonel in the United States Army Reserve. He was mobilized and deployed to the Persian Gulf twice, in Desert Storm and for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ron holds a Master of Public Administration from San Diego State University, and is a recent graduate of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

15. Samuel A. Nuñez

Samuel Nuñez is the Executive Director of Fathers & Families of San Joaquin in Stockton, California. Sammy founded the agency over 10 years ago to promote peace, harmony, healing, and health and to address the underlying structures and systemic factors necessary to make genuine progress toward community well-being. Fathers & Families of San Joaquin is a progressive, solutions-oriented organization that works to address the varying needs of men, women, youth, their families and communities. By providing socially relevant and culturally-rooted services, healing spaces, and advocacy opportunities, the organization develops leadership and strategic focus with people most impacted by local issues, while unifying the efforts of existing groups to address critical problems such as institutional inequity, criminalization, incarceration, fatherless homes, widespread poverty, employment disparities, community violence & trauma, inadequate access to public health services, and community re-entry. Sammy and his organization are lead partners in the local San Joaquin County Alliance for Boys & Men of Color, as well as the statewide Alliance for BMoC. FFSJ recently launched the Stockton Trauma Recovery Center, designed to increase access to trauma-informed mental health treatment, comprehensive clinical case management and culturally relevant services for victims of violent crimes who are have been exposed to chronic trauma and have unserved. Sammy has extensive experience, knowledge and a profound understanding of working with young men and fathers. Sammy is a state and nationally recognized expert in the fields of youth development and responsible fatherhood. As an alumnus of a fatherhood development program in Northern California and a past coordinator of a nationally recognized Male Involvement and Male Responsibility program, Sammy has the unique background of being a participant and success story of the type of services offered through grassroots youth and fatherhood development programs, such as the ones now offered by Fathers & Families of San Joaquin.

16. Vonya Quarles

Vonya Quarles Esq., a native of Southern California, and resident of Riverside County has experienced the criminal justice system both in the courtroom as an attorney and in her own personal life as a formerly incarcerated youth and woman. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, and a Juris Doctorate from Pacific Coast University. She attended law school at night and became a licensed attorney in 2013. She is a graduate of the Women Organizing for Justice program and the Eleanor Jean Grier Leadership Academy. She is a Women’s Policy Institute Criminal Justice Alumni and a WK Kellogg Foundation Racial Equity and Healing fellow. Vonya Quarles is the community representative on the Riverside County Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) and a member of All of Us or NONE (AOUON) and the Alternatives to Jail Expansion Coalition (ATJEC). As the co-founder and executive director of Starting Over, Inc., she works with re-entering community members to provide transitional housing and other direct services including leadership development, civic engagement, peer support, and economic development.

17. Thomas Renfree

Tom is the Deputy Director of Substance Use Disorder Services for the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California (CBHDA). As the statewide advocacy association representing the behavioral health directors from all of California’s counties, CBHDA was formed from the recent merger of the California Mental Health Directors Association and the County Alcohol & Drug Program Administrators Association of California (CADPAAC). As Deputy Director of Substance Use Disorder Services for the County Behavioral Health Directors Association, and former director of the County Alcohol & Drug Program Administrators Association, Tom has an extensive background in working with diverse groups, including local governments, behavioral health providers, several state departments, the criminal justice and judicial systems, and clients/consumers of mental health and substance use disorder services. Tom has also been active for many years in statewide efforts to increase public awareness and support for both adult and adolescent alcohol and other drug prevention and treatment services, on behalf of small rural counties as well as large urban communities. Tom began his work in this field just before Proposition 36 of 2000 (the treatment-in-lieu-of-incarceration initiative) was passed, so his initial experience was in the area of substance use disorder services for the criminal justice involved population. Prior to his current position, for almost fourteen years Tom worked for and represented CADPAAC, first as a legislative advocate, and from 2006 to 2014 as Executive Director of the association. In this role Tom was active in statewide efforts to increase local government funding and support for both adult and adolescent alcohol and other drug prevention and treatment services. Tom has prior legislative experience working with two other public policy associations, including the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political science from the University of California. Among his leadership goals are a commitment to work toward better public understanding of substance use disorder issues, and a commitment to help advance public support for behavioral health programs, their clients, and the workforce that directly provide prevention and treatment services.

18. Javier Stauring

Co-founder/Executive Director, Healing Dialogue and Action (HAD) HDA is a combination of group work based on compassionate listening and social action. HDA brings together those wounded by violence and by a broken criminal justice system, engaging participants in processes that have each side seeing the humanity of the other and working towards their mutual healing. Prior to HAD, Javier worked as the director of Office of Restorative Justice (ORJ) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1995 to 2016.In ORJ, Javier provided pastoral care and support services to incarcerated men, women, and youth in virtually every penal institution in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Javier also delivered pastoral care and support services to crime victims, their families and communities. As the largest and oldest volunteer organization serving these institutions, ORJ is a leader in the effort to promote the adoption of restorative justice principles aimed at reconciling and restoring individuals, neighborhoods and society at large. Through his work with both victims and offenders, Javier has developed extensive expertise in criminal justice issues that plague our cities and neighborhoods. Although he is based in Los Angeles, however Javier’s work includes statewide efforts.