Pushing for change in Probation Dept.

Outraged by a continuing stream of revelations, the Board of Supervisors is set to consider two measures aimed at intensifying oversight and accountability in the county’s Probation Department, which has been rocked by financial lapses and management failures.

In recent months, the 6,000-person department has been embarrassed by disclosures that it was unable to account for the expenditure of $79 million dollars allocated by the board, that probation youth had been allowed to conduct videotaped boxing matches in Juvenile camp classrooms and that more than two dozen officers accused of serious misconduct could escape discipline because the investigations exceeded a one-year statute of limitations.

Moreover, it was disclosed this week that the county’s Auditor-Controller has uncovered numerous instances in which Probation employees may have used department credit cards to illegally purchase electronics and other items for personal use. A criminal investigation has been initiated.

“The Probation Department has lost its sense of mission,” concluded Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. “The mission became more about them than about the clients they serve.” In an effort to get the department back on track, Yaroslavsky has co-authored two motions scheduled to come before the board on Tuesday.

One, with Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, would expand the responsibilities of the Office of Independent Review to include oversight of the Probation Department. For nearly a decade, the OIR’s work has been largely confined to monitoring the operations of the Sheriff’s Department.  In March, however, the board asked the OIR to examine the Probation Department’s internal investigations. OIR concluded that sweeping reforms were needed. Yaroslavsky and Antonovich are pressing for the OIR to assume those duties.

The second motion—this one authored with Supervisor Gloria Molina—is aimed at giving newly-appointed Probation Chief Donald Blevins greater latitude in assembling a “competent and effective” team of leaders. To that end, the motion asks the CEO, County Counsel, personnel officials and others to explore within 30 days how Blevins could, under Civil Service rules, begin hiring managers from outside the Probation Department—a break with current practices.

This hiring shift is considered crucial for Blevins, who says he is determined to weed out bad managers and reform the agency from top to bottom. In a statement to the media on Wednesday, Blevins warned:

“It is my responsibility to investigate the allegations of fraudulent activities that are said to be taking place and I assure you, those who have violated my trust, will be punished and/or removed from this Department.  I have a zero-tolerance for misbehavior within my organization.  The standard level that I hold every single employee within this Department is that of professionalism and high personal integrity.  If this is too much for any employee to handle, then perhaps they made a poor career choice.  These are sworn officers and they must act accordingly.”

For an interview with Blevins shortly after he was hired in April, click here

Posted 6/17/10