◼ Proposed Humboldt County cuts squeeze departments: DA, DHHS, public defender all warn cuts will carry consequences
Thadeus Greenson/The Times-Standard
Posted: 05/23/2011 02:30:13 AM PDT
Proposed Humboldt County cuts squeeze departments: DA, DHHS, public defender all warn cuts will carry consequences
While much of the county budget debate has swirled around impacts to the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office, the proposed across-the-board cuts will pinch other departments as well.
The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office is contemplating a drastic scale-back of its Child Abuse Services Team, or CAST. The 8 percent across-the-board cut will mean the Department of Health and Human Services will be unable to leverage millions of dollars in matching state and federal programs and will have to scale back its focus to mandated programs.
The proposed cuts would also force the Public Defender's Office to lay off two senior attorneys, which would likely lead to the court appointing private attorneys to pick up some of the office's case load. That could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in added expenses for the county.
”We're looking at some major, major impacts,” said Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos. “I'm not trying to sound bleak but, candidly, I don't see a silver lining.”
At recent meetings held to gather public input, numerous speakers said the Sheriff's Office, which may also see a steep funding reduction from the state, should be insulated from cuts at all costs. What would it take to keep deputies on the streets, they asked.
Humboldt County Administrative Officer Phillip Smith-Hanes told residents at a McKinleyville meeting that leaving out cuts to the Sheriff's Office would mean devastating
18 percent cuts for other county departments because it is -- by far -- the largest benefactor of the general fund.
Now, not only are other department heads scrambling to figure out how to lop 8 percent off their budgets -- many of which are also getting squeezed by state reductions -- they're also concerned about the county slicing a bit deeper.
Even at 8 percent, some say the cuts are penny wise and pound foolish.
Nine deputy public defenders recently penned a letter to the Times-Standard claiming that even the proposed cuts mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in added general fund expenses for the county.
To accommodate the proposed across-the-board cuts, the office is looking at laying off two senior attorneys, which would yield a maximum savings of about $275,000, according to the letter. However, the county is mandated to provide a defense attorney to anyone who cannot afford one, which simply leaves no wiggle room when it comes to the Public Defender Office workload. If the office doesn't have an attorney available to take on a case, the court will appoint a private attorney, billing the hourly rate of $65 to the county.
According to the letter, that could mean the county will end up spending as much as $675,000 over the course of the fiscal year simply to yield an upfront savings of less than half that.
”This shortsighted decision will cost us all money,” the letter states.
The letter also states the proposed budget would cause the office to immediately seek to be relieved from all cases in the Hoopa/Klamath/Trinity Court, as well as the Garberville Court, which would necessitate that anyone needing a public defender travel to court dates in Eureka.
Gallegos said his department is potentially looking at taking hits from all sides.
In addition to the proposed county cuts, he said his office will also potentially lose some $160,000 in state funding if a portion of the Vehicle Licensing Fee is not extended. Cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services will also impact the DA's CAST program, Gallegos said.
For some 15 years, DHHS has contributed about $280,000 to the ongoing operation of CAST, which comprises specially trained individuals from Child Welfare Services, the DA's Office, the DA's Victim Witness Assistance Program, local law enforcement agencies, Probation and other agencies. The idea is that the team is better able to investigate and prosecute child abuse allegations.
But this year, DHHS is taking a 17.4 percent reduction in state funding in addition to the proposed county cuts, which is strongly impacting its ability to leverage matching state and federal funds. Consequently, Director Phillip Crandall said, it has had to pull its funding of CAST, though it has pledged to keep allocating staff positions to the team.
”While we have historically provided that support for CAST because it's a valuable service and good for our children, we don't have sufficient funds to carry that,” Crandall said.
Gallegos said he's currently looking to supplant the money that traditionally came from DHHS. As things stand, Gallegos said, he will be able to keep CAST going, but he worries further cuts could put it in jeopardy.
As an example, Gallegos said that senior Deputy District Attorney Max Cardoza and Assistant Deputy District Attorney Wes Keat are planning on retiring this year. He said their salaries are in his proposed budget -- which comes in with an 8 percent cut -- but the county has a hiring freeze in place, and he's concerned the county may not approve refilling the positions.
If those positions were to wind up frozen, Gallegos said it would severely impact his office.
Both Crandall and Gallegos said CAST is a priority, but both stated it is not a state-mandated program, meaning at some point, it could be dropped due to cuts.
”We're going to look at every feasible option to keep CAST functioning,” Gallegos said.
Gallegos said he thinks it's important to remember that public safety is a joint effort that cuts across multiple departments. He said there's no question deputies are needed to enforce laws, but said prosecutors are also needed to bring offenders to justice, probation officers are needed to help ensure ex-convicts don't re-offend and DHHS officials are necessary to provide mental health services, investigate health code violations and protect children and vulnerable adults.
”It's a system that requires balance,” Gallegos said.
Thadeus Greenson can be reached at 441-0509 or tgreenson@times-standard.com.
Showing posts with label CAST. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CAST. Show all posts
5.23.2011
2.23.2009
TS - Gallegos quoted on SART
☛ TS Telemedicine helps prosecute sexual assault cases
A little Eureka facility and a group of doctors a couple of hundred miles away are making a big difference in caring for Humboldt County's sexual assault victims and locking away their assailants.
A telemedicine facility set up at St. Joseph Hospital has been operating for about six years now, letting nationally recognized experts from the University of California at Davis sit in on local sexual assault exams. A study released in the medical journal “Pediatrics” last month found that telemedicine facilities, like Eureka's, greatly improve the quality of sexual assault examinations.
Cassie Burgess, Humboldt County's Sexual Assault Response Team coordinator, explained that Eureka's telemedicine facility allows doctors from UC Davis to telephonically sit in on consultations, offering suggestions and support for local providers and an instant second opinion.
”That's amazing in and of itself,” Burgess said, adding that utilizing telemedicine is like having some of the nation's sexual assault experts in the room with her during an exam.
The recently released study, titled “Using Telemedicine to Improve the Care Delivered to Sexually Abused Children in Rural, Underserved Hospitals,” found that about half of the care providers in rural communities that used telemedicine changed their examination and evidence-collection techniques at the suggestion of a consulting expert.
”Telemedicine is not only a tool for consultation, it's also a tool for teaching rural providers how to examine children and better test for evidence,” said Kristen Rogers, one of the study's authors and a professor of pediatrics at UC Davis Medical Center.
The study looked at the effectiveness of consultations performed at two rural Northern California clinics linked via telemedicine to experts with UC Davis' Children's Hospital Child and Adolescent Abuse Resource Evaluation Center.
UC Davis provided each of the study sites with videoconferencing equipment and coloscopes -- lighted magnifying instruments used to examine the vagina and the cervix. An expert in Sacramento then uses the equipment to “sit in” on consultations, providing guidance on all aspects of the examinations by viewing the local care provider, the patient in the exam room and the images captured by the coloscope.
The study included 42 sexual assault cases, and found that 47 percent of the consultations resulted in changed interview methods and that nine, or more than 20 percent, resulted in better evidence collection.
Asked how telemedicine could make such a large difference, Rogers turned to an example. She recalled a case where a child claimed to have been raped, but went through almost an entire telemedicine exam and doctors couldn't find any physical evidence.
”It was hard to find evidence, but one of the things that she had said during the exam is that (the assailant) kept whispering in her ear throughout the rape,” Rogers recalled. “We were able to say (to the local provider), 'Why don't you swab the child's ear?' Lo and behold, they got DNA evidence off that.”
District Attorney Paul Gallegos said the use of telemedicine locally has been a great asset to his office, as it provides the examinations with immediate peer review and makes their findings carry much more weight in court.
”Peer review augments any potential challenges to the SART conclusions so they are less subject to attack,” Gallegos said. “When it's done, it improves the SART exam, which means it improves the case ... it means it has increased reliability for us, for the court and for those members of the community that serve on the jury.”
According to referral numbers from state agencies, instances of child maltreatment -- a kind of blanket category including neglect, physical and sexual abuse -- are well above the state average in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. Statewide, the instances of maltreatment are about 49 per 1,000 children. That number jumps to more than 86 per 1,000 children in Humboldt and balloons to more than 125 instances per 1,000 children in Del Norte.
Claire Knox, chair of the Child Development Department at Humboldt State University, cautioned that those types of data are always tricky and have a lot to do with nomenclature, but said several factors could contribute to the state's more rural areas seeing higher levels of child maltreatment, and specifically higher rates of child sexual assault.
Isolation, unemployment and emotional and financial stress can contribute to higher child maltreatment rates, Knox said, adding that even a lack of childcare arrangements can play a role. Limited access to resources and the fact that people are more likely to commit those types of crimes when nobody is around are big contributing factors, she said.
”When (people) are emotionally needy, they may turn to behaviors in which they might not otherwise engage,” she said. “Community systems in which there are heightened levels of abuse of alcohol and drugs also reduce barriers and constraints.”
Del Norte County District Attorney Mike Riese said his office deals with lots of child sexual assault cases, many of them without the help of telemedicine.
Rogers said UC Davis made efforts to place one of its test sites in Del Norte, but things didn't work out.
”We offered it to them and the timing wasn't right,” she said. “They weren't ready yet to have telemedicine in their county.”
Riese said emergency room doctors and nurse practitioners handle the majority of his county's examinations. He would not say how often child sexual assault cases are dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Burgess said one of the positives of Eureka's telemedicine facility is that it takes child sexual assault victims out of the emergency room, where they sometimes had to wait for hours to be seen, and into a more comfortable environment. Burgess said it also empowers the local care providers to know they have experts looking over their shoulders.
Gallegos said the results simply speak for themselves.
”About every time we've used (evidence from telemedicine examinations) we've got a conviction,” he said.
Times-Standard staff writers John Driscoll, Sean Garmire, Thadeus Greenson, Jessie Faulkner, Erin Tracy and Sharon Letts contributed to this report.
A Times-Standard Staff Report
Posted: 02/23/2009 01:30:19 AM PST
Comments on TS site:
numbers - "About every time we've ... got a conviction. Grammar aside, just how many such trials have there been? Or plea bargains? Certainly hasn't been a lot of news coverage of such successful outcomes. And why is it that the TS never seems to ask the obvious follow up question?
In the dark - Asked how telemedicine could make such a large difference, Rogers turned to an example. She recalled a case where a child claimed to have been raped, but went through almost an entire telemedicine exam and doctors couldn't find any physical evidence.
"It was hard to find evidence, but one of the things that she had said during the exam is that (the assailant) kept whispering in her ear throughout the rape," Rogers recalled. "We were able to say (to the local provider), 'Why don't you swab the child's ear?' Lo and behold, they got DNA evidence off that.
What'd I miss? Someone was arrested for sexual assault for whispering in a child's ear, based on presence of (I assume) saliva but an absence of (I assume) seminal or physical evidence below the waist?
Not to nitpick....but no clarity given that the whispered remark, "Rogers recalled", is in no way related to Kristen Rogers, quoted in the article.
I'm all for the use of any evidentiary-gathering tools when it comes to catching perps. The best solutions to much of our social ills is good parenting, loving family structure, etc, etc, etc.
Captain Crunch - I applaud the article and the subject of the article. What makes me what to vomit is the quotes from the buffoon who is our DA. Did he even know that SART had this equipment before the interview? Who explained it to him? What about how he singlehandedly dismantled the CAST operation? Cassie Burgess is a fantastic person and should get many, many awards for her work. Gallegos needs to be recalled.
cocoa puffs - Right on captain. Aside from the good news about telemedicine, the article is a puff piece for the DA. The impression is left that his office is cutting edge, but there are no facts to demonstrate that telemedicine has played any role in any Humboldt case, ever. But hey" we got convictions". Really. Name three, and tie
them in detail to telemedicine.
GOOD QUESTIONS! Note that the program set up predates Gallegos.
A little Eureka facility and a group of doctors a couple of hundred miles away are making a big difference in caring for Humboldt County's sexual assault victims and locking away their assailants.
A telemedicine facility set up at St. Joseph Hospital has been operating for about six years now, letting nationally recognized experts from the University of California at Davis sit in on local sexual assault exams. A study released in the medical journal “Pediatrics” last month found that telemedicine facilities, like Eureka's, greatly improve the quality of sexual assault examinations.
Cassie Burgess, Humboldt County's Sexual Assault Response Team coordinator, explained that Eureka's telemedicine facility allows doctors from UC Davis to telephonically sit in on consultations, offering suggestions and support for local providers and an instant second opinion.
”That's amazing in and of itself,” Burgess said, adding that utilizing telemedicine is like having some of the nation's sexual assault experts in the room with her during an exam.
The recently released study, titled “Using Telemedicine to Improve the Care Delivered to Sexually Abused Children in Rural, Underserved Hospitals,” found that about half of the care providers in rural communities that used telemedicine changed their examination and evidence-collection techniques at the suggestion of a consulting expert.
”Telemedicine is not only a tool for consultation, it's also a tool for teaching rural providers how to examine children and better test for evidence,” said Kristen Rogers, one of the study's authors and a professor of pediatrics at UC Davis Medical Center.
The study looked at the effectiveness of consultations performed at two rural Northern California clinics linked via telemedicine to experts with UC Davis' Children's Hospital Child and Adolescent Abuse Resource Evaluation Center.
UC Davis provided each of the study sites with videoconferencing equipment and coloscopes -- lighted magnifying instruments used to examine the vagina and the cervix. An expert in Sacramento then uses the equipment to “sit in” on consultations, providing guidance on all aspects of the examinations by viewing the local care provider, the patient in the exam room and the images captured by the coloscope.
The study included 42 sexual assault cases, and found that 47 percent of the consultations resulted in changed interview methods and that nine, or more than 20 percent, resulted in better evidence collection.
Asked how telemedicine could make such a large difference, Rogers turned to an example. She recalled a case where a child claimed to have been raped, but went through almost an entire telemedicine exam and doctors couldn't find any physical evidence.
”It was hard to find evidence, but one of the things that she had said during the exam is that (the assailant) kept whispering in her ear throughout the rape,” Rogers recalled. “We were able to say (to the local provider), 'Why don't you swab the child's ear?' Lo and behold, they got DNA evidence off that.”
District Attorney Paul Gallegos said the use of telemedicine locally has been a great asset to his office, as it provides the examinations with immediate peer review and makes their findings carry much more weight in court.
”Peer review augments any potential challenges to the SART conclusions so they are less subject to attack,” Gallegos said. “When it's done, it improves the SART exam, which means it improves the case ... it means it has increased reliability for us, for the court and for those members of the community that serve on the jury.”
According to referral numbers from state agencies, instances of child maltreatment -- a kind of blanket category including neglect, physical and sexual abuse -- are well above the state average in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. Statewide, the instances of maltreatment are about 49 per 1,000 children. That number jumps to more than 86 per 1,000 children in Humboldt and balloons to more than 125 instances per 1,000 children in Del Norte.
Claire Knox, chair of the Child Development Department at Humboldt State University, cautioned that those types of data are always tricky and have a lot to do with nomenclature, but said several factors could contribute to the state's more rural areas seeing higher levels of child maltreatment, and specifically higher rates of child sexual assault.
Isolation, unemployment and emotional and financial stress can contribute to higher child maltreatment rates, Knox said, adding that even a lack of childcare arrangements can play a role. Limited access to resources and the fact that people are more likely to commit those types of crimes when nobody is around are big contributing factors, she said.
”When (people) are emotionally needy, they may turn to behaviors in which they might not otherwise engage,” she said. “Community systems in which there are heightened levels of abuse of alcohol and drugs also reduce barriers and constraints.”
Del Norte County District Attorney Mike Riese said his office deals with lots of child sexual assault cases, many of them without the help of telemedicine.
Rogers said UC Davis made efforts to place one of its test sites in Del Norte, but things didn't work out.
”We offered it to them and the timing wasn't right,” she said. “They weren't ready yet to have telemedicine in their county.”
Riese said emergency room doctors and nurse practitioners handle the majority of his county's examinations. He would not say how often child sexual assault cases are dropped due to a lack of evidence.
Burgess said one of the positives of Eureka's telemedicine facility is that it takes child sexual assault victims out of the emergency room, where they sometimes had to wait for hours to be seen, and into a more comfortable environment. Burgess said it also empowers the local care providers to know they have experts looking over their shoulders.
Gallegos said the results simply speak for themselves.
”About every time we've used (evidence from telemedicine examinations) we've got a conviction,” he said.
Times-Standard staff writers John Driscoll, Sean Garmire, Thadeus Greenson, Jessie Faulkner, Erin Tracy and Sharon Letts contributed to this report.
A Times-Standard Staff Report
Posted: 02/23/2009 01:30:19 AM PST
Comments on TS site:
numbers - "About every time we've ... got a conviction. Grammar aside, just how many such trials have there been? Or plea bargains? Certainly hasn't been a lot of news coverage of such successful outcomes. And why is it that the TS never seems to ask the obvious follow up question?
In the dark - Asked how telemedicine could make such a large difference, Rogers turned to an example. She recalled a case where a child claimed to have been raped, but went through almost an entire telemedicine exam and doctors couldn't find any physical evidence.
"It was hard to find evidence, but one of the things that she had said during the exam is that (the assailant) kept whispering in her ear throughout the rape," Rogers recalled. "We were able to say (to the local provider), 'Why don't you swab the child's ear?' Lo and behold, they got DNA evidence off that.
What'd I miss? Someone was arrested for sexual assault for whispering in a child's ear, based on presence of (I assume) saliva but an absence of (I assume) seminal or physical evidence below the waist?
Not to nitpick....but no clarity given that the whispered remark, "Rogers recalled", is in no way related to Kristen Rogers, quoted in the article.
I'm all for the use of any evidentiary-gathering tools when it comes to catching perps. The best solutions to much of our social ills is good parenting, loving family structure, etc, etc, etc.
Captain Crunch - I applaud the article and the subject of the article. What makes me what to vomit is the quotes from the buffoon who is our DA. Did he even know that SART had this equipment before the interview? Who explained it to him? What about how he singlehandedly dismantled the CAST operation? Cassie Burgess is a fantastic person and should get many, many awards for her work. Gallegos needs to be recalled.
cocoa puffs - Right on captain. Aside from the good news about telemedicine, the article is a puff piece for the DA. The impression is left that his office is cutting edge, but there are no facts to demonstrate that telemedicine has played any role in any Humboldt case, ever. But hey" we got convictions". Really. Name three, and tie
them in detail to telemedicine.
GOOD QUESTIONS! Note that the program set up predates Gallegos.
1.13.2009
TS - Convicted sex offender faces 6 years, deportation
Convicted sex offender faces 6 years, deportation
A Mexican national, who will face deportation for a second time after serving an expected six-year sentence, pleaded no contest Monday to allegations he sexually abused his 8-year-old daughter.
Isaias Felix-Romero, 33, pleaded no contest to the sexual abuse of his daughter-- referred to as Jane Doe-- according to Deputy District Attorney Arnold Klein.
Eight years ago Felix-Romero was convicted of unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old minor, the mother of Jane Doe. Felix-Romero later married Jane Doe's mother.
The alleged sexual abuse occurred between July and August 2008 and were reported by the victim's grandmother.
In early September, Felix-Romero was arrested as part of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Sun Valley Floral Farms.
ICE reported Felix-Romero has already been deported from the United States once, and he will be detained and ultimately deported by ICE after his sentence is completed.
”We definitely have flagged this case for follow-up, and a detainer will be lodged against the individual,” said ICE Communications Director Virginia Kice.
Felix-Romero's previous deportation may be reinstated, which would result in expedited removal. Because of Felix-Romero's criminal history and felony reentry, his case is subject to review by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Klein said he was pleased the case did not go to trial and that Jane Doe was not required to testify.
Erin Tracy can be reached at 441-0596 or etracy@times-standard.com, and Donna Tam can be reached at 441-0532 or dtam@times-standard.com.
Erin Tracy and Donna Tam/The Times-Standard
Posted: 01/13/2009 01:19:46 AM PST
***
This report says he pled "no contest to allegations..." but does not say what the CHARGES (Penal Code Sections), and resultant minimum and maximum penalties were.
***
Reminiscent of the Martinez-Hernandez case except this time, it looks like the guy really is going to get deported.
But in 6 years he'll get to rape another 13 year old (actually younger, probably, and next time, he may not want to leave any witnesses behind.)
A Mexican national, who will face deportation for a second time after serving an expected six-year sentence, pleaded no contest Monday to allegations he sexually abused his 8-year-old daughter.
Isaias Felix-Romero, 33, pleaded no contest to the sexual abuse of his daughter-- referred to as Jane Doe-- according to Deputy District Attorney Arnold Klein.
Eight years ago Felix-Romero was convicted of unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old minor, the mother of Jane Doe. Felix-Romero later married Jane Doe's mother.
The alleged sexual abuse occurred between July and August 2008 and were reported by the victim's grandmother.
In early September, Felix-Romero was arrested as part of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Sun Valley Floral Farms.
ICE reported Felix-Romero has already been deported from the United States once, and he will be detained and ultimately deported by ICE after his sentence is completed.
”We definitely have flagged this case for follow-up, and a detainer will be lodged against the individual,” said ICE Communications Director Virginia Kice.
Felix-Romero's previous deportation may be reinstated, which would result in expedited removal. Because of Felix-Romero's criminal history and felony reentry, his case is subject to review by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Klein said he was pleased the case did not go to trial and that Jane Doe was not required to testify.
Erin Tracy can be reached at 441-0596 or etracy@times-standard.com, and Donna Tam can be reached at 441-0532 or dtam@times-standard.com.
Erin Tracy and Donna Tam/The Times-Standard
Posted: 01/13/2009 01:19:46 AM PST
***
This report says he pled "no contest to allegations..." but does not say what the CHARGES (Penal Code Sections), and resultant minimum and maximum penalties were.
***
Reminiscent of the Martinez-Hernandez case except this time, it looks like the guy really is going to get deported.
But in 6 years he'll get to rape another 13 year old (actually younger, probably, and next time, he may not want to leave any witnesses behind.)
4.19.2008
TS - Team's mission: Ease young victims' trauma
Team's mission: Ease young victims' trauma
EUREKA -- It's clear upon entering the Child Abuse Services Team's K Street facility that this is a child-friendly place.
Primary colors abound. One wall hosts a shelf full of puzzles, stuffed animals and wood blocks. A middle-of-the-room child-size table beckons play. The receptionist's computer hides behind a lineup of colorful puppets, and a carpet with streets and city blocks covers the waiting-room floor. Plus, there are stuffed animals almost everywhere you look.
The business, however, is very serious for the adults and often more than a little nerve-wracking for the children involved.
On Friday, the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) welcomed the community to an open house, and explained the interview process designed to gather necessary information but minimize further trauma to the young victims.
The multi-agency team works to set the victim at ease, informing the parents of the process and carefully recording the victim's interview -- all the while ensuring that the questions asked determine whether a legal case is appropriate.
Since its inception locally in 1996, CAST has interviewed 1,967 children -- an average of 16 a month. A total of 487 convictions for physical or sexual abuse of children have resulted.
The work begins when a young victim -- typically between the ages of 4 and 18 -- receives a law enforcement referral. CAST also has interviewed adults with developmental disabilities.
Prior to the interview, a member of the team explains the process and answers questions from the parents or the child, said CAST member and Department of Social Services social worker Jennifer Rose. “Most of the time, they come ready to go,” she said.
Typically, the interviews are scheduled within three or four days of initial contact with law enforcement, said Humboldt County District Attorney's Office Investigator Billy Honsal.
The interview room is equipped with a one-way mirror, allowing Honsal, Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel, and a police officer from the referring agency observe from an adjoining room.
The room also includes all of the recording equipment to make a DVD of the interview, which is then turned over to the law enforcement agency and handled through strict rules of evidence, according to Donna Johnson, head of the CAST team.
Neel, who has worked with CAST full-time since last summer, is able to evaluate the case through observing the interview, identify the need for additional information and may be able to determine whether a criminal case is involved.
”Not every case that comes to the door ends up being a criminal prosecution,” she said.
The child being interviewed is told that observers are watching through the one-way mirror and that the interview is being recorded, Johnson said.
Each of the interviewers undergoes extensive training -- a minimum of 40 hours at the National Training Center in Huntsville, Ala. -- as well as more training on-site.
Among the CAST members is Jean LaPietra, who is fluent in Spanish and available for translation services, not only for Humboldt County but also Del Norte, Mendocino, Trinity and Siskiyou.
The first step is to make the victim feel comfortable through non-threatening questions. As the discussion progresses, Honsal can direct the process from the adjacent room, with specific questions that determine whether a crime has been committed or request more detail.
It's not an easy process for any of those involved, whether it's the child being questioned or the adult witnesses hearing the child's trauma.
”It's always hard to listen to what's happening to children,” Neel said. “But it's harder not to.”
Meanwhile, Deana Fewell, the District Attorney's Office's victim-witness representative, meets with the parents to explain the entire process. But her role as a member of CAST goes far beyond that.
She accompanies the child to any interview, acquaints the child with the courtroom, provides books and videos to explain the procedures and even sits with the child on the witness stand if necessary.
”Ideally, at its best,” said District Attorney Paul Gallegos, “it limits interaction with law enforcement and is a reliable way questions are asked.”
Jessie Faulkner/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 04/19/2008 01:24:09 AM PDT
EUREKA -- It's clear upon entering the Child Abuse Services Team's K Street facility that this is a child-friendly place.
Primary colors abound. One wall hosts a shelf full of puzzles, stuffed animals and wood blocks. A middle-of-the-room child-size table beckons play. The receptionist's computer hides behind a lineup of colorful puppets, and a carpet with streets and city blocks covers the waiting-room floor. Plus, there are stuffed animals almost everywhere you look.
The business, however, is very serious for the adults and often more than a little nerve-wracking for the children involved.
On Friday, the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) welcomed the community to an open house, and explained the interview process designed to gather necessary information but minimize further trauma to the young victims.
The multi-agency team works to set the victim at ease, informing the parents of the process and carefully recording the victim's interview -- all the while ensuring that the questions asked determine whether a legal case is appropriate.
Since its inception locally in 1996, CAST has interviewed 1,967 children -- an average of 16 a month. A total of 487 convictions for physical or sexual abuse of children have resulted.
The work begins when a young victim -- typically between the ages of 4 and 18 -- receives a law enforcement referral. CAST also has interviewed adults with developmental disabilities.
Prior to the interview, a member of the team explains the process and answers questions from the parents or the child, said CAST member and Department of Social Services social worker Jennifer Rose. “Most of the time, they come ready to go,” she said.
Typically, the interviews are scheduled within three or four days of initial contact with law enforcement, said Humboldt County District Attorney's Office Investigator Billy Honsal.
The interview room is equipped with a one-way mirror, allowing Honsal, Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel, and a police officer from the referring agency observe from an adjoining room.
The room also includes all of the recording equipment to make a DVD of the interview, which is then turned over to the law enforcement agency and handled through strict rules of evidence, according to Donna Johnson, head of the CAST team.
Neel, who has worked with CAST full-time since last summer, is able to evaluate the case through observing the interview, identify the need for additional information and may be able to determine whether a criminal case is involved.
”Not every case that comes to the door ends up being a criminal prosecution,” she said.
The child being interviewed is told that observers are watching through the one-way mirror and that the interview is being recorded, Johnson said.
Each of the interviewers undergoes extensive training -- a minimum of 40 hours at the National Training Center in Huntsville, Ala. -- as well as more training on-site.
Among the CAST members is Jean LaPietra, who is fluent in Spanish and available for translation services, not only for Humboldt County but also Del Norte, Mendocino, Trinity and Siskiyou.
The first step is to make the victim feel comfortable through non-threatening questions. As the discussion progresses, Honsal can direct the process from the adjacent room, with specific questions that determine whether a crime has been committed or request more detail.
It's not an easy process for any of those involved, whether it's the child being questioned or the adult witnesses hearing the child's trauma.
”It's always hard to listen to what's happening to children,” Neel said. “But it's harder not to.”
Meanwhile, Deana Fewell, the District Attorney's Office's victim-witness representative, meets with the parents to explain the entire process. But her role as a member of CAST goes far beyond that.
She accompanies the child to any interview, acquaints the child with the courtroom, provides books and videos to explain the procedures and even sits with the child on the witness stand if necessary.
”Ideally, at its best,” said District Attorney Paul Gallegos, “it limits interaction with law enforcement and is a reliable way questions are asked.”
Jessie Faulkner/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 04/19/2008 01:24:09 AM PDT
4.17.2008
ER - Molestation charges reduced
Molestation charges reduced
A church youth pastor and teacher’s aide was held over on lesser charges than were originally filed against him, a Humboldt County Superior Judge ruled Wednesday.
Andrew Brian Belant, who was 25 when he was arrested on felony charges of child molestation March 1, was held to answer on seven charges of child molestation. Belant, who worked at the Eureka First Presbyterian Church, Jacoby Creek Elementary School, Eureka’s Lafayette and Lincoln Elementary Schools and the Humboldt Child Care Council, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Judge Marilyn Miles reduced three counts of oral copulation, including one alleging Belant threatened to retaliate against the alleged victim, to lewd and lascivious acts upon a child younger than 14. She also said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support a charge of forcible rape, as it didn’t occur on the date alleged in the complaint.
There is sufficient evidence to move forward on two counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a child younger than 14, Miles said, but not enough evidence to support a similar charge alleged by a different victim.
Belant sat beside his attorney, Patrick Griego, in an orange jail jumpsuit and didn’t speak during the proceedings. He wore glasses, had short, balding hair and facial hair.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos said some of the children’s testimony regarding the charges of oral copulation were contradictory, and that he thinks the transcripts from the victims’ interviews may be inaccurate.
“The fault is on my shoulders,” he said, adding that the DA’s office recently switched to a different interview transcribing company that charged a less-expensive rate.
And though the oral copulation charges were reduced to charges of lewd and lascivious acts, the sentencing range for both are the same — three, six or eight years in prison.
“It really has no impact on what his prison sentence is likely to be,” Gallegos said.
The four male victims are between 9 and 13 years old and knew Belant through after-school programs and from his role as a junior youth pastor. Three witnesses from law enforcement testified, and parts of the children’s interviews were read and referenced in court.
District Attorney Investigator William Honsal, who served a search warrant on Belant’s home around the time of his arrest, testified that when he arrived, a program that erases software was running on one of two computers in Belant’s room.
Honsal said after conferring with another investigator with expertise in that area, he learned the program completely deletes the content of hard drives in emergency situations. Honsal photographed the screen before pulling the computer cord from the wall, he said.
Though the alleged victims didn’t testify in person during Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, they would have to if the case goes to trial, Gallegos said. Most cases are resolved before that point, he said, but at the same time “you always want to prepare for trial.”
Belant is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment April 29.
By KAREN WILKINSON, The Eureka Reporter
Published: Apr 16 2008, 10:33 PM · Updated: Apr 16 2008, 11:52 PM
A church youth pastor and teacher’s aide was held over on lesser charges than were originally filed against him, a Humboldt County Superior Judge ruled Wednesday.
Andrew Brian Belant, who was 25 when he was arrested on felony charges of child molestation March 1, was held to answer on seven charges of child molestation. Belant, who worked at the Eureka First Presbyterian Church, Jacoby Creek Elementary School, Eureka’s Lafayette and Lincoln Elementary Schools and the Humboldt Child Care Council, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Judge Marilyn Miles reduced three counts of oral copulation, including one alleging Belant threatened to retaliate against the alleged victim, to lewd and lascivious acts upon a child younger than 14. She also said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support a charge of forcible rape, as it didn’t occur on the date alleged in the complaint.
There is sufficient evidence to move forward on two counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a child younger than 14, Miles said, but not enough evidence to support a similar charge alleged by a different victim.
Belant sat beside his attorney, Patrick Griego, in an orange jail jumpsuit and didn’t speak during the proceedings. He wore glasses, had short, balding hair and facial hair.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos said some of the children’s testimony regarding the charges of oral copulation were contradictory, and that he thinks the transcripts from the victims’ interviews may be inaccurate.
“The fault is on my shoulders,” he said, adding that the DA’s office recently switched to a different interview transcribing company that charged a less-expensive rate.
And though the oral copulation charges were reduced to charges of lewd and lascivious acts, the sentencing range for both are the same — three, six or eight years in prison.
“It really has no impact on what his prison sentence is likely to be,” Gallegos said.
The four male victims are between 9 and 13 years old and knew Belant through after-school programs and from his role as a junior youth pastor. Three witnesses from law enforcement testified, and parts of the children’s interviews were read and referenced in court.
District Attorney Investigator William Honsal, who served a search warrant on Belant’s home around the time of his arrest, testified that when he arrived, a program that erases software was running on one of two computers in Belant’s room.
Honsal said after conferring with another investigator with expertise in that area, he learned the program completely deletes the content of hard drives in emergency situations. Honsal photographed the screen before pulling the computer cord from the wall, he said.
Though the alleged victims didn’t testify in person during Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, they would have to if the case goes to trial, Gallegos said. Most cases are resolved before that point, he said, but at the same time “you always want to prepare for trial.”
Belant is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment April 29.
By KAREN WILKINSON, The Eureka Reporter
Published: Apr 16 2008, 10:33 PM · Updated: Apr 16 2008, 11:52 PM
TS - Alleged child molestation case takes hit
TS Alleged child molestation case takes hit
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Marilyn Miles held up charges of lewd behavior with a minor against accused child molester Andrew Belant Wednesday, but told the district attorney that the evidence didn't support felony charges of sexual assault on the dates outlined in the complaint.
The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office case against Belant didn't perfectly line up with testimony from the alleged victims outlined during the preliminary hearing, meaning prosecutors must try to rebolster some of their claims later.
Belant, 25, was a youth pastor at the Eureka First Presbyterian Church and an after school aide at Jacoby Creek School. He was arrested in March and charged with two counts of molesting a child under 14 years old, and was later charged with 15 additional counts stemming from alleged acts with a total of four children. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Miles said that District Attorney Paul Gallegos had evidence to hold up lesser charges of lewd and lascivious behavior -- but not the more serious felony charges. She threw out a second complaint of forcible rape against one of the alleged young male victims.
Miles made clear that she was making no finding on whether illicit behavior occurred on other dates. Statements made by four minors during previous interviews allege that repeated molestation did happen.
Belant was brought into the courtroom handcuffed and in an orange jumpsuit, was seated next to his attorney Patrik Griego, and then uncuffed. Humboldt County Sheriff's Deputy Ben Nord testified that he'd learned Belant had also been an aide at Lafayette Elementary School, where he met one alleged victim.
Nord said that the 11-year-old boy told the deputy in a March Child Abuse Services Team Interview that Belant had touched his genitals more than 10 times over an unspecified period of time, and also performed oral copulation on the alleged victim seven times. A second alleged 10-year-old victim from Lafayette, in another March interview, also told investigators that Belant had touched him inappropriately.
But under cross examination by Griego, and upon reviewing an interview transcript, Nord said the first victim never gave a specific time that the alleged oral copulation occurred.
”John Doe 2 was having a difficult time explaining these events,” Nord said.
Miles commented that the complaints she had before her didn't allege any crime occurred in 2007, as much of the evidence suggested, only in 2008. She stressed the importance of specific dates and events in her consideration of the complaints.
Humboldt County Sheriff's Detective Troy Garey, who arrested Belant, testified that another alleged 11-year-old victim had told him during a CAST interview that he'd been sexually abused twice by the man he'd gotten to know in his role as youth pastor.
”He said he was terrified, shocked,” Garey said.
Another boy told Garey in a separate interview that he'd been inappropriately touched by Belant more than 20 times, including at a movie theater and during overnight church-related trips.
But again, under questioning by Griego, Garey said that while his report said the boy had been orally copulated, the transcript of the interview did not contain that specific allegation.
DA Investigator William Honsal said that when a search warrant was served at Belant's house on March 1, investigators found a computer that was allegedly running a program to delete all material on the hard drive. Honsal said it was quickly shut down, but had already apparently performed five of seven sweeps over the disk, which may make any information extremely difficult to retrieve.
Outside the courtroom, Gallegos said that the case didn't align with the evidence presented Wednesday, possibly because of the inherent difficulty in compelling testimony from minors in sexual assault cases.
”That certainly requires me to go back to determine if there was a misrecollection of statements,” Gallegos said.
He said the prosecution will be allowed to present evidence to show crimes were committed on other dates.
John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 04/17/2008 01:24:09 AM PDT
Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Marilyn Miles held up charges of lewd behavior with a minor against accused child molester Andrew Belant Wednesday, but told the district attorney that the evidence didn't support felony charges of sexual assault on the dates outlined in the complaint.
The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office case against Belant didn't perfectly line up with testimony from the alleged victims outlined during the preliminary hearing, meaning prosecutors must try to rebolster some of their claims later.
Belant, 25, was a youth pastor at the Eureka First Presbyterian Church and an after school aide at Jacoby Creek School. He was arrested in March and charged with two counts of molesting a child under 14 years old, and was later charged with 15 additional counts stemming from alleged acts with a total of four children. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Miles said that District Attorney Paul Gallegos had evidence to hold up lesser charges of lewd and lascivious behavior -- but not the more serious felony charges. She threw out a second complaint of forcible rape against one of the alleged young male victims.
Miles made clear that she was making no finding on whether illicit behavior occurred on other dates. Statements made by four minors during previous interviews allege that repeated molestation did happen.
Belant was brought into the courtroom handcuffed and in an orange jumpsuit, was seated next to his attorney Patrik Griego, and then uncuffed. Humboldt County Sheriff's Deputy Ben Nord testified that he'd learned Belant had also been an aide at Lafayette Elementary School, where he met one alleged victim.
Nord said that the 11-year-old boy told the deputy in a March Child Abuse Services Team Interview that Belant had touched his genitals more than 10 times over an unspecified period of time, and also performed oral copulation on the alleged victim seven times. A second alleged 10-year-old victim from Lafayette, in another March interview, also told investigators that Belant had touched him inappropriately.
But under cross examination by Griego, and upon reviewing an interview transcript, Nord said the first victim never gave a specific time that the alleged oral copulation occurred.
”John Doe 2 was having a difficult time explaining these events,” Nord said.
Miles commented that the complaints she had before her didn't allege any crime occurred in 2007, as much of the evidence suggested, only in 2008. She stressed the importance of specific dates and events in her consideration of the complaints.
Humboldt County Sheriff's Detective Troy Garey, who arrested Belant, testified that another alleged 11-year-old victim had told him during a CAST interview that he'd been sexually abused twice by the man he'd gotten to know in his role as youth pastor.
”He said he was terrified, shocked,” Garey said.
Another boy told Garey in a separate interview that he'd been inappropriately touched by Belant more than 20 times, including at a movie theater and during overnight church-related trips.
But again, under questioning by Griego, Garey said that while his report said the boy had been orally copulated, the transcript of the interview did not contain that specific allegation.
DA Investigator William Honsal said that when a search warrant was served at Belant's house on March 1, investigators found a computer that was allegedly running a program to delete all material on the hard drive. Honsal said it was quickly shut down, but had already apparently performed five of seven sweeps over the disk, which may make any information extremely difficult to retrieve.
Outside the courtroom, Gallegos said that the case didn't align with the evidence presented Wednesday, possibly because of the inherent difficulty in compelling testimony from minors in sexual assault cases.
”That certainly requires me to go back to determine if there was a misrecollection of statements,” Gallegos said.
He said the prosecution will be allowed to present evidence to show crimes were committed on other dates.
John Driscoll/The Times-Standard
Article Launched: 04/17/2008 01:24:09 AM PDT
1.25.2008
ER - Molestation trial ends in plea agreement
Molestation trial ends in plea agreement
By EMILY WILSON, The Eureka Reporter
Published: Jan 24 2008, 10:04 PM
The child molestation trial that began Tuesday in the Humboldt County Courthouse was over mid-morning on Thursday as both parties entered into a plea agreement.
Judge Marilyn B. Miles dismissed the 12-member jury and thanked them for their civic duty.
The defendant, William Joseph Lenard, 52, was charged with 19 felony counts of child molestation. He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14.
The agreement came as a surprise to Lenard’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jonathan McCrone. “We thought we’d be here for three weeks,” he said.
Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel spent about an hour coaxing a single answer out of the victim. “What happened to you in July 2006 in Lenard’s trailer?” she asked the victim repeatedly.
The victim couldn’t bring herself to answer. “This little girl very much wanted to testify, but the overwhelming nature of her testimony was too much for her,” Neel said.
“It was a terrible case to deal with for both sides,” McCrone said. “I’ve got a guy who says he’s innocent. And the poor girl ... .”
The counsel had to approach the judge four times to try and decipher what direction to go with a child-victim witness who wasn’t talking.
“It was very intimidating for her,” Neel said.
It’s not uncommon for children to become overwhelmed during their testimony when the perpetrator is sitting in front of them, Neel said.
A 15-minute recess was taken and the victim sat down in the hallway, buried her head in her knees and cried.
By the end of the break, it was all over. Sometimes you have to compromise, Neel said, “the last thing anyone wants to do is re-victimize the victim.”
Lenard will remain in the Humboldt County jail until he is sentenced Feb. 25. In the meantime, the probation department will prepare a pre-sentencing report to assist the judge in assigning an appropriate sentence.
The report will contain a review of Lenard’s mental health and information about prior arrests, work history and family details. Lenard has no prior criminal record.
It is a significant thing to get two felony strikes against someone with no criminal record, Neel said. If Lenard is convicted of one more felony — even of a non-serious or non-violent nature — he will spend 25 years to life in prison, under California’s Three Strikes law.
Lenard will be fined up to $10,000, but it’s unlikely the judge will impose the maximum penalty, Neel said. There may also be a restitution fine of up to $10,000 and a victim restitution fine to reimburse any economic loss.
Lenard faces up to one year in the Humboldt County Jail, but he would get credit for the time he’s spent there since his arrest in September.
Lenard will not go to prison unless he violates his probation by committing a misdemeanor offense. If that occurred he could face up to 10 years in prison and face more fines.
Regardless of any potential jail time, Lenard will be placed on probation for up to 10 years and must register as a sex offender with a local law enforcement agency where he resides.
It’s important for people to understand how brave the victim was to give the testimony that she gave, Neel said, “she should be commended for that.”
By EMILY WILSON, The Eureka Reporter
Published: Jan 24 2008, 10:04 PM
The child molestation trial that began Tuesday in the Humboldt County Courthouse was over mid-morning on Thursday as both parties entered into a plea agreement.
Judge Marilyn B. Miles dismissed the 12-member jury and thanked them for their civic duty.
The defendant, William Joseph Lenard, 52, was charged with 19 felony counts of child molestation. He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14.
The agreement came as a surprise to Lenard’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jonathan McCrone. “We thought we’d be here for three weeks,” he said.
Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel spent about an hour coaxing a single answer out of the victim. “What happened to you in July 2006 in Lenard’s trailer?” she asked the victim repeatedly.
The victim couldn’t bring herself to answer. “This little girl very much wanted to testify, but the overwhelming nature of her testimony was too much for her,” Neel said.
“It was a terrible case to deal with for both sides,” McCrone said. “I’ve got a guy who says he’s innocent. And the poor girl ... .”
The counsel had to approach the judge four times to try and decipher what direction to go with a child-victim witness who wasn’t talking.
“It was very intimidating for her,” Neel said.
It’s not uncommon for children to become overwhelmed during their testimony when the perpetrator is sitting in front of them, Neel said.
A 15-minute recess was taken and the victim sat down in the hallway, buried her head in her knees and cried.
By the end of the break, it was all over. Sometimes you have to compromise, Neel said, “the last thing anyone wants to do is re-victimize the victim.”
Lenard will remain in the Humboldt County jail until he is sentenced Feb. 25. In the meantime, the probation department will prepare a pre-sentencing report to assist the judge in assigning an appropriate sentence.
The report will contain a review of Lenard’s mental health and information about prior arrests, work history and family details. Lenard has no prior criminal record.
It is a significant thing to get two felony strikes against someone with no criminal record, Neel said. If Lenard is convicted of one more felony — even of a non-serious or non-violent nature — he will spend 25 years to life in prison, under California’s Three Strikes law.
Lenard will be fined up to $10,000, but it’s unlikely the judge will impose the maximum penalty, Neel said. There may also be a restitution fine of up to $10,000 and a victim restitution fine to reimburse any economic loss.
Lenard faces up to one year in the Humboldt County Jail, but he would get credit for the time he’s spent there since his arrest in September.
Lenard will not go to prison unless he violates his probation by committing a misdemeanor offense. If that occurred he could face up to 10 years in prison and face more fines.
Regardless of any potential jail time, Lenard will be placed on probation for up to 10 years and must register as a sex offender with a local law enforcement agency where he resides.
It’s important for people to understand how brave the victim was to give the testimony that she gave, Neel said, “she should be commended for that.”
4.16.2007
Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly
More on Paul Gallegos' defenders - Kay Rackauckas wrote a misleading - read that dishonest - extremely dishonest - letter to the editor on Paul Gallegos' behalf. The real question is WHY? Why would she make up a story to make gallegos look good?
The El Toro Chronicles
The No Bull Board
Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly
Posted By: Matt Date: 5/31/02 10:16
DA’s Wife Missing!
May just be home
by Anthony Pignataro
On March 5, while Orange County District Attorney Anthony "Tony" Rackauckas celebrated his overwhelming reelection at the Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach, observers noticed his wife, Kay, was nowhere to be found. Her absence, explained as a need to stay home with a sick baby, still registered as an oddity.
In fact, by then, Kay Rackauckas—a deputy DA in her husband’s controversy-plagued office—had already been absent for months. She still hasn’t reported to work, and colleagues can’t agree where she’s supposed to be.
Kay Rackauckas’ mysterious absence from the DA’s office comes at a convenient time for her and her husband. For the past six months, the Orange County grand jury—acting in concert with state Attorney General Bill Lockyer—has investigated what sources familiar with the investigation call "possible felonies" concerning Tony Rackauckas’ past four years in the DA’s office.
Neither the grand jury nor the attorney general’s office will officially comment on the direction of the probe or even whether it exists. But sources familiar with the investigation say the DA’s top officials, including Rackauckas himself, testified last month. The Republican DA also retained as his counsel prominent Democrat Tom Umberg. Umberg, a Clinton administration official, has no criminal-defense experience but is tight with Lockyer, a fellow Democrat.
Those same sources say Kay Rackauckas’ missing-in-action status coincides with the grand jury’s wish to make her testify.
"She has been subpoenaed but hasn’t appeared before the panel," said a source. "She’s MIA, and you’re not going to find her until after the grand jury disbands."
Sources couldn’t say exactly why the grand jury would subpoena Kay Rackauckas. Working since 1990, she makes more than $110,000 per year, according to the county Human Resources department. By virtue of marriage, she also has access to the highest officials in one of the county’s most powerful offices.
In 1997, then-deputy DA Kay Anderle married then-Judge Tony Rackauckas. A year later, Judge Rackauckas was elected district attorney. Almost immediately, critics labeled Kay another Hillary Clinton, the real power behind the DA throne.
"I’m not part of the management," she told Orange County Register reporter John McDonald shortly before her husband took over as DA in January 1999. "Now I’m in [the department investigating] sexual assault [cases], and that’s where I want to stay."
Attempts to contact Kay Rackauckas were unsuccessful. A call to the Westminster branch of the DA’s office where she worked until June 2001 produced nothing, save a staffer’s annoyed suggestion to try the central office. Calls there yielded nothing.
Reluctantly, we contacted Tori Richards, the DA spokeswoman who recently stopped acknowledging our phone calls and e-mails.
"Kay Rackauckas never received an OC grand jury subpoena," she wrote in a May 22 e-mail.
But Richards admitted in a subsequent e-mail she had no idea if the grand jury was trying to deliver a subpoena to Kay Rackauckas. As for Rackauckas’ whereabouts, Richards wrote, "She is currently on family leave because she had a baby."
If true, then Kay Rackauckas has been on family leave a long time. Her baby was born on Valentine’s Day, 2001—15 months ago.
Information obtained by veteran private investigator Mike Madigan—co-author of the 1989 book The Twisted Badge, which exposed corruption in Orange County Sheriff and DA organized-crime units—seems to indicate that Kay Rackauckas has been on nearly continuous family leave since her baby’s birth. According to correspondence between Madigan and county media-relations manager Diane Thomas, Kay Rackauckas received $2,000 in family home leave from Feb. 9 until April 26, 2001. Thomas said Rackauckas then continued on unpaid leave until Jan. 15 of this year but didn’t provide further pay figures. (Madigan has posted the information on his website, twistedbadge.com.)
Sources familiar with the DA’s office recall Kay Rackauckas visiting work with her newborn on at least one occasion last year but can’t remember seeing her in the office this year.
At this rate, it’s unlikely the current grand jury will ever see Kay Rackauckas. The panel dissolves on June 30, leaving barely a month to conclude its investigation into DA Rackauckas. The grand jury’s options range from recommending indictments to doing nothing.
"Good luck finding her," one DA’s office source said with a laugh. "We’ve even heard rumors she’s gone to Mexico. You’re not going to find her."
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Messages In This Thread
Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly (views: 9) -- Matt -- 5/31/02 10:16
Re: Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly
Posted By: MC in LF
Date: 5/31/02 10:49
In Response To: Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly (Matt)
"Good luck finding her"
Why cannot Tony be subpoenaed to provide information regarding his wife's present location? If he can be served, then he could be held in contempt.
Why doesn't the County terminate her employment status?
Re: Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly (views: 2) -- MC in LF -- 5/31/02 10:49
maybe he OJ'd her *NT* (views: 3) -- dduca -- 5/31/02 18:49
maybe he OJ'd her *NT*
Posted By: dduca
Date: 5/31/02 18:49
In Response To: Re: Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly (MC in LF)
yeah he OJ'd her....... (views: 1) -- jabba -- 6/1/02 08:05
yeah he OJ'd her.......
Posted By: jabba
Date: 6/1/02 08:05
In Response To: maybe he OJ'd her *NT* (dduca)
she's stayin at a cheap room in rosarita beach chasing after the frat boys with a nanny in tow probably.........poor guy
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The El Toro Chronicles
The No Bull Board
Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly
Posted By: Matt Date: 5/31/02 10:16
DA’s Wife Missing!
May just be home
by Anthony Pignataro
On March 5, while Orange County District Attorney Anthony "Tony" Rackauckas celebrated his overwhelming reelection at the Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach, observers noticed his wife, Kay, was nowhere to be found. Her absence, explained as a need to stay home with a sick baby, still registered as an oddity.
In fact, by then, Kay Rackauckas—a deputy DA in her husband’s controversy-plagued office—had already been absent for months. She still hasn’t reported to work, and colleagues can’t agree where she’s supposed to be.
Kay Rackauckas’ mysterious absence from the DA’s office comes at a convenient time for her and her husband. For the past six months, the Orange County grand jury—acting in concert with state Attorney General Bill Lockyer—has investigated what sources familiar with the investigation call "possible felonies" concerning Tony Rackauckas’ past four years in the DA’s office.
Neither the grand jury nor the attorney general’s office will officially comment on the direction of the probe or even whether it exists. But sources familiar with the investigation say the DA’s top officials, including Rackauckas himself, testified last month. The Republican DA also retained as his counsel prominent Democrat Tom Umberg. Umberg, a Clinton administration official, has no criminal-defense experience but is tight with Lockyer, a fellow Democrat.
Those same sources say Kay Rackauckas’ missing-in-action status coincides with the grand jury’s wish to make her testify.
"She has been subpoenaed but hasn’t appeared before the panel," said a source. "She’s MIA, and you’re not going to find her until after the grand jury disbands."
Sources couldn’t say exactly why the grand jury would subpoena Kay Rackauckas. Working since 1990, she makes more than $110,000 per year, according to the county Human Resources department. By virtue of marriage, she also has access to the highest officials in one of the county’s most powerful offices.
In 1997, then-deputy DA Kay Anderle married then-Judge Tony Rackauckas. A year later, Judge Rackauckas was elected district attorney. Almost immediately, critics labeled Kay another Hillary Clinton, the real power behind the DA throne.
"I’m not part of the management," she told Orange County Register reporter John McDonald shortly before her husband took over as DA in January 1999. "Now I’m in [the department investigating] sexual assault [cases], and that’s where I want to stay."
Attempts to contact Kay Rackauckas were unsuccessful. A call to the Westminster branch of the DA’s office where she worked until June 2001 produced nothing, save a staffer’s annoyed suggestion to try the central office. Calls there yielded nothing.
Reluctantly, we contacted Tori Richards, the DA spokeswoman who recently stopped acknowledging our phone calls and e-mails.
"Kay Rackauckas never received an OC grand jury subpoena," she wrote in a May 22 e-mail.
But Richards admitted in a subsequent e-mail she had no idea if the grand jury was trying to deliver a subpoena to Kay Rackauckas. As for Rackauckas’ whereabouts, Richards wrote, "She is currently on family leave because she had a baby."
If true, then Kay Rackauckas has been on family leave a long time. Her baby was born on Valentine’s Day, 2001—15 months ago.
Information obtained by veteran private investigator Mike Madigan—co-author of the 1989 book The Twisted Badge, which exposed corruption in Orange County Sheriff and DA organized-crime units—seems to indicate that Kay Rackauckas has been on nearly continuous family leave since her baby’s birth. According to correspondence between Madigan and county media-relations manager Diane Thomas, Kay Rackauckas received $2,000 in family home leave from Feb. 9 until April 26, 2001. Thomas said Rackauckas then continued on unpaid leave until Jan. 15 of this year but didn’t provide further pay figures. (Madigan has posted the information on his website, twistedbadge.com.)
Sources familiar with the DA’s office recall Kay Rackauckas visiting work with her newborn on at least one occasion last year but can’t remember seeing her in the office this year.
At this rate, it’s unlikely the current grand jury will ever see Kay Rackauckas. The panel dissolves on June 30, leaving barely a month to conclude its investigation into DA Rackauckas. The grand jury’s options range from recommending indictments to doing nothing.
"Good luck finding her," one DA’s office source said with a laugh. "We’ve even heard rumors she’s gone to Mexico. You’re not going to find her."
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Messages In This Thread
Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly (views: 9) -- Matt -- 5/31/02 10:16
Re: Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly
Posted By: MC in LF
Date: 5/31/02 10:49
In Response To: Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly (Matt)
"Good luck finding her"
Why cannot Tony be subpoenaed to provide information regarding his wife's present location? If he can be served, then he could be held in contempt.
Why doesn't the County terminate her employment status?
Re: Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly (views: 2) -- MC in LF -- 5/31/02 10:49
maybe he OJ'd her *NT* (views: 3) -- dduca -- 5/31/02 18:49
maybe he OJ'd her *NT*
Posted By: dduca
Date: 5/31/02 18:49
In Response To: Re: Can Tony Rackauckas share a prison cell with hs wife? From OC Weekly (MC in LF)
yeah he OJ'd her....... (views: 1) -- jabba -- 6/1/02 08:05
yeah he OJ'd her.......
Posted By: jabba
Date: 6/1/02 08:05
In Response To: maybe he OJ'd her *NT* (dduca)
she's stayin at a cheap room in rosarita beach chasing after the frat boys with a nanny in tow probably.........poor guy
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2.03.2007
ER - DA's Office yet to respond to request for child abuse records
DA's Office yet to respond to request for child abuse records
by Glenn Franco Simmons, 5/19/2006
The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office still has not provided documentation requested by The Eureka Reporter regarding the number of child abuse cases that it has dealt with, broken out by year, since the mid-1990s.
As a result, The Eureka Reporter will file a Public Records Act request that requests information about the Child Abuse Services Team’s performance.
Some critics have spoken to The Eureka Reporter and maintain that District Attorney Paul Gallegos has lost touch with CAST and that he is ignoring a significant trend in his department that points to fewer cases being filed.
According to former deputy district attorney Gillian Wadsworth, who has submitted an as yet unpublished letter to the editor at The Eureka Reporter, after 2002 when Gallegos took office, rejection of cases submitted to the DA’s Office increased from 28 percent in 2002 to 45 percent in 2005.
She also said that in 1997-1998, 65-70 percent of the cases submitted to the DA were filed on. In 2005, Wadsworth said, 48 percent were filed on.
Adding to the controversy, Gallegos has also been criticized for plea bargains.
“In 2005, 80 percent of cases were resolved with plea convictions — that’s the highest percent since the program opened,” Wadsworth said. “Plea bargains can be the best thing in a sexual abuse case, or they can effectively ‘let someone off the hook.’ This number needs to be explored and explained.”
Wadsworth also disputed Gallegos’ claim about the historical number of prosecutors assigned to CAST. Gallegos claims CAST never had two full-time attorneys working CAST.
“There were two attorneys whose primary case load was child sexual/physical abuse and one additional attorney who took on the role of director,” she said. “That is nearly 2.5 FTE’s, and those attorneys were busy. The attorneys attended the interviews, worked with the investigators, and when appropriate, prosecuted the case.
They knew the child and the family from the beginning, and the child and family knew their attorney. That was vertical prosecution.”
Gallegos vehemently disagrees with such assessments.
“I can tell you ... CAST has never paid for two full-time attorneys, nor have we had two full-time attorneys assigned to (CAST),” Gallegos said. “We currently have Maggie Flemming assigned to CAST with Andrew Isaac as her backup attorney for CAST cases.”
“All we need to ask ourselves is how Paul Gallegos manages to staff CAST and maintain vertical prosecution when he has one attorney whose job is mostly child abuse but other things as well,” Wadsworth said. “Why did he put one person in a role that took at least two and a half? We can see the number of cases being investigated isn’t dropping, so we know the workload hasn’t reduced. Is this in the best interest of our community, our children and families, or for the team?”
Deputy District Attorney Maggie Fleming said she has done extensive CAST interviews this year.
“Since January 2006, I’ve reviewed 22 sexual or physical abuse cases,” Fleming said. “During that same time, there were actually 45 CAST interviews. Many of those stopped after the CAST interview, perhaps because there was no disclosure. Sometimes, it is because a person either can’t or is unwilling to identify the perpetrator. Law enforcement will proceed with an investigation, but at that point, we do not have anything to file on, so there isn’t a referral initially (to the DA’s Office).
“Traditionally, historically, a number of people don’t disclose at CAST. And I saw from some of the numbers that were sent to (The Eureka Reporter) last week, that are from Jan. 1, 2002 to May 11, 2006 (Gallegos’ tenure), there were 767 interviews done at the CAST office. Of those, in 635 there was an allegation of sexual abuse, meaning they came to the CAST office because someone either heard or saw something or believed that a child had been sexually abused. Of those 635, where that was alleged, 377 resulted in some form of disclosure. So statistically, you can see it’s right around 60 percent who said (during the CAST interview) that something had happened.”
“Even when there is a nondisclosure — meaning that even when during the CAST interview, the child interviewed says nothing happened — those cases are sometimes referred to the DA’s Office,” Fleming continued. “And that can be because there happens to be physical evidence that supports the allegation. Or, sometimes it’s because a family member or somebody else is adamant that something happened and they want us to look at it.”
However, Fleming said, sometimes in those cases, the DA’s Office cannot prosecute because it doesn’t have enough evidence, and with a non-disclosure, it does not find itself in a position to prosecute.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
Read:
ER - Former deputy DA speaks out
Be sure to look at the statistics chart
ER - Candidates spar over child abuse team
ER - DA's Office yet to respond to request for child abuse records
ER - CAST established with child victims in mind
ER - CAST needs support Gallegos is not providing
by Glenn Franco Simmons, 5/19/2006
The Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office still has not provided documentation requested by The Eureka Reporter regarding the number of child abuse cases that it has dealt with, broken out by year, since the mid-1990s.
As a result, The Eureka Reporter will file a Public Records Act request that requests information about the Child Abuse Services Team’s performance.
Some critics have spoken to The Eureka Reporter and maintain that District Attorney Paul Gallegos has lost touch with CAST and that he is ignoring a significant trend in his department that points to fewer cases being filed.
According to former deputy district attorney Gillian Wadsworth, who has submitted an as yet unpublished letter to the editor at The Eureka Reporter, after 2002 when Gallegos took office, rejection of cases submitted to the DA’s Office increased from 28 percent in 2002 to 45 percent in 2005.
She also said that in 1997-1998, 65-70 percent of the cases submitted to the DA were filed on. In 2005, Wadsworth said, 48 percent were filed on.
Adding to the controversy, Gallegos has also been criticized for plea bargains.
“In 2005, 80 percent of cases were resolved with plea convictions — that’s the highest percent since the program opened,” Wadsworth said. “Plea bargains can be the best thing in a sexual abuse case, or they can effectively ‘let someone off the hook.’ This number needs to be explored and explained.”
Wadsworth also disputed Gallegos’ claim about the historical number of prosecutors assigned to CAST. Gallegos claims CAST never had two full-time attorneys working CAST.
“There were two attorneys whose primary case load was child sexual/physical abuse and one additional attorney who took on the role of director,” she said. “That is nearly 2.5 FTE’s, and those attorneys were busy. The attorneys attended the interviews, worked with the investigators, and when appropriate, prosecuted the case.
They knew the child and the family from the beginning, and the child and family knew their attorney. That was vertical prosecution.”
Gallegos vehemently disagrees with such assessments.
“I can tell you ... CAST has never paid for two full-time attorneys, nor have we had two full-time attorneys assigned to (CAST),” Gallegos said. “We currently have Maggie Flemming assigned to CAST with Andrew Isaac as her backup attorney for CAST cases.”
“All we need to ask ourselves is how Paul Gallegos manages to staff CAST and maintain vertical prosecution when he has one attorney whose job is mostly child abuse but other things as well,” Wadsworth said. “Why did he put one person in a role that took at least two and a half? We can see the number of cases being investigated isn’t dropping, so we know the workload hasn’t reduced. Is this in the best interest of our community, our children and families, or for the team?”
Deputy District Attorney Maggie Fleming said she has done extensive CAST interviews this year.
“Since January 2006, I’ve reviewed 22 sexual or physical abuse cases,” Fleming said. “During that same time, there were actually 45 CAST interviews. Many of those stopped after the CAST interview, perhaps because there was no disclosure. Sometimes, it is because a person either can’t or is unwilling to identify the perpetrator. Law enforcement will proceed with an investigation, but at that point, we do not have anything to file on, so there isn’t a referral initially (to the DA’s Office).
“Traditionally, historically, a number of people don’t disclose at CAST. And I saw from some of the numbers that were sent to (The Eureka Reporter) last week, that are from Jan. 1, 2002 to May 11, 2006 (Gallegos’ tenure), there were 767 interviews done at the CAST office. Of those, in 635 there was an allegation of sexual abuse, meaning they came to the CAST office because someone either heard or saw something or believed that a child had been sexually abused. Of those 635, where that was alleged, 377 resulted in some form of disclosure. So statistically, you can see it’s right around 60 percent who said (during the CAST interview) that something had happened.”
“Even when there is a nondisclosure — meaning that even when during the CAST interview, the child interviewed says nothing happened — those cases are sometimes referred to the DA’s Office,” Fleming continued. “And that can be because there happens to be physical evidence that supports the allegation. Or, sometimes it’s because a family member or somebody else is adamant that something happened and they want us to look at it.”
However, Fleming said, sometimes in those cases, the DA’s Office cannot prosecute because it doesn’t have enough evidence, and with a non-disclosure, it does not find itself in a position to prosecute.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
Read:
ER - Former deputy DA speaks out
Be sure to look at the statistics chart
ER - Candidates spar over child abuse team
ER - DA's Office yet to respond to request for child abuse records
ER - CAST established with child victims in mind
ER - CAST needs support Gallegos is not providing
ER - Former deputy DA speaks out
Former deputy DA speaks out
by Glenn Franco Simmons, 5/12/2006
A former deputy district attorney terminated by Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos claims the DA is mismanaging the Child Abuse Services Team.
CAST is a multidisciplinary team that investigates child abuse cases. If child abuse is determined to have occurred, CAST refers the cases to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Allison Jackson, who is supporting Worth Dikeman in the June 6 election for district attorney, called Gallegos’ management style “appalling.”
Decline In Cases
“The decline in (child abuse) cases filed can be attributed to Paul’s lack of leadership and expertise,” Jackson said. “This is not the attorneys; this is Paul. It is Paul’s utter lack of vision.”
In a Thursday e-mail to The Eureka Reporter, Gallegos made one thing clear: “If there are any stones to throw, which there should not be, they are to be thrown at me. The people in my office work far too hard to be involved in politics as well.”
Based upon documentation obtained by The Eureka Reporter, the number of cases being referred to CAST from law enforcement agencies has not dramatically dropped off, but the number of cases accepted by the DA’s Office and the number of cases filed by the office have seen dramatic declines.
For example, based upon the documents’ first-quarter figures for 2006, there were four cases accepted by the DA’s Office — gleaned from 40 CAST interviews. Of those four cases, one was filed, two cases were rejected and one case has been received and was pending a filing decision at the end of the first quarter.
For the year previous, according to the documents, there were 155 CAST interviews of children. Cases received by the DA’s Office numbered 35 with 17 cases filed.
In 2000, for comparison, the documentation said there were 194 CAST interviews of children with 66 cases accepted by the DA’s Office and 48 cases filed.
Maggie Flemming
Deputy District Attorney Maggie Flemming — who is the main person at the DA’s Office who prosecutes persons accused of child abuse — said the numbers The Eureka Reporter obtained did not reflect the work she has done so far this year.
However, because of The Eureka Reporter’s deadline and her schedule, she was unable to provide current information by press deadline.
Jackson and Wes Keat of the District Attorney’s Office praised Flemming for her hard work and commitment. Jackson said her criticism of Gallegos should in no way reflect on Flemming.
“I believe that you will find that Maggie’s work, her skill and dedication, is universally acknowledged as being beyond reproach,” Keat said. “She has 20 years of successful experience as a prosecutor, including a substantial background in sexual assault, not to mention homicides. Maggie is simply the best.”
“I can tell you there is no other attorney I admire more in the world than Maggie Flemming,” Jackson said.
CAST Breakdown
Keat submitted a breakdown of cases going back into the 1990s, but they were not all broken down into years as requested by The Eureka Reporter. Keat sent the total numbers for 2002-2006. The program has been in existence since the 1990s.
When asked about declining prosecution rates earlier this week, Gallegos said, “As for a decline in prosecutions, if there are declining prosecutions, that’s because there are declining cases. If there are declining cases, we have certainly looked into that.
“... Now some will say it’s law enforcement, that law enforcement doesn’t think you are going to do anything with it, which is perverse to me, because here you have a child victim and they are saying they are not going to bring it (the case to the DA’s Office)? That’s crazy, but that’s the sort of stuff you will hear.”
Gallegos has his own explanation for the decreasing totals.
“... We broke it down and looked at the numbers and saw that where the decrease has been is in the stranger offenders,” he said. “So the next question is why, and we don’t have a good answer for that yet. The theory in my head, even though we don’t have enough data yet, but it’s probably public education and education of parents.
“It may have a certain amount to do with Jessica’s Law, to do with notification. A certain amount is probably the general neurosis or fear in society about law officers because they get so much air time because people are less certain about the safety of their kids these days.
“My suspicion,” he continued, “even though we don’t have enough data, is that there is self-policing activity on the part of individuals that is probably reducing the stranger (cases). Most of your repeat offenders are your stranger offenders. … The data that we get, that we see is that most familiar offenders — those are the people less likely to re-offend — there is a whole dynamic involved in that, but it’s the stranger (on child) that is the most recidivistic. … Some people, and this may sound sick to you or I, but some people actually molest out of different feelings, some times out of feelings of love.”
Gallegos said most child molestations are perpetrated by people a child knows.
“It’s family or friends of family, extended family,” he said. “It is an unfortunate reality.”
Jackson said there are different dynamics at issue.
“Something is happening at the center and something is happening in the DA’s Office,” she said. “There is a huge problem here. This looks like an utter system breakdown — irrespective of the fact that you have great people, and they are some of the most fantastic people I’ve ever met who work in this field.”
“When you have 40 interviews going in (through the first three months of this year), and you extrapolate that out for the year, you are looking at about the same number of cases (being brought in by law enforcement), but you sure don’t have the same number coming out and the same number filed. Paul runs the program and he runs that office in name only.
“This all comes back to priorities. It’s not just incompetence, but it’s also an utter lack of priorities. These statistics are directly attributable solely and absolutely to Paul Gallegos. They are not attributable to anyone else. … This program used to work. ... These children aren’t slipping through the cracks. These children have been marched up to the Grand Canyon and kicked off. There is a huge difference when you only have one case that is prosecutable (through the first three months of this year).”
Gallegos issued a rebuttal to Jackson’s charges.
“We are absolutely committed to the success of CAST and the discovery and prosecution of child abusers,” he said in an e-mail to The Eureka Reporter, Thursday. “To claim otherwise is an outrage, as it is first of all false, second, (it) creates false fear in our community, third, (it) creates false fear in the victims and witnesses in our current cases, and fourth, (it) creates the impression in the community — which includes potential offenders — that they may have the opportunity to offend in this community.
“No one (who) is committed to children and their families would act with such disregard for the truth, the interests of victims, the interests of the office and the interests of the community.”
Jackson said she has a solution to what she said is a broken system:
“You need a DA in there who is committed to put CAST back together and make that a priority,” she said. “You need to bring back the physical abuse and neglect cases as opposed to cutting them out of the process there. You need someone who is fully committed to looking at these things every month. You need to look at the entire system again, because it is broken, and it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of commitment. These things don’t run on their own. They just don’t. Somebody needs to pick up the ball and administer these programs.”
Jackson said she doesn’t understand how Gallegos’ supporters “can remotely think this is OK, that this change in philosophy is OK. I don’t see that with these numbers. How can anyone buy this any longer? Those figures are not (campaign) rhetoric.”
(Editor’s note: This is the first part of a two-part series.)
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
Read:
ER - Former deputy DA speaks out
Be sure to look at the statistics chart
ER - Candidates spar over child abuse team
ER - DA's Office yet to respond to request for child abuse records
ER - CAST established with child victims in mind
ER - CAST needs support Gallegos is not providing
12.30.2006
CAST Response/Grand Jury Report
Not easy to follow. Link to County Site and files included here.
Grand Jury Report #2005-LJ-01
A Review of the Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
A child who may have been sexually molested or physically abused may be seen by the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST). Team members, who are from the District Attorney’s office, law enforcement, and social service agencies, observe from behind one-way glass as a trained interviewer talks with the child. Team members can tell the interviewer to ask particular questions through an ear microphone. The child, whose answers are video- and audio-taped, sees only the interviewer in a bright room filled with toys. Everyone agrees that CAST is valuable in increasing successful prosecution of child abusers, reducing trauma to abused children, and helping support families. Money is available for CAST.
However, the program is faltering. Fewer cases are referred to CAST by law enforcement. The District Attorney has diminished CAST’s effectiveness by failing to attend Governing Board meetings, failing to send Deputy District Attorneys to child interviews, and reducing staff.
The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney make CAST a priority by attending the Governing Board meetings, appointing a Deputy District Attorney to the leadership position, and restoring staff levels to ensure that a qualified Deputy District Attorney is present at all child interviews. The Grand Jury also recommends that law enforcement agencies provide training in CAST procedures to new hires with regular “refreshers” to long-term employees.
WHO SHALL RESPOND:
◼ The District Attorney shall respond to Findings 1, 2, and 3 and Recommendations 1a, 1b, 2,
and 3
◼ The CAST Governing Board shall respond to Finding 1 and Recommendations 1a and 1b
◼ The Department of Health & Human Services shall respond to Finding and
Recommendation 3
◼ Humboldt County Sheriff shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Arcata Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Arcata City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Blue Lake Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Blue Lake City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Eureka Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Eureka City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Ferndale Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Ferndale City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Fortuna Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Fortuna City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Hoopa Tribal Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Hoopa Tribal Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Rio Dell Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Rio Dell City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Trinidad Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Trinidad City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
Findings and Recommendations
Finding 1: There is a consensus within the CAST organization, augmented by a recommendation of the National Children’s Alliance, that a leadership person is needed to coordinate and make decisions about CAST with recommendations from the Executive, Governing, and Advisory Boards.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10. Attachment 1 16
Response from CAST Governing Board: The respondent agrees with the finding. See also Attachment 6.
Recommendation 1a: The Grand Jury recommends that the Cast Boards create a leadership position.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Response from CAST Governing Board: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented by 1/1/06. The Executive Committee has met and will be amending the CAST MOU to be inclusive of a CAST Director position that will report to the Executive Committee. See also Attachment 6.
Recommendation 1b: The Grand Jury recommends that a Deputy District Attorney with experience in and a commitment to CAST fill the leadership position.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Response from CAST Governing Board: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented by 1/1/06. The Executive Committee of CAST agrees that the ideal candidate should be an experienced Deputy District Attorney. The District Attorney has indicated his office has been developing this option for a considerable period of time preceding the Grand Jury’s recommendation; the position has been designated and he will assign such staff as soon as possible. See also Attachment 6.
Finding 2: Members of the CAST organization have identified a need for two Deputy District Attorneys and a Senior Legal Office Assistant. Current funding provides for these positions and is incorporated in the guidelines for CAST.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Recommendation 2: The Grand Jury recommends that two Deputy District Attorneys and a Senior Legal Office Assistant be assigned or hired and that CAST cases be the priority caseload for the attorneys assigned to CAST.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Finding 3: There is no Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for funding or time –tracking between the District Attorney’s Office and DHHS for CAST.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Response from Department of Health & Human Services: The respondent agrees with the finding. See also Attachment 7.
Recommendation 3: The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney’s Office and DHHS arrive at a MOU for funding CAST. This MOU must include a method of tracking of CAST cases so that the DA’s Office can properly bill DHHS for the costs of staffing CAST. A simple time study format - already a standard practice of DHHS - could provide this information.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Response from Department of Health & Human Services: The recommendation has not yet been implemented. Prior to receipt of the 2004-05 Grand Jury Report, DHHS had initiated the development of a MOU with the District Attorney’s Office detailing the terms of DHHS funding of the CAST program. Initial work on the agreement began in April 2005. DHHS intends to appear before the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors by October 20, 2005, with a final document.
The MOU will provide for a continuity of understanding in relation to the terms and conditions of DHHS financial support for CAST and specifies that quarterly invoices be presented by the DA to DHHS. See also Attachment 7.
Attachment 1 17
Finding 4: Law Enforcement officials cited the need for continuing and timely training in forensic interviewing of child abuse victims by the Child Forensic interview specialist assigned to CAST.
Furthermore, law enforcement agencies prefer to assign a trained and experienced officer to investigate child abuse cases and participate in CAST.
Response from Sheriff: See Attachment 9.
Response from City of Arcata: See Attachment 19.
Response from City of Blue Lake: See Attachment 20.
Response from City of Eureka: See Attachment 21.
Response from City of Ferndale: See Attachment 22.
Response from City of Fortuna: See Attachment 23.
Response from Hoopa Tribe: See Attachment 24.
Response from City of Rio Dell: See Attachment 11.
Response from City of Trinidad: See Attachment 25.
Recommendation 4: The Grand Jury recommends that training occur at least yearly and more often as needed for new officers, and that a trained and experienced officer from each law enforcement agency be assigned to child abuse cases.
Response from Sheriff: See Attachment 9.
Response from City of Arcata: See Attachment 19.
Response from City of Blue Lake: See Attachment 20.
Response from City of Eureka: See Attachment 21.
Response from City of Ferndale: See Attachment 22.
Response from City of Fortuna: See Attachment 23.
Response from Hoopa Tribe: See Attachment 24.
Response from City of Rio Dell: See Attachment 11.
Response from City of Trinidad: See Attachment 25.
Attachment 1 18
###
2005-LJ-01 CHILD ABUSE SERVICES TEAM
FINDING NO. 4:
Law Enforcement officials cited the need for continuing and timely training in forensic interviewing of child abuse victims by the Child Forensic Interview Specialist assigned to CAST. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies prefer to assign a trained and
experienced officer to investigate child abuse cases and participate in CAST.
SHERIFF'S RESPONSE TO 2005-LJ-01 FINDING NO. 4:
Agree
RECOMMENDATION NO. 4:
The Grand Jury recommends that training occur at least yearly and more often as needed for new officers, and that a trained and experienced officer from each law enforcement agency be assigned to child abuse cases.
SHERIFF'S RESPONSE TO 2005-LJ-01 RECOMMENDATION NO. 4:
The recommendation has been implemented. The Sheriff’s Office has, for over fifteenyears, assigned a child abuse investigator position to our Criminal Investigations Division to work with and as our liaison to CAST. The deputy assigned to this position
receives advanced training in the investigation of child abuse cases.
Respectfully submitted,
GARY PHILP, Sheriff
Humboldt County
GP:crm
Attachment 9 40
Related:
Related:
◼ TS - Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County Grand Jury Report 6/29/2005
◼ TS - Grand jury issues scathing DA critique June 29, 2005
◼ McK Press - Grand Jury Report: D.A. guilty of 'weak leadership'
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
◼ NCJ - GRAND JURY REPORT IN
◼ The Grand Jury Report on the DA's office
◼ The Grand Jury Report on CAST
◼ TS - Gallegos responds to grand jury findings
◼ CAST Response/Grand Jury Report
Grand Jury Report #2005-LJ-01
A Review of the Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
A child who may have been sexually molested or physically abused may be seen by the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST). Team members, who are from the District Attorney’s office, law enforcement, and social service agencies, observe from behind one-way glass as a trained interviewer talks with the child. Team members can tell the interviewer to ask particular questions through an ear microphone. The child, whose answers are video- and audio-taped, sees only the interviewer in a bright room filled with toys. Everyone agrees that CAST is valuable in increasing successful prosecution of child abusers, reducing trauma to abused children, and helping support families. Money is available for CAST.
However, the program is faltering. Fewer cases are referred to CAST by law enforcement. The District Attorney has diminished CAST’s effectiveness by failing to attend Governing Board meetings, failing to send Deputy District Attorneys to child interviews, and reducing staff.
The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney make CAST a priority by attending the Governing Board meetings, appointing a Deputy District Attorney to the leadership position, and restoring staff levels to ensure that a qualified Deputy District Attorney is present at all child interviews. The Grand Jury also recommends that law enforcement agencies provide training in CAST procedures to new hires with regular “refreshers” to long-term employees.
WHO SHALL RESPOND:
◼ The District Attorney shall respond to Findings 1, 2, and 3 and Recommendations 1a, 1b, 2,
and 3
◼ The CAST Governing Board shall respond to Finding 1 and Recommendations 1a and 1b
◼ The Department of Health & Human Services shall respond to Finding and
Recommendation 3
◼ Humboldt County Sheriff shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Arcata Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Arcata City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Blue Lake Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Blue Lake City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Eureka Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Eureka City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Ferndale Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Ferndale City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Fortuna Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Fortuna City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Hoopa Tribal Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Hoopa Tribal Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Rio Dell Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Rio Dell City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Trinidad Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
◼ Trinidad City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
Findings and Recommendations
Finding 1: There is a consensus within the CAST organization, augmented by a recommendation of the National Children’s Alliance, that a leadership person is needed to coordinate and make decisions about CAST with recommendations from the Executive, Governing, and Advisory Boards.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10. Attachment 1 16
Response from CAST Governing Board: The respondent agrees with the finding. See also Attachment 6.
Recommendation 1a: The Grand Jury recommends that the Cast Boards create a leadership position.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Response from CAST Governing Board: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented by 1/1/06. The Executive Committee has met and will be amending the CAST MOU to be inclusive of a CAST Director position that will report to the Executive Committee. See also Attachment 6.
Recommendation 1b: The Grand Jury recommends that a Deputy District Attorney with experience in and a commitment to CAST fill the leadership position.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Response from CAST Governing Board: The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented by 1/1/06. The Executive Committee of CAST agrees that the ideal candidate should be an experienced Deputy District Attorney. The District Attorney has indicated his office has been developing this option for a considerable period of time preceding the Grand Jury’s recommendation; the position has been designated and he will assign such staff as soon as possible. See also Attachment 6.
Finding 2: Members of the CAST organization have identified a need for two Deputy District Attorneys and a Senior Legal Office Assistant. Current funding provides for these positions and is incorporated in the guidelines for CAST.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Recommendation 2: The Grand Jury recommends that two Deputy District Attorneys and a Senior Legal Office Assistant be assigned or hired and that CAST cases be the priority caseload for the attorneys assigned to CAST.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Finding 3: There is no Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for funding or time –tracking between the District Attorney’s Office and DHHS for CAST.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Response from Department of Health & Human Services: The respondent agrees with the finding. See also Attachment 7.
Recommendation 3: The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney’s Office and DHHS arrive at a MOU for funding CAST. This MOU must include a method of tracking of CAST cases so that the DA’s Office can properly bill DHHS for the costs of staffing CAST. A simple time study format - already a standard practice of DHHS - could provide this information.
Response from District Attorney: See Attachment 10.
Response from Department of Health & Human Services: The recommendation has not yet been implemented. Prior to receipt of the 2004-05 Grand Jury Report, DHHS had initiated the development of a MOU with the District Attorney’s Office detailing the terms of DHHS funding of the CAST program. Initial work on the agreement began in April 2005. DHHS intends to appear before the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors by October 20, 2005, with a final document.
The MOU will provide for a continuity of understanding in relation to the terms and conditions of DHHS financial support for CAST and specifies that quarterly invoices be presented by the DA to DHHS. See also Attachment 7.
Attachment 1 17
Finding 4: Law Enforcement officials cited the need for continuing and timely training in forensic interviewing of child abuse victims by the Child Forensic interview specialist assigned to CAST.
Furthermore, law enforcement agencies prefer to assign a trained and experienced officer to investigate child abuse cases and participate in CAST.
Response from Sheriff: See Attachment 9.
Response from City of Arcata: See Attachment 19.
Response from City of Blue Lake: See Attachment 20.
Response from City of Eureka: See Attachment 21.
Response from City of Ferndale: See Attachment 22.
Response from City of Fortuna: See Attachment 23.
Response from Hoopa Tribe: See Attachment 24.
Response from City of Rio Dell: See Attachment 11.
Response from City of Trinidad: See Attachment 25.
Recommendation 4: The Grand Jury recommends that training occur at least yearly and more often as needed for new officers, and that a trained and experienced officer from each law enforcement agency be assigned to child abuse cases.
Response from Sheriff: See Attachment 9.
Response from City of Arcata: See Attachment 19.
Response from City of Blue Lake: See Attachment 20.
Response from City of Eureka: See Attachment 21.
Response from City of Ferndale: See Attachment 22.
Response from City of Fortuna: See Attachment 23.
Response from Hoopa Tribe: See Attachment 24.
Response from City of Rio Dell: See Attachment 11.
Response from City of Trinidad: See Attachment 25.
Attachment 1 18
###
2005-LJ-01 CHILD ABUSE SERVICES TEAM
FINDING NO. 4:
Law Enforcement officials cited the need for continuing and timely training in forensic interviewing of child abuse victims by the Child Forensic Interview Specialist assigned to CAST. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies prefer to assign a trained and
experienced officer to investigate child abuse cases and participate in CAST.
SHERIFF'S RESPONSE TO 2005-LJ-01 FINDING NO. 4:
Agree
RECOMMENDATION NO. 4:
The Grand Jury recommends that training occur at least yearly and more often as needed for new officers, and that a trained and experienced officer from each law enforcement agency be assigned to child abuse cases.
SHERIFF'S RESPONSE TO 2005-LJ-01 RECOMMENDATION NO. 4:
The recommendation has been implemented. The Sheriff’s Office has, for over fifteenyears, assigned a child abuse investigator position to our Criminal Investigations Division to work with and as our liaison to CAST. The deputy assigned to this position
receives advanced training in the investigation of child abuse cases.
Respectfully submitted,
GARY PHILP, Sheriff
Humboldt County
GP:crm
Attachment 9 40
Related:
Related:
◼ TS - Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County Grand Jury Report 6/29/2005
◼ TS - Grand jury issues scathing DA critique June 29, 2005
"However, the informed, well-organized, diligent leadership essential during difficult times is missing," the grand jury report said. "Operations are neither as efficient nor as effective as they must be."
◼ McK Press - Grand Jury Report: D.A. guilty of 'weak leadership'
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
◼ NCJ - GRAND JURY REPORT IN
◼ The Grand Jury Report on the DA's office
◼ The Grand Jury Report on CAST
◼ TS - Gallegos responds to grand jury findings
◼ CAST Response/Grand Jury Report
12.07.2006
The Grand Jury Report on CAST
.
The Grand Jury Report on CAST
Grand Jury Report #2005-LJ-01
A Review of the Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team
Executive Summary:
A child who may have been sexually molested or physically abused may be seen by the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST). Team members, who are from the District Attorney’s office, law enforcement, and social service agencies, observe from behind one-way glass as a trained interviewer talks with the child. Team members can tell the interviewer to ask particular questions through an ear microphone. The child, whose answers are video- and audio-taped, sees only the interviewer in a bright room filled with toys. Everyone agrees that CAST is valuable in increasing successful prosecution of child abusers,
reducing trauma to abused children, and helping support families. Money is available for CAST.
However, the program is faltering. Fewer cases are referred to CAST by law enforcement. The District Attorney has diminished CAST’s effectiveness by failing to attend Governing Board meetings, failing to send Deputy District Attorneys to child interviews, and reducing staff.
The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney make CAST a priority by attending the Governing Board meetings, appointing a Deputy District Attorney to the leadership position, and restoring staff levels to ensure that a qualified Deputy District Attorney is present at all child interviews. The Grand Jury also recommends that law enforcement agencies provide training in CAST procedures to new hires with regular “refreshers” to long-term employees.
Who Shall Respond:
Pursuant to California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05, responses to the Findings and Recommendations of the GRAND JURY REPORT #2005-LJ-01 shall be provided as follows:
• The District Attorney shall respond to Findings 1, 2, and 3 and Recommendations 1a, 1b, 2, and 3
• The CAST Governing Board shall respond to Finding 1 and Recommendations 1a and 1b
• The Department of Health & Human Services shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 3
• Humboldt County Sheriff shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Arcata Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Arcata City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Blue Lake Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Blue Lake City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Eureka Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Eureka City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Ferndale Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Ferndale City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Fortuna Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Fortuna City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Hoopa Tribal Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Hoopa Tribal Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Rio Dell Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Rio Dell City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Trinidad Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Trinidad City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
Report
CAST began in Humboldt County in 1997, and was recently re-accredited by the National Children’s Alliance. CAST is a multi-disciplinary team consisting of 29 separate agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of offenders against children. Law enforcement agencies, the District Attorney, the Department of Health & Human Services, Native American organizations, and community based organizations are partners in the CAST process. Written guidelines and by-laws are available from CAST to explain the local team process and the roles that the various agencies play.
CAST has several purposes:
• For law enforcement agencies, CAST provides forensic interviews that may enable a complete report to be forwarded to the District Attorney for possible prosecution.
• For the District Attorney, CAST delivers an audio- and videotaped interview of the child victim by an expert in child forensic interviews, allowing more informed decisions to be made as to what charges to file against the alleged perpetrator.
• For the Public Defender, the audio and videotaped interview may lead to an acceptance of a plea bargain, once the alleged perpetrator realizes the weight of the evidence against him or her.
• For Mental Health and Child Welfare Services, CAST minimizes the trauma to child victims of physical or sexual abuse by having the child undergo fewer interviews, and by conducting the interviews in a child-friendly environment where the child can feel safe in disclosing what has happened.
All CAST interviews are audio- and videotaped and are conducted by a Child Welfare Social Worker, specially trained in forensic interviewing of child victims. Other team members - including a Deputy District Attorney, a District Attorney Investigator, a representative from the law enforcement agency involved in the investigation, a Mental Health clinician, and a victim’s advocate - may be present in an adjacent room with a one-way mirror into the interview room. Ideally, each forensic interview would include all of the team members listed above. If the evidence gained in the forensic interview supports the
allegation of abuse, the Deputy District Attorney assigned to CAST prosecutes the case with CAST team support.
Law enforcement makes referrals to CAST, sometimes at the behest of child welfare agencies, medical facilities, and other mandated reporters. Funding for CAST comes from the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) and is set at a maximum of $280,000 annually. This funding provides for two Deputy District Attorneys, a District Attorney Investigator, and a Senior Legal Office Assistant as well as overhead costs such as rent and supplies. DHHS also provides a social worker trained as a specialist in child forensic interviewing and a half-time Mental Health clinician. In addition, the District Attorney's
Office receives a grant to partially fund a Deputy District Attorney to vertically prosecute child abuse cases. Vertical prosecution means the same attorney follows the case from referral to prosecution and sentencing.
Two strongly committed and experienced Deputy District Attorneys who were assigned to CAST have left the District Attorney’s Office in the past year. Witnesses interviewed by the Grand Jury indicated the loss of these attorneys negatively impacted the CAST program. Current vacancies include one Deputy District Attorney position (vacant since June 2004) and a Senior Legal Office Assistant (vacant since March 2005). Top administrators of DHHS said they are committed to CAST and do not anticipate any changes in funding at this time. However, there is no contract or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
for the funding which DHHS provides the District Attorney’s Office. With only one Deputy District Attorney assigned to CAST at this time, it is very difficult for the Deputy District Attorney to be at all CAST interviews and to follow each case using vertical prosecution. Often, other Deputy District Attorneys have to fill in on child abuse cases with little time to prepare.
The Grand Jury conducted over 20 interviews relevant to CAST. Support for CAST and its mandate to vigorously prosecute offenders is overwhelming among all individuals and agencies involved. The law enforcement agencies said that CAST is one of the best programs they have seen and it has their whole-hearted backing. Four law enforcement agencies stated that their new officers need more training from the CAST child interview specialist. College of the Redwoods also offers law enforcement training in child abuse in the police academy program. In the past, detectives or officers from law enforcement
agencies were specifically assigned to child abuse or molestation cases, a luxury not presently afforded in these budget-crunch years. At this time, any law enforcement officer, trained or not, may have to respond to reports of child abuse and molestation. An untrained officer may inadvertently make prosecution difficult or impossible. Although the number of referrals to CAST has dropped during the past two years, no specific reasons were given to account for this decline by the various law enforcement agencies.
Statistics from 2002-2004 by witnesses revealed:
• CAST cases dropped from 98 in 2002 to 58 in 2004, a 40 percent drop.
• Prosecution of CAST cases declined from 2002 to 2004.
• Except in 2004, when both a Deputy District Attorney and a DA investigator were present during the interviews, the number of cases in which prosecution resulted is significantly higher than when only one representative from the DA’s office is present. This suggests that is it important for both a prosecutor and an investigator from the DA’s office to participate in CAST interviews.
• Deputy District Attorney attendance at CAST interviews dropped precipitously from 85 percent in 2002, to 46 percent in 2003, and to 25 percent in 2004.
During its recent compliance review of CAST, the National Alliance for Children recommended that a leadership person be named to improve communication and to oversee all CAST operations and decisions. At present, CAST has an Executive Board, a Governing Board, and an Advisory Board. The District Attorney, who is a member of the Governing Board, has failed to regularly attend meetings as documented by testimony, statistics, and meeting minutes. In the past, a Deputy District Attorney filled the leadership position by virtue of his commitment to the program. His departure in July 2004 left a leadership void detrimental to the effective operation of the program. The compliance review was generally favorable, and Humboldt County’s CAST program was again certified and the $10,000 annual grant was continued.
Findings and Recommendations:
Finding 1: There is a consensus within the CAST organization, augmented by a recommendation of the National Children’s Alliance, that a leadership person is needed to coordinate and make decisions about CAST with recommendations from the Executive, Governing, and Advisory Boards.
Recommendation 1a: The Grand Jury recommends that the Cast Boards create a leadership position
Recommendation 1b: The Grand Jury recommends that a Deputy District Attorney with experience in and a commitment to CAST fill the leadership position.
Finding 2: Members of the CAST organization have identified a need for two Deputy District Attorneys and a Senior Legal Office Assistant. Current funding provides for these positions and is incorporated in the guidelines for CAST.
Recommendation 2: The Grand Jury recommends that two Deputy District Attorneys and a Senior Legal Office Assistant be assigned or hired and that CAST cases be the priority caseload for the attorneys assigned to CAST.
Finding 3: There is no Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for funding or time –tracking between the District Attorney’s Office and DHHS for CAST.
Recommendation 3: The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney’s Office and DHHS arrive at a MOU for funding CAST. This MOU must include a method of tracking of CAST cases so that the DA’s Office can properly bill DHHS for the costs of staffing CAST. A simple time study format - already a standard practice of DHHS - could provide this information.
Finding 4: Law Enforcement officials cited the need for continuing and timely training in forensic interviewing of child abuse victims by the Child Forensic interview specialist assigned to CAST.
Furthermore, law enforcement agencies prefer to assign a trained and experienced officer to investigate child abuse cases and participate in CAST.
Recommendation 4: The Grand Jury recommends that training occur at least yearly and more often as needed for new officers, and that a trained and experienced officer from each law enforcement agency be assigned to child abuse cases.
Commendation: The Grand Jury would like to commend all members of the team for their outstanding service and support for all of our child victims. CAST has truly created a network of collaborating agencies whose focus is on protecting children and preventing future harm. Participating agencies include:
Arcata Police Dept. Karuk Tribe of California
Bear River Band of the Rhonerville Rancheria North Coast Rape Crisis Team
Big Lagoon Rancheria Rio Dell Police Dept.
Blue Lake Police Dept. Sexual Assault Response Team
Blue Lake Rancheria Trinidad Police Dept.
Court Appointed Special Advocates Trinidad Rancheria
Dept. of Health and Human Services Two Feathers Indian Child Welfare
Eureka Police Dept. Victim Witness Office
Ferndale Police Dept. Yurok Council
Fortuna Police Dept.
Hoopa Health Services
Hoopa Tribal Council
Hoopa Tribal Police Dept.
Humboldt County District Attorney
Humboldt County Probation Dept.
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Dept.
HSU Police Dept.
Related:
Related:
◼ TS - Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County Grand Jury Report 6/29/2005
◼ TS - Grand jury issues scathing DA critique June 29, 2005
◼ McK Press - Grand Jury Report: D.A. guilty of 'weak leadership'
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
◼ NCJ - GRAND JURY REPORT IN
◼ The Grand Jury Report on the DA's office
◼ The Grand Jury Report on CAST
◼ TS - Gallegos responds to grand jury findings
◼ CAST Response/Grand Jury Report
The Grand Jury Report on CAST
Grand Jury Report #2005-LJ-01
A Review of the Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team
Executive Summary:
A child who may have been sexually molested or physically abused may be seen by the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST). Team members, who are from the District Attorney’s office, law enforcement, and social service agencies, observe from behind one-way glass as a trained interviewer talks with the child. Team members can tell the interviewer to ask particular questions through an ear microphone. The child, whose answers are video- and audio-taped, sees only the interviewer in a bright room filled with toys. Everyone agrees that CAST is valuable in increasing successful prosecution of child abusers,
reducing trauma to abused children, and helping support families. Money is available for CAST.
However, the program is faltering. Fewer cases are referred to CAST by law enforcement. The District Attorney has diminished CAST’s effectiveness by failing to attend Governing Board meetings, failing to send Deputy District Attorneys to child interviews, and reducing staff.
The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney make CAST a priority by attending the Governing Board meetings, appointing a Deputy District Attorney to the leadership position, and restoring staff levels to ensure that a qualified Deputy District Attorney is present at all child interviews. The Grand Jury also recommends that law enforcement agencies provide training in CAST procedures to new hires with regular “refreshers” to long-term employees.
Who Shall Respond:
Pursuant to California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05, responses to the Findings and Recommendations of the GRAND JURY REPORT #2005-LJ-01 shall be provided as follows:
• The District Attorney shall respond to Findings 1, 2, and 3 and Recommendations 1a, 1b, 2, and 3
• The CAST Governing Board shall respond to Finding 1 and Recommendations 1a and 1b
• The Department of Health & Human Services shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 3
• Humboldt County Sheriff shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Arcata Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Arcata City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Blue Lake Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Blue Lake City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Eureka Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Eureka City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Ferndale Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Ferndale City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Fortuna Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Fortuna City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Hoopa Tribal Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Hoopa Tribal Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Rio Dell Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Rio Dell City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Trinidad Police Department shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
• Trinidad City Council shall respond to Finding and Recommendation 4
Report
CAST began in Humboldt County in 1997, and was recently re-accredited by the National Children’s Alliance. CAST is a multi-disciplinary team consisting of 29 separate agencies involved in the investigation and prosecution of offenders against children. Law enforcement agencies, the District Attorney, the Department of Health & Human Services, Native American organizations, and community based organizations are partners in the CAST process. Written guidelines and by-laws are available from CAST to explain the local team process and the roles that the various agencies play.
CAST has several purposes:
• For law enforcement agencies, CAST provides forensic interviews that may enable a complete report to be forwarded to the District Attorney for possible prosecution.
• For the District Attorney, CAST delivers an audio- and videotaped interview of the child victim by an expert in child forensic interviews, allowing more informed decisions to be made as to what charges to file against the alleged perpetrator.
• For the Public Defender, the audio and videotaped interview may lead to an acceptance of a plea bargain, once the alleged perpetrator realizes the weight of the evidence against him or her.
• For Mental Health and Child Welfare Services, CAST minimizes the trauma to child victims of physical or sexual abuse by having the child undergo fewer interviews, and by conducting the interviews in a child-friendly environment where the child can feel safe in disclosing what has happened.
All CAST interviews are audio- and videotaped and are conducted by a Child Welfare Social Worker, specially trained in forensic interviewing of child victims. Other team members - including a Deputy District Attorney, a District Attorney Investigator, a representative from the law enforcement agency involved in the investigation, a Mental Health clinician, and a victim’s advocate - may be present in an adjacent room with a one-way mirror into the interview room. Ideally, each forensic interview would include all of the team members listed above. If the evidence gained in the forensic interview supports the
allegation of abuse, the Deputy District Attorney assigned to CAST prosecutes the case with CAST team support.
Law enforcement makes referrals to CAST, sometimes at the behest of child welfare agencies, medical facilities, and other mandated reporters. Funding for CAST comes from the Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) and is set at a maximum of $280,000 annually. This funding provides for two Deputy District Attorneys, a District Attorney Investigator, and a Senior Legal Office Assistant as well as overhead costs such as rent and supplies. DHHS also provides a social worker trained as a specialist in child forensic interviewing and a half-time Mental Health clinician. In addition, the District Attorney's
Office receives a grant to partially fund a Deputy District Attorney to vertically prosecute child abuse cases. Vertical prosecution means the same attorney follows the case from referral to prosecution and sentencing.
Two strongly committed and experienced Deputy District Attorneys who were assigned to CAST have left the District Attorney’s Office in the past year. Witnesses interviewed by the Grand Jury indicated the loss of these attorneys negatively impacted the CAST program. Current vacancies include one Deputy District Attorney position (vacant since June 2004) and a Senior Legal Office Assistant (vacant since March 2005). Top administrators of DHHS said they are committed to CAST and do not anticipate any changes in funding at this time. However, there is no contract or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
for the funding which DHHS provides the District Attorney’s Office. With only one Deputy District Attorney assigned to CAST at this time, it is very difficult for the Deputy District Attorney to be at all CAST interviews and to follow each case using vertical prosecution. Often, other Deputy District Attorneys have to fill in on child abuse cases with little time to prepare.
The Grand Jury conducted over 20 interviews relevant to CAST. Support for CAST and its mandate to vigorously prosecute offenders is overwhelming among all individuals and agencies involved. The law enforcement agencies said that CAST is one of the best programs they have seen and it has their whole-hearted backing. Four law enforcement agencies stated that their new officers need more training from the CAST child interview specialist. College of the Redwoods also offers law enforcement training in child abuse in the police academy program. In the past, detectives or officers from law enforcement
agencies were specifically assigned to child abuse or molestation cases, a luxury not presently afforded in these budget-crunch years. At this time, any law enforcement officer, trained or not, may have to respond to reports of child abuse and molestation. An untrained officer may inadvertently make prosecution difficult or impossible. Although the number of referrals to CAST has dropped during the past two years, no specific reasons were given to account for this decline by the various law enforcement agencies.
Statistics from 2002-2004 by witnesses revealed:
• CAST cases dropped from 98 in 2002 to 58 in 2004, a 40 percent drop.
• Prosecution of CAST cases declined from 2002 to 2004.
• Except in 2004, when both a Deputy District Attorney and a DA investigator were present during the interviews, the number of cases in which prosecution resulted is significantly higher than when only one representative from the DA’s office is present. This suggests that is it important for both a prosecutor and an investigator from the DA’s office to participate in CAST interviews.
• Deputy District Attorney attendance at CAST interviews dropped precipitously from 85 percent in 2002, to 46 percent in 2003, and to 25 percent in 2004.
During its recent compliance review of CAST, the National Alliance for Children recommended that a leadership person be named to improve communication and to oversee all CAST operations and decisions. At present, CAST has an Executive Board, a Governing Board, and an Advisory Board. The District Attorney, who is a member of the Governing Board, has failed to regularly attend meetings as documented by testimony, statistics, and meeting minutes. In the past, a Deputy District Attorney filled the leadership position by virtue of his commitment to the program. His departure in July 2004 left a leadership void detrimental to the effective operation of the program. The compliance review was generally favorable, and Humboldt County’s CAST program was again certified and the $10,000 annual grant was continued.
Findings and Recommendations:
Finding 1: There is a consensus within the CAST organization, augmented by a recommendation of the National Children’s Alliance, that a leadership person is needed to coordinate and make decisions about CAST with recommendations from the Executive, Governing, and Advisory Boards.
Recommendation 1a: The Grand Jury recommends that the Cast Boards create a leadership position
Recommendation 1b: The Grand Jury recommends that a Deputy District Attorney with experience in and a commitment to CAST fill the leadership position.
Finding 2: Members of the CAST organization have identified a need for two Deputy District Attorneys and a Senior Legal Office Assistant. Current funding provides for these positions and is incorporated in the guidelines for CAST.
Recommendation 2: The Grand Jury recommends that two Deputy District Attorneys and a Senior Legal Office Assistant be assigned or hired and that CAST cases be the priority caseload for the attorneys assigned to CAST.
Finding 3: There is no Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for funding or time –tracking between the District Attorney’s Office and DHHS for CAST.
Recommendation 3: The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney’s Office and DHHS arrive at a MOU for funding CAST. This MOU must include a method of tracking of CAST cases so that the DA’s Office can properly bill DHHS for the costs of staffing CAST. A simple time study format - already a standard practice of DHHS - could provide this information.
Finding 4: Law Enforcement officials cited the need for continuing and timely training in forensic interviewing of child abuse victims by the Child Forensic interview specialist assigned to CAST.
Furthermore, law enforcement agencies prefer to assign a trained and experienced officer to investigate child abuse cases and participate in CAST.
Recommendation 4: The Grand Jury recommends that training occur at least yearly and more often as needed for new officers, and that a trained and experienced officer from each law enforcement agency be assigned to child abuse cases.
Commendation: The Grand Jury would like to commend all members of the team for their outstanding service and support for all of our child victims. CAST has truly created a network of collaborating agencies whose focus is on protecting children and preventing future harm. Participating agencies include:
Arcata Police Dept. Karuk Tribe of California
Bear River Band of the Rhonerville Rancheria North Coast Rape Crisis Team
Big Lagoon Rancheria Rio Dell Police Dept.
Blue Lake Police Dept. Sexual Assault Response Team
Blue Lake Rancheria Trinidad Police Dept.
Court Appointed Special Advocates Trinidad Rancheria
Dept. of Health and Human Services Two Feathers Indian Child Welfare
Eureka Police Dept. Victim Witness Office
Ferndale Police Dept. Yurok Council
Fortuna Police Dept.
Hoopa Health Services
Hoopa Tribal Council
Hoopa Tribal Police Dept.
Humboldt County District Attorney
Humboldt County Probation Dept.
Humboldt County Sheriff’s Dept.
HSU Police Dept.
Related:
Related:
◼ TS - Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County Grand Jury Report 6/29/2005
◼ TS - Grand jury issues scathing DA critique June 29, 2005
"However, the informed, well-organized, diligent leadership essential during difficult times is missing," the grand jury report said. "Operations are neither as efficient nor as effective as they must be."
◼ McK Press - Grand Jury Report: D.A. guilty of 'weak leadership'
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
◼ NCJ - GRAND JURY REPORT IN
◼ The Grand Jury Report on the DA's office
◼ The Grand Jury Report on CAST
◼ TS - Gallegos responds to grand jury findings
◼ CAST Response/Grand Jury Report
ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
.
Submitted by Darlene Marlow/2004-05 Grand Jury Foreperson
The 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury released its final report on the past year’s investigations of local governments yesterday. The logo for the report was created by students in Arcata High School’s Community Environment Design and Restoration program.
2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
by Diane M. Batley, 6/29/2005
After a year of investigations on issues raised about local government agencies and public officials, the 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury released a report on its findings yesterday.
The grand jury’s 54-page report contained 27 topics that ranged from Animal Control Services to charter schools to an investigation of the District Attorney Criminal Division.
The lengthiest reports, approximately 10 pages long each, were on Humboldt County charter schools and “An Investigation of the District Attorney Criminal Division.”
The investigation of the district attorney criminal division was “prompted by citizen complaints and the fact that there had been no formal grand jury review of any division of the DA’s Office in 10 years,” according to the executive summary of grand jury report #2005-LJ-02.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos did not receive positive remarks about his leadership in reports “A Review of Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team” and “An Investigation of the District Attorney Criminal Division.”
Regarding CAST, the grand jury findings stated that the program is faltering because fewer cases are “referred to CAST by law enforcement (and) the district attorney has diminished CAST’s effectiveness by failing to attend governing board meetings, failing to send deputy district attorneys to child interviews and reducing staff.”
In the grand jury’s report on “An Investigation of the District Attorney Criminal Division,” jurors found that “the informed, well-organized, diligent leadership essential during difficult times is missing (and) operations are neither as efficient nor as effective as they must be.”
The grand jury report on the division also stated that “weak leadership and poor managerial practices have led to problems in communication within the office itself, and, more seriously, with law-enforcement agencies, the Board of Supervisors and the general public. The district attorney has failed to educate himself thoroughly in office operations and procedures, and does not employ many common, useful managerial tools: He does not meet regularly with the supervisors who oversee his staff; he does not meet regularly with deputy district attorneys; he does not meet regularly with law-enforcement agencies; he does not provide ‘at-will’ employees with formal performance evaluations; he has no policy and procedures manual for the office; he has no written training documents for new hires.”
In the report on the division, the grand jury recommends the district attorney:
• “hire more experienced prosecutors and clerical staff;
• “expand and improve communications with law enforcement;
• “develop and implement written policy and training manuals on handling communication with the public, especially victims of crime;
• “meet regularly with department heads;
• “develop a procedures and policy manual for the division;
• “improve the office answering system for off-hour calls;
• “provide written performance evaluations for ‘at-will’ employees;
• “refrain from firing long-term experienced prosecutors — or anyone — except for cause, unless a comparable replacement has been identified and retained;
• “reclassify ‘at-will’ prosecutors to provide them with more job security; and
• “require prosecutors to request that the reasons for plea bargains be reflected in the court minutes of cases”
The investigation into Humboldt County charter schools was “initiated by citizen complaints, state and national media attention on charter school effectiveness and a general lack of public knowledge about charter school,” according to the executive summary of grand jury report #2005-HS-02 through 09.
The jurors found that charter schools are public schools and Humboldt County has seven charter districts or networks comprised of 19 charter school sites.
The grand jury report stated that it found “three charter school networks needing oversight improvement in at least one of the following areas: teacher credentials, admission policies, financial management, state testing, and/or required record-keeping.”
On a positive note, the jury found that despite areas in need of improvement, “charter school students appear to be receiving both interesting as well as challenging educational opportunities.”
The grand jury recommends that:
• “The Humboldt County Office of Education establish a clear and consistent method of conducting annual oversight checks of all of the county’s charter schools.
• “The sponsoring agencies of charter schools and the Humboldt County Office of Education exercise vigilant oversight regarding the credentials held by teachers assigned to be the primary teachers of core high school courses (English, math, history and science).
• “The Northcoast Preparatory Academy of the Big Lagoon Charter School Network make its application and admission policies transparent.
• “The Big Lagoon Charter School Network develop stricter guidelines for the maintenance of student records.
• “The Big Lagoon Charter School Network pay all its employees directly, deducting appropriate taxes and retirement benefits, and pay premiums for state unemployment compensation and state workers’ compensation.
• “The Big Lagoon Charter School Network check with the federal and state internal revenue services and the federal and state departments of labor to verify the legal definition of ‘employee’ and ‘independent contractor.’
• “The Big Lagoon Charter School Network consult with authorities to determine the legitimacy of using a pass-through account to pay anyone who is already retired and receiving retirement system benefits.
• “The Equinox Center for Education of the Big Lagoon Charter School Network confirm the legitimacy and legality of transforming a private school to a public school.
• “The Mattole Valley Charter School and the Pacific View Charter School encourage participation with state-recommended testing in order to achieve the 95 percent rate desired to track school accountability.”
Grand jury forewoman Darlene Marlow said that she could not provide any comments about the final report.
“Our comment is the report and that is our only comment,” she said.
The final report from the grand jury is the result of more than 7,000 hours of work by 21 grand jurors, including alternates, over the past year, Marlow stated in a letter included in the grand jury final report to Judge Timothy Cissna.
By the end of the year, 16 people remained on the grand jury. Their names are included in the final report. The 2004-05 grand jury members who remain until the next jury begins its work in July are Richard Beller of Eureka, Anne Christen of Ferndale, Cindy L.H. Costa of Eureka, Allan B. Edwards of McKinleyville, Stephanie Head of Eureka, Claudia Johnson of Eureka, Stacey Kaspari of Eureka, Bettie Boyce Lee of Fortuna, Willa Diane Lehman of Garberville, Russell Lewis of Fortuna, Darlene Couch Marlow of Trinidad, John Matthew Morehouse of Arcata, Patricia S. Nolan of Fortuna, Sue Oringer of Bayside, Evon Stalker of McKinleyville and Samuel B. Trumball of Arcata.
The grand jury is comprised of citizens who serve for one year and comprise “a civil investigative body having for its objective the detection and correction of flaws in government,” according to the final report.
Some jurors may serve a second term on the grand jury to provide continuity from one term to the next.
The foreperson is the official spokesperson for the grand jury.
“A grand juror may take no official action without the prior approval and authorization of a majority of the grand jury,” the final report states.
The 2004-05 grand jury report will be printed in its entirety on Friday in The Eureka Reporter.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
related:
Related:
◼ TS - Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County Grand Jury Report 6/29/2005
◼ TS - Grand jury issues scathing DA critique June 29, 2005
◼ McK Press - Grand Jury Report: D.A. guilty of 'weak leadership'
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
◼ NCJ - GRAND JURY REPORT IN
◼ The Grand Jury Report on the DA's office
◼ The Grand Jury Report on CAST
◼ TS - Gallegos responds to grand jury findings
◼ CAST Response/Grand Jury Report
Submitted by Darlene Marlow/2004-05 Grand Jury Foreperson
The 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury released its final report on the past year’s investigations of local governments yesterday. The logo for the report was created by students in Arcata High School’s Community Environment Design and Restoration program.
2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
by Diane M. Batley, 6/29/2005
After a year of investigations on issues raised about local government agencies and public officials, the 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury released a report on its findings yesterday.
The grand jury’s 54-page report contained 27 topics that ranged from Animal Control Services to charter schools to an investigation of the District Attorney Criminal Division.
The lengthiest reports, approximately 10 pages long each, were on Humboldt County charter schools and “An Investigation of the District Attorney Criminal Division.”
The investigation of the district attorney criminal division was “prompted by citizen complaints and the fact that there had been no formal grand jury review of any division of the DA’s Office in 10 years,” according to the executive summary of grand jury report #2005-LJ-02.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos did not receive positive remarks about his leadership in reports “A Review of Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team” and “An Investigation of the District Attorney Criminal Division.”
Regarding CAST, the grand jury findings stated that the program is faltering because fewer cases are “referred to CAST by law enforcement (and) the district attorney has diminished CAST’s effectiveness by failing to attend governing board meetings, failing to send deputy district attorneys to child interviews and reducing staff.”
In the grand jury’s report on “An Investigation of the District Attorney Criminal Division,” jurors found that “the informed, well-organized, diligent leadership essential during difficult times is missing (and) operations are neither as efficient nor as effective as they must be.”
The grand jury report on the division also stated that “weak leadership and poor managerial practices have led to problems in communication within the office itself, and, more seriously, with law-enforcement agencies, the Board of Supervisors and the general public. The district attorney has failed to educate himself thoroughly in office operations and procedures, and does not employ many common, useful managerial tools: He does not meet regularly with the supervisors who oversee his staff; he does not meet regularly with deputy district attorneys; he does not meet regularly with law-enforcement agencies; he does not provide ‘at-will’ employees with formal performance evaluations; he has no policy and procedures manual for the office; he has no written training documents for new hires.”
In the report on the division, the grand jury recommends the district attorney:
• “hire more experienced prosecutors and clerical staff;
• “expand and improve communications with law enforcement;
• “develop and implement written policy and training manuals on handling communication with the public, especially victims of crime;
• “meet regularly with department heads;
• “develop a procedures and policy manual for the division;
• “improve the office answering system for off-hour calls;
• “provide written performance evaluations for ‘at-will’ employees;
• “refrain from firing long-term experienced prosecutors — or anyone — except for cause, unless a comparable replacement has been identified and retained;
• “reclassify ‘at-will’ prosecutors to provide them with more job security; and
• “require prosecutors to request that the reasons for plea bargains be reflected in the court minutes of cases”
The investigation into Humboldt County charter schools was “initiated by citizen complaints, state and national media attention on charter school effectiveness and a general lack of public knowledge about charter school,” according to the executive summary of grand jury report #2005-HS-02 through 09.
The jurors found that charter schools are public schools and Humboldt County has seven charter districts or networks comprised of 19 charter school sites.
The grand jury report stated that it found “three charter school networks needing oversight improvement in at least one of the following areas: teacher credentials, admission policies, financial management, state testing, and/or required record-keeping.”
On a positive note, the jury found that despite areas in need of improvement, “charter school students appear to be receiving both interesting as well as challenging educational opportunities.”
The grand jury recommends that:
• “The Humboldt County Office of Education establish a clear and consistent method of conducting annual oversight checks of all of the county’s charter schools.
• “The sponsoring agencies of charter schools and the Humboldt County Office of Education exercise vigilant oversight regarding the credentials held by teachers assigned to be the primary teachers of core high school courses (English, math, history and science).
• “The Northcoast Preparatory Academy of the Big Lagoon Charter School Network make its application and admission policies transparent.
• “The Big Lagoon Charter School Network develop stricter guidelines for the maintenance of student records.
• “The Big Lagoon Charter School Network pay all its employees directly, deducting appropriate taxes and retirement benefits, and pay premiums for state unemployment compensation and state workers’ compensation.
• “The Big Lagoon Charter School Network check with the federal and state internal revenue services and the federal and state departments of labor to verify the legal definition of ‘employee’ and ‘independent contractor.’
• “The Big Lagoon Charter School Network consult with authorities to determine the legitimacy of using a pass-through account to pay anyone who is already retired and receiving retirement system benefits.
• “The Equinox Center for Education of the Big Lagoon Charter School Network confirm the legitimacy and legality of transforming a private school to a public school.
• “The Mattole Valley Charter School and the Pacific View Charter School encourage participation with state-recommended testing in order to achieve the 95 percent rate desired to track school accountability.”
Grand jury forewoman Darlene Marlow said that she could not provide any comments about the final report.
“Our comment is the report and that is our only comment,” she said.
The final report from the grand jury is the result of more than 7,000 hours of work by 21 grand jurors, including alternates, over the past year, Marlow stated in a letter included in the grand jury final report to Judge Timothy Cissna.
By the end of the year, 16 people remained on the grand jury. Their names are included in the final report. The 2004-05 grand jury members who remain until the next jury begins its work in July are Richard Beller of Eureka, Anne Christen of Ferndale, Cindy L.H. Costa of Eureka, Allan B. Edwards of McKinleyville, Stephanie Head of Eureka, Claudia Johnson of Eureka, Stacey Kaspari of Eureka, Bettie Boyce Lee of Fortuna, Willa Diane Lehman of Garberville, Russell Lewis of Fortuna, Darlene Couch Marlow of Trinidad, John Matthew Morehouse of Arcata, Patricia S. Nolan of Fortuna, Sue Oringer of Bayside, Evon Stalker of McKinleyville and Samuel B. Trumball of Arcata.
The grand jury is comprised of citizens who serve for one year and comprise “a civil investigative body having for its objective the detection and correction of flaws in government,” according to the final report.
Some jurors may serve a second term on the grand jury to provide continuity from one term to the next.
The foreperson is the official spokesperson for the grand jury.
“A grand juror may take no official action without the prior approval and authorization of a majority of the grand jury,” the final report states.
The 2004-05 grand jury report will be printed in its entirety on Friday in The Eureka Reporter.
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
related:
Related:
◼ TS - Grand Jury Findings and Recommendations
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County Grand Jury Report 6/29/2005
◼ TS - Grand jury issues scathing DA critique June 29, 2005
"However, the informed, well-organized, diligent leadership essential during difficult times is missing," the grand jury report said. "Operations are neither as efficient nor as effective as they must be."
◼ McK Press - Grand Jury Report: D.A. guilty of 'weak leadership'
◼ ER - 2004-05 Humboldt County grand jury releases its final report
◼ NCJ - GRAND JURY REPORT IN
◼ The Grand Jury Report on the DA's office
◼ The Grand Jury Report on CAST
◼ TS - Gallegos responds to grand jury findings
◼ CAST Response/Grand Jury Report
ER - Candidates spar over child abuse team
Candidates spar over child abuse team
by Glenn Franco Simmons, 5/18/2006
If elected, Worth Dikeman said he will concentrate on improving the Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team, which he claims has deteriorated under District Attorney Paul Gallegos.
Dikeman’s contention was backed up last week by one of his supporters, Allison Jackson, a former deputy district attorney who worked with CAST before being fired by Gallegos.
In an interview published in The Eureka Reporter last week, Jackson broke her long silence regarding her concerns about CAST.
“You need a DA in there who is committed to put CAST back together and make that a priority,” Jackson said. “... You need someone who is fully committed to looking at these things every month.
“You need to look at the entire system again, because it is broken, and it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of commitment (to repair it). These things don’t run on their own. They just don’t. Somebody needs to pick up the ball and administer these programs.”
Figures obtained by The Eureka Reporter indicate the DA’s child abuse court filings have decreased substantially over the past four years, while rejections have increased.
With filings down and rejections up, Gallegos critics maintain the children of Humboldt County are not being protected by the very law enforcement office that is supposed to seek their protection.
Gallegos disputes Jackson and Dikeman’s complaints about him and his management of the DA’s Office.
“What may not be apparent is that the cases that are not filed are a reflection of CAST’s success,” Gallegos said. “It shows that we are looking to find out the truth — not just a conviction. Also, the better the CAST and the case selection, the greater likelihood that the case will resolve prior to trial.
“(They settle) because the defendant feels confident that he or she will be convicted. ... CAST is more efficient than it was. ... The rejection rate shows that CAST works — it is intended to find out the truth, not just result in charges being filed. We work in this society to make sure children are protected.
“When you have a good attorney that is accurately assessing their cases and providing mandated discovery to the defense,” he continued, “most cases plead rather than go to trial. That’s what most people don’t understand. The better we do our job, the more pleas you get: people don’t want to go to trial.”
Gallegos’ stance angers Jackson, who believes Humboldt County’s child abuse statistics are a significant issue, regardless of the campaign.
Jackson said she doesn’t understand how Gallegos’ supporters “can remotely think (the decline in filings and prosecutions) is OK, that this change in philosophy is OK.”
“I don’t see that with these numbers,” she said. “How can anyone buy this any longer? Those figures are not (campaign) rhetoric.”
Dikeman said better staffing will help CAST return to what he said is its former status as a well-respected program.
“The first ... goal is to put a full-time attorney back in sexual assault and expand the program so that we could get two full-time attorneys in there,” Dikeman said, “which is what we had when Paul took over.”
“I can tell you that ... CAST has never paid for two full-time attorneys, nor have we had two full-time attorneys assigned to (CAST),” Gallegos said. “We currently have Maggie Fleming assigned to CAST with Andrew Isaac as her backup attorney for CAST cases.”
If elected, Dikeman said administration in the DA’s Office will change. Dikeman said the attorneys prosecuting child abuse would have other duties in the DA’s Office, but that one of the two attorneys could prosecute a case at any time and the initial prosecutor would remain with the case throughout the legal process. This is called “vertical prosecution.”
“We have Maggie assigned to the unit and arguably Maggie is the best person to prosecute child molestation cases if, of course, Maggie is available,” Dikeman said. “And therein lies part of the problem, because if you have Maggie doing other things — like asset forfeiture and other assignments, ... she’s not going to be immediately available for a child abuse case. That is the important thing in my mind, to have the attorney available.”
“It (vertical prosecution) minimizes the impact that the criminal justice system has on the child, because you have specially trained people who are dealing with the child.”
Gallegos countered and said vertical prosecution remains a priority of his department.
“Certainly, there is vertical prosecution,” he said. “... I see it as a responsibility, accountability, accessibility thing, and I know Maggie understands that. She is very responsible. She is very accountable. She is also very accessible.
“... By assigning Maggie to cases, we increase the likelihood that cases will resolve appropriately and without the risk, costs and trauma on the child that are necessarily associated with trial.”
Dikeman would change the time of day when children are interviewed.
“I would put an attorney in there and open up the interview process so we could talk to children in the morning,” Dikeman said. “People I have talked to, who have dealt with the (child abuse) unit, have told me it would be easier to interview the children in the morning. … They find the children are better information providers when they are fresh (morning) as opposed to when they are tired (afternoon).”
“We try to set interviews in the afternoon,” Gallegos said. “The idea is it works with their schedules and with ours. It is much easier on us if we can set it at regular times. For younger kids, it can be a hardship. I understand from Maggie that that is a concern of hers and she tries to work that into her schedule and theirs. It really depends on the kids’ schedules.”
(Editor’s note: The Eureka Reporter will publish a separate article tomorrow on CAST figures, comparing the information obtained by the newspaper to an interview with Deputy District Attorney Maggie Fleming, who is the CAST prosecutor – Jackson’s former post. In an effort to verify the figures obtained by The Eureka Reporter, the newspaper asked Gallegos to provide an annual report on the disposition for CAST cases. The District Attorney’s Office has yet to honor the newspaper’s request, even though it has provided other information in an interview and e-mails.)
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
by Glenn Franco Simmons, 5/18/2006
If elected, Worth Dikeman said he will concentrate on improving the Humboldt County Child Abuse Services Team, which he claims has deteriorated under District Attorney Paul Gallegos.
Dikeman’s contention was backed up last week by one of his supporters, Allison Jackson, a former deputy district attorney who worked with CAST before being fired by Gallegos.
In an interview published in The Eureka Reporter last week, Jackson broke her long silence regarding her concerns about CAST.
“You need a DA in there who is committed to put CAST back together and make that a priority,” Jackson said. “... You need someone who is fully committed to looking at these things every month.
“You need to look at the entire system again, because it is broken, and it’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of commitment (to repair it). These things don’t run on their own. They just don’t. Somebody needs to pick up the ball and administer these programs.”
Figures obtained by The Eureka Reporter indicate the DA’s child abuse court filings have decreased substantially over the past four years, while rejections have increased.
With filings down and rejections up, Gallegos critics maintain the children of Humboldt County are not being protected by the very law enforcement office that is supposed to seek their protection.
Gallegos disputes Jackson and Dikeman’s complaints about him and his management of the DA’s Office.
“What may not be apparent is that the cases that are not filed are a reflection of CAST’s success,” Gallegos said. “It shows that we are looking to find out the truth — not just a conviction. Also, the better the CAST and the case selection, the greater likelihood that the case will resolve prior to trial.
“(They settle) because the defendant feels confident that he or she will be convicted. ... CAST is more efficient than it was. ... The rejection rate shows that CAST works — it is intended to find out the truth, not just result in charges being filed. We work in this society to make sure children are protected.
“When you have a good attorney that is accurately assessing their cases and providing mandated discovery to the defense,” he continued, “most cases plead rather than go to trial. That’s what most people don’t understand. The better we do our job, the more pleas you get: people don’t want to go to trial.”
Gallegos’ stance angers Jackson, who believes Humboldt County’s child abuse statistics are a significant issue, regardless of the campaign.
Jackson said she doesn’t understand how Gallegos’ supporters “can remotely think (the decline in filings and prosecutions) is OK, that this change in philosophy is OK.”
“I don’t see that with these numbers,” she said. “How can anyone buy this any longer? Those figures are not (campaign) rhetoric.”
Dikeman said better staffing will help CAST return to what he said is its former status as a well-respected program.
“The first ... goal is to put a full-time attorney back in sexual assault and expand the program so that we could get two full-time attorneys in there,” Dikeman said, “which is what we had when Paul took over.”
“I can tell you that ... CAST has never paid for two full-time attorneys, nor have we had two full-time attorneys assigned to (CAST),” Gallegos said. “We currently have Maggie Fleming assigned to CAST with Andrew Isaac as her backup attorney for CAST cases.”
If elected, Dikeman said administration in the DA’s Office will change. Dikeman said the attorneys prosecuting child abuse would have other duties in the DA’s Office, but that one of the two attorneys could prosecute a case at any time and the initial prosecutor would remain with the case throughout the legal process. This is called “vertical prosecution.”
“We have Maggie assigned to the unit and arguably Maggie is the best person to prosecute child molestation cases if, of course, Maggie is available,” Dikeman said. “And therein lies part of the problem, because if you have Maggie doing other things — like asset forfeiture and other assignments, ... she’s not going to be immediately available for a child abuse case. That is the important thing in my mind, to have the attorney available.”
“It (vertical prosecution) minimizes the impact that the criminal justice system has on the child, because you have specially trained people who are dealing with the child.”
Gallegos countered and said vertical prosecution remains a priority of his department.
“Certainly, there is vertical prosecution,” he said. “... I see it as a responsibility, accountability, accessibility thing, and I know Maggie understands that. She is very responsible. She is very accountable. She is also very accessible.
“... By assigning Maggie to cases, we increase the likelihood that cases will resolve appropriately and without the risk, costs and trauma on the child that are necessarily associated with trial.”
Dikeman would change the time of day when children are interviewed.
“I would put an attorney in there and open up the interview process so we could talk to children in the morning,” Dikeman said. “People I have talked to, who have dealt with the (child abuse) unit, have told me it would be easier to interview the children in the morning. … They find the children are better information providers when they are fresh (morning) as opposed to when they are tired (afternoon).”
“We try to set interviews in the afternoon,” Gallegos said. “The idea is it works with their schedules and with ours. It is much easier on us if we can set it at regular times. For younger kids, it can be a hardship. I understand from Maggie that that is a concern of hers and she tries to work that into her schedule and theirs. It really depends on the kids’ schedules.”
(Editor’s note: The Eureka Reporter will publish a separate article tomorrow on CAST figures, comparing the information obtained by the newspaper to an interview with Deputy District Attorney Maggie Fleming, who is the CAST prosecutor – Jackson’s former post. In an effort to verify the figures obtained by The Eureka Reporter, the newspaper asked Gallegos to provide an annual report on the disposition for CAST cases. The District Attorney’s Office has yet to honor the newspaper’s request, even though it has provided other information in an interview and e-mails.)
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.