To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Probation Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Chief Vanessa Fuchs, 707-565-2732
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Public Safety Realignment Implementation Plan for Fiscal Year 26-27
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Accept the Community Corrections Partnership’s Fiscal Year 26-27 Public Safety Realignment Implementation Plan
end
Executive Summary:
This item presents the Sonoma County Community Corrections Partnership’s (CCP) Public Safety Realignment Implementation Plan for FY 26-27. This plan is required as part of the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Act (AB109), which shifted certain types of the adult prison population from the state to counties. Under this legislation, funding, derived from sales tax, was provided to counties to serve this population. The legislation further required the establishment of a CCP committee to oversee uses of this fund and approve the annual implementation plan, which is then to be accepted by the Board of Supervisors. The CCP committee is made up of representatives from Probation, Sheriff, Petaluma Police Department, District Attorney, Public Defender, Sonoma Superior Court, Department of Health Services, County Executive’s Office and Sonoma County Office of Education.
The annual implementation plan outlines projected revenue and service levels, highlights new or expanded CCP programs, and presents the recommended budget. The CCP executive committee approved the plan at its September 28, 2026 meeting.
In balancing increasing costs with only a small increase in realignment revenue in FY 26-27 and a one-time use of accumulated fund balance, the CCP opted to maintain funding for all programs funded in FY 26-27. Additionally, it extended time-limited funding for the Public Defender’s Office analyst and converted an extra-help interpreter position in the Public Defender’s Office to a permanent position. Overall, FY 26-27 recommended expenditures are $900,000 higher than FY 25-26.
FY 26-27 recommended CCP expenses will exceed projected revenue by $3.9 million. This shortfall will be covered with accumulated fund balance, which was $17.5 million at the end of FY 25-26 when this plan was developed.
Discussion:
Assembly Bill 109 and the FY 26-27 Realignment Implementation Plan
Assembly Bill 109, known as the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Act, is the cornerstone of California’s legislative efforts to reduce adult prison populations and close the revolving door of justice system involvement for individuals convicted of less serious offenses. This legislation shifted responsibility for several types of individuals with felony convictions from the state to counties. For individuals whose current and prior convictions are for legally designated non-serious, non-sexual, and nonviolent felonies, courts now impose sentences of incarceration in county jails, community supervision by county probation departments, or jail time followed by community supervision. To help offset the financial burden to counties managing the
increased caseload, the state provides funding derived from a 1.0625% state sales tax, specifically designated to be used for community corrections partnerships and other public safety and health services programs.
Consistent with legislation, each year, the Sonoma County Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) develops a realignment implementation plan intended to utilize this funding to ensure sufficient detention capacity for those convicted of more serious offenses while promoting evidence-based rehabilitation and supportive services for those who can be safely supervised in the community.
Consistent with prior years, the FY 26-27 plan allocates realignment funding to the Sheriff’s Office, Probation Department, Health Services, Human Services, District Attorney, and Public Defender. Major CCP programs include the Day Reporting Center, pretrial services, detention, substance use disorder treatment, case prosecution and defense, and program evaluation.
Realigned Populations
During a snapshot point-in-time in June 2026, of the 602 total inmates in the county jail, 105 individuals (17.5%) were realigned under AB 109. Concurrently, the Probation Department was supervising 468 realigned individuals in the community. This represents a combined total of 573 realigned individuals under local jurisdiction who, prior to realignment, would have been supervised by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Additionally, Probation was monitoring 790 individuals released to pretrial supervision.
Implementation Plan Overview
The CCP’s FY 26-27 annual implementation plan is summarized below by major program type.
1) Custody - $6,473,730 (27% of budget). 18.0 FTE. Jail unit housing for realigned inmates. This represents an increase of $263,905 over FY 25-26, with no change in FTE. Funding is allocated to the Sheriff’s department.
2) Community-Based Programming -$4,258,690 (18% of total budget). 14.75 FTE. Programs that support realigned individuals on community supervision, such as the Day Reporting Center, transitional housing, mental health and substance use disorder treatment, employment training, and educational assistance. This is an increase of $249,285 over FY 25-26, with no change in FTE. Funding is allocated between Sheriff, Health Services, Probation, and Human Services.
3) Pretrial Services -$4,091,456 (17% of total budget). 12.5 FTE. Provides risk assessments for individuals booked into jail and community-based monitoring of defendants awaiting trial. This is an increase of $107,893 over FY 25-26, with no change in FTE. Funding is allocated between Probation and Health Services.
4) Community Supervision -$3,475,056 (15% of total budget). 12.0 FTE. Supervision of realigned individuals. This is an increase of $97,970 over FY 25-26, with no change in FTE. Funding is allocated to the Probation department.
5) Parole Revocation Hearings -$2,411,978 (10% of total budget). 9.5 FTE. District Attorney and Public Defender staff to handle the additional workload created by transferring parole revocation hearings from the State Board of Parole Hearings to local courts. Funding comes first from the District Attorney/Public Defender dedicated apportionments account, with the CCP funding the remaining portion, if any, up to the approved budget amount. This is an increase of $106,346 over FY 25-26, with no change in FTE. Funding is allocated between Public Defender and District Attorney.
6) In-Custody Programming - $2,279,896 (9% of total budget). 1.5 FTE. Rehabilitative programming for realigned inmates. This is an increase of $40,474 over FY 25-26, with no change in FTE. Funding is allocated to the Sheriff’s Department.
7) Administration -$657,343 (3% of total budget). 3.0 FTE (2.0 FTE ongoing and 1.0 FTE time limited). Provides administrative, budgetary, legal, and analytical support to the CCP. This is an increase of $89,617 over FY 25-26, with no change in FTE. Funding is allocated between Sheriff, Probation, Public Defender, and County Counsel.
8) Data Management & Evaluation -$211,445 (1% of total budget). 0.5 FTE. Services to capture, analyze, and report data, which informs the best rehabilitative strategies to improve outcomes for realigned individuals. This is an increase of $10,162 over FY 25-26 with no change in FTE. Funding is allocated to Probation.
New or Expanded Programs
Public Defender’s Department Analyst: A time-limited department analyst position was
extended to assist the Public Defender’s Office with researching funding opportunities, grant
management, office support for recruitment, accounting, health and safety, and budget. This position will allow the Public Defender’s Office to apply for grant funds to expand services provided to their clients and support the Public Defender’s sole administrative position.
Public Defender’s Interpreter/Translator II: A previously approved extra-help
interpreter/translator II position was converted to a full-time position. Demand for Spanish language interpretation and translation services has remained consistently high, with approximately 25% of Public Defender clients requiring interpretation to effectively communicate with counsel. Converting this position to full-time will provide consistent and reliable interpreter coverage throughout the workday, improve efficiency, reduce delays, and ensure equitable service delivery.
BUDGET OVERVIEW
For FY 26-27, Sonoma County will receive a projected $19.4 million in revenue from state sales tax, slightly more than the $18.2 million projected in FY25-26.
Growth in funding to the CCP fluctuates widely from year to year. Since realignment began in 2011, it has ranged from zero in FY 20-21 to $4.7 million in FY 21-22.
Conclusion
The CCP’s plan seeks to protect public safety by ensuring sufficient jail capacity for realigned individuals requiring detention while focusing on evidence-based detention alternatives and support services to rehabilitate those who can be safely supervised in the community. The plan also continues to support the pretrial program, which reduces the jail population while protecting public safety.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Healthy and Safe Communities
Goal: Goal 5: Continue to invest in public safety so that residents and visitors feel safe in our community.
Objective: Objective 4: Expand detention alternatives with the goal of reducing the jail population, from pre-pandemic levels, by 15% at the end of 2022, while simultaneously reducing recidivism amongst the supervised offender population.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
August 16, 2011 to August 26, 2025: The Board accepted the CCP’s Annual Realignment Implementation Plan and Budget.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY26-27 Adopted |
FY27-28 Projected |
FY28-29 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$23,859,594 |
$23,974,269 |
$24,143,172 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
$19,431,871 |
$19,905,961 |
$19,489,790 |
|
Fees/Other |
$457,029 |
$457,029 |
$457,029 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
$3,970,693 |
$3,611,279 |
$4,196,354 |
|
General Fund Contingencies |
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|
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Total Sources |
$23,859,594 |
$23,974,269 |
$24,143,172 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
All County departments with AB109-funded programs incorporated their portion of the realignment budget into their respective FY 26-27 adopted budgets. All expenditures are fully covered by the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Funds.
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
FY 26-27 CCP Public Safety Realignment Implementation Plan.pdf
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None