Santa Clara County Chief Probation Officer to Speak at Saratoga Library

Oct. 1 marked the one-year anniversary of the passage of Assembly Bill 109 , the 2011 Public Safety Realignment Act, which places new pressures on California county sheriff, probation, and parole agencies aiming to reduce the number of people in local jails and on supervision caseloads.

That's the topic of a presentation to be given by Sheila Mitchell, chief probation officer for Santa Clara County, before the League of Women Voters of Southwest Santa Clara Valley at 7 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave.

Under the new law, county residents who are new non-violent, non-serious, and non-sex offenders will no longer be eligible for state prison. Instead, they will be sentenced to county jail, explained Mitchell.

At the same time, individuals who are returning home after completing state prison sentences for the same types of offenses will now be assigned to community supervision under the county rather than state parole, Mitchell added.

This movement of people from state prison to county jails and onto county probation caseloads increases the number of formerly incarcerated individuals in need of services in the county, she noted.

The change also brings many community members with longer criminal histories into the network of Santa Clara County reentry services.

"Nobody is getting released early," Mitchell told Saratoga Patch when contacted to inquire about how the new law will impact local communities. "They're being released at the same time they would have been released, but a portion of them will be under the supervision of probation and not parole."

The success rate for offenders coming out of prison is that within three years seven out of 10 return to prison, she said.

"Our challenge and our opportunity is to make sure that we put in measures to help our clients be more successful while keeping the community safe," Mitchell said. "Now the responsibility rests with the county so it will be our responsibility to supervise these individuals. That's why it's so important to make sure for those of us in the county to have appropriate services in place to improve outcomes for those returning back to our area."

Mitchell has served as the chief probation officer for Santa Clara County since 2004. She has more than 15 years of experience in designing and managing juvenile and adult justice reform initiatives and other community based justice safety efforts.

She has consulted nationally and internationally with governmental and nonprofits organizations implementing juvenile and adult probation evidenced-based practices.

She served as assistant chief probation officer for Alameda County and as a deputy commissioner for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.

Mitchell has also been the chief architect responsible for the implementation of the realignment endeavor to improve outcomes and recidivism for Santa Clara County, California adult probationers and parolees.

Mitchell was recognized as one of the 100 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley by the San Jose Business Journal. She is an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow and holds a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Antioch University McGregor.

League of Women Voters of Southwest Santa Clara Valley is a diversified nonpartisan political group of women and men encouraging the informed and active participation of citizens in government. The organization influences public policy through education and advocacy. The communities of Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno and Campbell are covered by the league's southwest branch.