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Information:
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©
2017
San
Francisco
Sheriff's
Department
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A
Message from Sheriff
Vicki
Hennessy
Welcome to the March 2017 Sheriff's
Department Newsletter.
Thanks to all of you who wrote or spoke to
me about the last newsletter. Many people
were surprised by the various services
the Sheriff's Department provides to the
people of San Francisco. It is this
newsletter' s purpose to highlight
all aspects of our department. I hope you will
write to us at the Contact
Us page on the Sheriff's Department's
website to provide some commentary, ask
questions or suggest topics for future
editions. I am appreciative that I lead a department
full of people who "get things done" that
contribute to and reinforce our overall
commitment to the community. I am happy to
highlight some of those activities in this
edition. Articles this month
include a description of the continuing training
required for all our deputies working at the
hospital facilities; a revised "E-Discovery"
program for inmates in our jails;
our work with the Department on the Status of
Women and the Family Violence Council in
developing an informational domestic violence
brochure as well as targeted training for our
court security staff; a classical music
interlude at County Jail #5, courtesy of the St.
Lawrence String Quartet; and a new vocational
food service and safety course for
inmates.
Another enjoyable aspect of being Sheriff
is recognizing individuals, events
and important milestones. The community
appreciation dinner for families with
incarcerated loved ones hosted by the San
Francisco Re-entry Council was a treat for
families and others touched by the criminal
justice system. I had the chance to speak at the
10th anniversary celebration of our partnership
with No Violence Alliance, known as NoVA, which
provides housing and treatment for those leaving
our custody. I met many former clients and was
inspired by their stories. It was an honor to
nominate two deputies for the prestigious Rotary
Club Emergency Services Award. The two, Charles
Gatson and Michael Li, quickly sprang into
action to save the life of an individual who had
collapsed on the street.
One final article is about the
Sheriff's Department's application
for $70 million in state funds to supplement a
retrofit of our facility at 425 7th St.
Chief M. Freeman describes the upgrades we have
planned for this facility if we receive the
funds. The Board of State and Community
Corrections is scheduled to make a decision
sometime in June. In the meantime, we are faced
with some sobering realities regarding our jails
and our obligation to provide appropriate
housing. Historically, San Francisco has been at
the forefront of developing and implementing
alternatives to incarceration. At any time,
approximately 45 percent of people facing
charges are awaiting trial out of
custody on some level of supervised pretrial
release. We are being challenged to reduce our
daily count even more in order to permanently
close County Jail #4 (Hall of Justice) without
the expensive proposition of a replacement
facility. I am committed to working on this goal
and have actively been collaborating with other
agencies to develop ways to safely reduce our
jail population. Meanwhile, although the Sheriff
is not responsible for adding people to the
count, I am responsible for providing a safe and
humane environment for inmates. The
conditions at County Jail #4 continue to
deteriorate, while the city faces spending more
and more to repair outdated systems in a failing
building until we reach a solution.
To put our challenges in perspective,
here is some information about the San Francisco
county jails.
The Jail
Facilities
County Jail
#2 (336 beds) - Located at 425 7th St.,
the facility was opened in 1994. It was designed
to operate as a work furlough facility, but has
functioned as a secure jail since it was built.
It is a direct supervision jail - meaning the
deputy in each housing area has a view of the
entire pod from a central vantage point.This
jail has treatment, program and educational
space, accommodating many inmate prisoners,
including Sisters In Sober
Treatment Empowered in Recovery (SISTER), a
substance abuse treatment
program for women; a reentry pod for those
preparing to return to the community; and the
Five Keys Charter School.
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| County Jail #2 dormitory
pod. |
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| County Jail #2, 425
Seventh St. |
County Jail #3 - Located
on the sixth floor of the Hall of Justice, it
has been closed since
2013.
County Jail #4 (402 beds)
- Located on the seventh floor of the Hall of
Justice, it houses some of the most serious
offenders. Opened in 1961, this is a linear
jail, with traditional bars and locks. It has
side-by-side cells situated along long corridors
that must be consistently patrolled
to ensure the safety of the prisoners housed in
the 4-, 6-, 12- and 28-person tanks. It
has inadequate treatment, program, and
educational space. The facility has paint-caked
walls and bars, and rusted out plumbing, which
contributes to almost weekly sewage overflows.
Sanitation and pest control are constant
challenges. Along with County Jail #2, this jail
is adjacent to the courts, the Public Defender's
Office, Adult Probation and other services.
There are some program services, including
parenting classes, parent-child visiting, and a
program for transitional aged
youth.
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| Corridor of County Jail
#4. |
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| Sewage cleanup at County
Jail
#4. |
County Jail #5 (768 beds)
- Located in San Bruno, it is a modern
jail that opened in 2007. It has 16 living
areas, or pods that allow direct supervision of
the prisoners. Each of the living areas house
prisoners according to their custody
classification and the programs in which they
participate. A wide variety of educational and
treatment programs are provided based on
individual assessments of prisoners. These
include: behavioral health sheltered living;
COVER, a program specifically designed for
veterans; RSVP, our highly acclaimed violence
prevention program; the Five Keys Charter High
School; and Roads to Recovery, a substance abuse
treatment program.
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| County Jail #5 living
pod. |
Some
Numbers
The
average daily population for calendar year 2016
was 1,328 prisoners. We began 2016 in the
low 1,200s but had a spike toward the end,
reaching more than 1,400 prisoners a number of
times.
On any given day,
approximately 85 percent of the people in the
San Francisco jails are pretrial defendants.
Many are in jail for multiple charges of violent
or serious felonies and have a history of
failures to appear in court and/or their current
crime is not eligible for pretrial release.
Another portion are in jail on remand, no bail
warrants, parole or probation revocation, and
are not eligible for release.
At any time,
approximately 45 percent of persons charged with
felony crimes are out of custody through
Pretrial Release. Pretrial Release staff uses a
validated risk assessment score to recommend
each eligible defendant for supervised or
unsupervised release either pre- or
post-arraignment. The decision to release and
under what conditions is made by a
court-appointed monitor.
Example for the March
20, 2017 count:
- 2,405
Defendant population
- 1,071
Out on pretrial
release
- 57
Out on sentenced alternatives
- 1,277
In jail
custody
Forty-seven percent of the
jail population was out of custody on either
pretrial or sentenced alternatives.
Most people arrested
for misdemeanor crimes in San Francisco are
issued a citation and are never brought to jail,
but directed to appear in court on a future
date.
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Sheriff's
Department Applies for SB 844 RFP for Jail
Renovations Funding
By Chief M.
Freeman
The
California Board of State and Community
Corrections released the Senate Bill (SB) 844
Request for Proposals on December 30, 2016. SB
844 authorizes state lease-revenue bond
financing for the acquisition, design and
construction of adult local criminal justice
facilities construction. San Francisco is
categorized as a large county and as such has
the potential to be awarded up to $70 million. A
10 percent cash match is required by the
program. San Francisco has committed $12 million
to the project for a total project budget of $82
million.
The City and
County of San Francisco has participated in
prior facility construction RFPs released by the
Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC),
SB 1022 and SB 863, respectively. San Francisco
scored very high on our SB 1022 submission, but
did not receive an award because our
environmental impact report was not completed in
the timeframe as outlined in the program
requirements. We did, however score number one
on our SB 863 submission and received an $80
million conditional award for the construction
of a 384-bed facility to replace the aged and
seismically deficient Hall of Justice (HOJ)
jails.
Ultimately,
San Francisco did not accept the SB 863 award.
The
Sheriff's Department's participation in three
BSCC request for proposals has been
collaborative and included the assistance of the
Mayor's Budget Office, Controller's Office, City
Administrator's Office, Department of Public
Works, Real Estate Department and the Department
of Public Health. Working with these City and
County of San Francisco departments we have
identified multiple issues with the
infrastructure of the county jail that pose
challenges to the safe and secure operation of
the jail.
Sheriff
Hennessy additionally serves as co-chair of the
work group to reenvision the jail replacement
project. The renovation of County Jail #2 has
received support from the reenvisioning work
group.
Although our
SB 844 proposal serves to partially address some
of the challenges facing the county jail, it
will not allow the Sheriff's Department to
permanently close the HOJ jail. It will,
however, afford the department the ability to
make significant improvements to County Jail #2,
located at 425 7th St. The planned improvements
will ensure that the Sheriff's Department is
well-positioned to meet our City Charter mandate
to operate a safe and secure jail while
providing the finest evidence-based offender
programming possible aimed to reduce
recidivism.
The
much-needed improvements to County Jail #2
include:
- Replacement
of key HVAC components to ensure proper air flow
throughout the facility.
- Repairs to
the roof membrane to prevent water intrusion,
which has caused damage to electronic security
systems.
- Targeted
structural strengthening to the building to
better withstand the effects of an
earthquake.
- Replace 48
open bay beds double occupancy rooms, each with
their own toilet, sink and desk.
- Install
mezzanine level barriers and classification
sliders to create safer conditions of
confinement, mitigate inmate suicide attempts
and afford more opportunity for inmate
participation in programs.
- Build out
atriums within the building to create an extra
1,500 to 3,000 square feet of usable
space. This space will be used for inmate
vocational training, delivery of confidential
therapeutic care, family unification program and
inmate recreation.
- Extensive
remodel and repair of the facility kitchen that
will allow the department to shutter the kitchen
currently in use in the aged HOJ jail.
The
Sheriff's Department submitted our SB 844
proposal to the BSCC on February 28, 2017. This
is a competitive process and there is no
guarantee that we will receive an award. We
anticipate that conditional awards will be
announced sometime in June.
|
Continued Training for
Sheriff's Patrol Unit
Deputies
By Senior
Deputy M. Clauzel
The Sheriff's
Department's Patrol Unit (SPU) is responsible
for general law enforcement services at
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
(ZSFGH), Laguna Honda Hospital (LHH) and various
Department of Public Health (DPH) facilities
throughout San Francisco. With the multitude of
visitors, patients, medical staff, medical
students, etc., who visit these medical
institutions, there are many challenges faced
daily.
To help with that,
all staff members assigned to or who elect to
work voluntary overtime at ZSFGH or any DPH
facility are required to attend new employee
orientation (NEO) sponsored by the Department of
Education and Training (DET) and the Department
of Human Resources, and a department orientation
provided by the employee's manager within 30
days of his or her start work date. NEO and DET
are part of DPH.
Nearly 300 sworn
staff members have also received crisis
intervention (CI) training to date. This number
will increase to 400 by the end of the
year.
There are codified
regulatory requirements establishing minimum
standards for all employees who work in health
care facilities in order for them to be licensed
to operate. These standards are enforced
by the California Department of Public Health,
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
and the Joint Commission, which conduct regular
surveys and audits of all healthcare facilities
to ensure minimum standards are
maintained.
The Sheriff's
Department's mission in providing law
enforcement services for the DPH requires our
personnel to operate in healthcare facilities
regularly and therefore must comply with all
applicable standards. Minimum required training
includes initial DPH new employee orientation
and monthly/yearly updates include online
training courses. The SPU training coordinator
is responsible for maintaining records of
attendance for all Sheriff's Department
personnel.
NEO will include
an overview of regulatory required topics and
strategic plan initiatives, clinical skills and
information and Safety Management and Response
Techniques. In addition to the above listed
material, NEO also covers response codes for
events such as infant/pediatric abduction, fire
emergencies, active shooter and medical
emergencies.
Also reviewed are
other emergency response procedures that cover
emergency department lockdowns, hospital
emergency incident command activation, disaster
response, hazardous material contamination,
infection control, bomb threats, critical
alarms, and power outages.
Online training
management software solutions utilized by DET to
provide the required update training established
by federal and local regulatory agencies. All
SPU personnel assigned to ZSFGH and LHH are
required to complete this training at specified
intervals.
Topics
include abuse prevention, blood-borne pathogens,
regulatory compliance, emergency management and
disaster response, health and safety,
etc.
The
Sheriff's Department continues to work closely
with our DPH partners to stay on top of training
that will best serve the public and meet
requirements. If you have any questions or would
like to attend any of the PDH training
identified, please contact the Sheriff's
Operation Center and ask to speak with the DPH
training
coordinator. |
|
Sheriff's
Department Implements
E-Discovery
Program for Inmates
By Chief P. Miyamoto
The use of computers and easy access to
information is woven into the fabric of our
modern culture. However, inmates who are in
the custody and care of the Sheriff's Department
do not have the same access to computers,
laptops, and electronic devices designed to
facilitate information sharing. In order to
accommodate legal communication between
attorneys and their in-custody clients, the
Sheriff's Department began a pilot program last
year called "E-Discovery."
Inmates were allowed to request via court
order for access to their criminal case related
discovery stored on flash, or thumb,
drives. Depositions, audio and video
recordings, and documents related to their cases
were accessible with the use of
these drives and laptop computers provided by
their attorneys. The program faced many
challenges, such as limited access to computers,
and the use of the thumb drives and
computers not related to legal discovery or
materials.
We are currently providing computer kiosks
in our jail law libraries to address these
challenges. We will continue on a path to
provide things that the public takes for granted
to those in our custody in a manner that is
safe, secure, and
fair. |
|
Civil
Unit Prepares DV Brochure
By Lt. J.
Garcia Jr.
The
Sheriff's Department's Civil Unit has prepared a
new domestic violence brochure that outlines the
procedure that the Civil Unit follows in serving
temporary restraining orders as well as
providing referral information for those in need
of domestic violence services beyond a
restraining order.
This
brochure, created at the request of the Sheriff
working with the Family Violence Council, will
be available to all individuals who go to the
courthouse. It outlines the service procedures
of a temporary restraining order by the
Sheriff's Department. Our office can serve all
restraining orders issued by any court,
including all out-of-state orders.
Anyone over
age 18 who is not a party to the case or a
registered process server can serve them as
well. We serve Monday through Friday, with the
hours varying from as early as 6:30 a.m. to as
late as 7 p.m. Our deputies will strive to make
our first attempt on the same day as we receive
the order whenever possible. Our deputies serve
all restraining orders in two-person teams, with
a temporary restraining order (TRO) with a
moveout condition (the individual being served
must move out from the service address
immediately) performed with a three-person team.
Our office
receives on average approximately 100
restraining orders a month from our court as
well as from other county courts. We will make
up to three attempts to serve the order. Upon
service, we will inform the restrained party the
terms and conditions of the order as well as
make a demand for any weapons or ammunition they
may possess. They can turn them over to us
immediately or they have 24 hours to turn them
in to law enforcement or licensed gun dealer and
then another 24 hours, to show proof to the
court they have done so.
The Civil
Unit does not serve any TRO in which a child
must be removed from the restrained party and
returned to the plaintiff. The San Francisco
District Attorney's Child Abduction Unit
performs that service.
It is the
Civil Unit's hope that it can provide this
information to those who need it to protect
their loved
ones. |
|
Yolanda
Macias Receives Tanya Neiman Award at Justice
and Freedom 35th Anniversary
Dinner
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|
Yolanda
Macias |
Yolanda
Macias of Community Works West received the
Tanya Neiman Award on March 8 at the Voices for
Justice and Freedom 35th Anniversary Dinner in
San Francisco. The awards program was hosted by
the Domestic Violence Consortium. Four people
also received Honorees - Mothers of the Movement
Awards - Patti Chang, CEO of Feed The Hunger
Foundation; Roma Guy, social justice activist;
Sharon Johnson, the first director of the
Commission on the Status of Women; and Andrea
Shorter, who has served on the Commission on the
Status of Women since 2001.
The Tanya
Neiman Award is awarded to a person who has
demonstrated in her or his work the passion,
commitment and strong advocacy for domestic
violence survivors, and has been a leader in her
or his community by bringing about awareness and
change for survivors. Nominations are taken,
then members of the Domestic Violence Consortium
Advisory Board decide the winner. Neiman, who
died in 2006, was the longtime director of
Volunteer Legal Services Program.
Macias, the
lead case manager for the Survivor Empowerment
Program, has worked for Community Works West for
12 years now, which is under the Sheriff's
Department's Survivor Restoration Program. She
leads a 12-week class to help female survivors
lead emotionally, physically and psychologically
healthy lives. She also provides one-on-one case
management with clients. Before joining
Community Works West, she was with WOMAN Inc.,
another agency for domestic violence survivors.
"It's an
immense honor, especially because I
knew Tanya Neiman and she was a pioneer in the
domestic violence movement," she said of the
award. "And it is an honor to be recognized for
my efforts and for what I have done all these
years."
Macias first
got involved with domestic violence programs
when she came to the United States to study
English at Triton College in Illinois. "They
needed volunteers at the college for students
having problems with their loved ones," she
said. She found that she enjoyed her work. She
also fell in love with an American man, got
married, became a U.S. citizen and moved to
California. She estimated that she has helped
thousands of domestic violence survivors in her
line of work. "This is hard work," she said. "We
sometimes hear very traumatic
events."
Macias is
the third Community Works West employee to
receive this award. Marcela Espino and Gilda
Serrano won the award in previous
years.
Her clients
come from all over the world, from Africa to
Europe to Asia to Latin America. "It can be
lifesaving to come to this group seeking help,"
Macias said. "We also help them a lot with the
legal process or immigration, if they need
it."
One case
that impacted Macias began one Tuesday, the day
Macias usually went to the supermarket to buy
snacks for domestic violence meetings. That's
when she met a cashier who had bruises on her
face. "I talked to her but she was hostile,"
Macias said. "She insisted she fell. But I know
the difference. She reluctantly took my business
card." She saw the cashier other times when she
visited the store. Macias always talked to the
woman and left her card. One day, the cashier
called Macias. She was screaming and afraid for
herself and her children. The woman's abuser had
kicked down the door. Macias called the police
and got the woman and her children placed in a
domestic violence shelter. She said the woman
qualified for a U visa, which is a nonimmigrant
visa that is set aside for victims of crimes who
have suffered mental or physical abuse.
The woman got a work permit and found a better
job. She also earned her driver's license, is
taking classes and has received permanent
residency. "When they come here and they meet
their goals and see their lives change, it's
rewarding," Macias said.
"You
don't make yourself rich working in domestic
violence, but it's really
satisfying."
|
St. Lawrence String
Quartet
Plays at San
Bruno 
The St. Lawrence String
Quartet performed for dozens of inmates at
County Jail #5 in San Bruno March 7. The quartet
played selections by Haydn and Beethoven for
Roads to the Recovery and COVER pods in two
concerts.
The St.
Lawrence String Quartet was founded in Toronto
in 1989 and quickly won acclaim at
top international chamber music
competitions. Featuring violinists Geoff Nuttall
and Owen Dalby, violist Leslie Robertson,
and cellist Christopher Costanza, the quartet is
currently in residence at
Stanford University, where it directs the
school's chamber music
program.
|
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New
Domestic Violence
Awareness
Education
By Delia
Ginorio
More than 60 Sheriff's Deputies,
assigned as bailiffs in our criminal and civil
courts, attended an in-depth domestic violence
training class Feb. 13 taught by Survivor
Restoration Program Director Delia Ginorio,
Domestic Violence Consortium Director Beverly
Upton and Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic
Director Emberly Cross. The class was taught in
two four-hour blocks on a recent court holiday.
Our court deputies play a critical role both in
criminal and family court in giving survivors
extra support and safety during a very difficult
time in their lives.
The trainers covered several topics
such as challenging myths, stereotypes and
understanding why some women stay in abusive
relationships. There can be many reasons why
women stay, but the top answer is that when a
woman actually leaves her abuser, that is the
most dangerous time for her. It's important
to never tell a victim to leave as she is the
only one who can make that decision.
Other discussions between the
trainers and the Deputies included giving the
bailiffs opportunity to talk about real-life
experiences in the court, how can they support
domestic violence victims more and what do they
need from the community. They also talked about
what happens in the court for safety. As
trainers, we also have a better understanding
about what the protocol currently is. The
training also consisted of several role-play
activities that would bring up awareness around
domestic violence issues that face our
communities.
With Lt. S. Tilton's leadership at
the courthouse and the professionalism
from the bailiffs who attended the
training, the day was filled new information,
great participation and
deeper understanding on both sides of the
process and importance of communication and
safety.
The following day at a standing
monthly meeting that the domestic violence
community group Justice and
Courage has with the Sheriff, the
trainers shared their experience and their
appreciation that our department has put a
priority on domestic violence training.
The trainers also shared a few suggestions that
they and the Deputies suggested to better
serve our community in providing safety and
support.
Delia
Ginorio is the Director of the
Survivor Restoration
Program.
|
NoVA
Celebrates Its 10th
Anniversary
No Violence Alliance (NoVA)
celebrated its 10th anniversary Feb. 17 at the
Potrero Hill Neighborhood House in San
Francisco. Cedric Akbar was the master of
ceremonies, and Sheriff Vicki Hennessy spoke at
the event. The event also featured guest
speakers who were NoVA
clients.
Sheriff Hennessy thanked former
Sheriff Michael Hennessey for creating the
program a decade ago in collaboration with
community and faith-based organizations.
Hennessey, she said, took a "revolutionary"
idea: They wanted case managers "to be empowered
with resources needed to address the obstacles
that they knew their clients would face." NoVA
begins its work in the prisons and jails and
continues when the offender returns to the
community.
She noted that the Sheriff's
Department has invested more than $20 million in
NoVA, and that the program has helped more than
2,300 clients. Only 18 percent have been
reincarcerated.
Sheriff Hennessy also discussed how
important mental health services are available
to clients through its collaboration with
Citywide Case Management. NoVA clients have
immediate access to a therapist, whether it be
for clinical assessment, grief counseling or
linkage to an ongoing prescriber. This component
allowed NoVA to take on new target populations.
More recently, NoVA played a critical role in
the implementation of the new Misdemeanor
Behavioral Health Court.
She ended by noting that the jail
population has changed since 2006, when many
were arrested for drug offenses. The clients now
are more likely to have acute behavioral health
needs. |
|
Deputies
Win Rotary Club Award
|
|
| Deputy C. Gatson,
Sheriff Hennessy and Deputy M. Li at the
event. |
By Undersheriff Carl
Koehler
Sheriff Vicki Hennessy and Undersheriff
Carl Koehler attended an awards luncheon Feb. 14
given by Rotary Club International to honor two
deputy sheriffs whose actions went above and
beyond the call of duty. These annual awards
recognize the Police Department, Fire
Department, Sheriff's Department, and Coast
Guard personnel who best reflect the Rotary Club
International motto of "service above
self."
This year's awards went to Deputy C.
Gaston, a 23-year veteran, and Deputy M. Li, a
nine-year veteran of the Department. Both are
assigned to the San Francisco Sheriff's
Department Patrol Unit at Zuckerberg San
Francisco General Hospital.
On July 21, 2016, the deputies were in a
department vehicle and observed a man lying
prone on Van Ness Avenue. They stopped
their vehicle to investigate and noticed
discharge from his mouth and nose. A primary
medical assessment revealed he was in acute
distress. An ambulance was called and rescue
breathing and CPR was performed, and they were
able to resuscitate the victim and assist the
arriving paramedics.
Their prompt and professional response
saved the man's life and was in the best
tradition of the Sheriff's Department. The
Rotary Club award included a beautiful crystal
trophy, a night at the Sir Francis Drake hotel,
and various other accolades. Both deputies had
proud family and friends present for the
ceremony. |
Sheriff's Department
Celebrates at Community Appreciation
Dinner
By Leslie
Levitas
|
|
|
|
Master of
ceremonies Ernest
Kirkwood.
|
| The
Sheriff's Department recognizes the varied and
essential roles that families play whenever a
loved one is incarcerated. The department has
been a longtime leader in services for those
impacted by having a family member in jail or
prison. These are among the many reasons why, on
Feb. 9, the Sheriff's Department
participated in the first "Community
Appreciation Dinner for Families with an
Incarcerated Loved One" at St. Mary's Cathedral
in San Francisco.
The Community
Appreciation Dinner was a project of the S.F.
Reentry Council, which Sheriff Hennessy
co-chairs. It was sponsored by the Archdiocese
of San Francisco and Restorative Justice
Ministry, along with support from many
individuals, government agencies and
community-based organizations. The program
consisted of speakers, entertainment and a
raffle, along with a delicious meal for more
than 200 community members. It was a
"family-friendly" event, including face painting
and special prizes for kids.
The master of
ceremonies was Ernest Kirkwood, former chair of
the Reentry Council's Support and Opportunities
subcommittee, which focuses on long-term reentry
needs. Speaking to the success of the event,
Kirkwood said, "I live by believing and not by
seeing. Do the work and it happens."
Since maintaining
family connections is one of the least expensive
ways to reduce recidivism, the Sheriff's
Department provides a variety of other services
to families throughout the year. In partnership
with Community Works West, the Sheriff's
Department's One Family program offers
parent-child contact visits to eligible inmates
and their children, along with "Parenting Inside
Out," an evidence-based parent education
program. "These activities take place at
Sheriff's Department facilities helping maintain
family ties and strengthen those connections
upon reentry," said Community Works West
Executive Director Ruth Morgan, who attended the
dinner. "Providing these services and
contributing to events such as the recent
Community Appreciation Dinner are among the many
ways that the Sheriff's Department builds
bridges to lessen the impact of incarceration on
families and communities."
Leslie Levitas
is a Principal Administrative Analyst for the
Sheriff's Department's Administration and
Programs
Division. |
|
Food
Handling Certificate Program Available at County
Jail #5
IN2
Work/Recipe for Success, a new collaboration
between Five Keys Schools and jail food service
provider Aramark, offers inmates at County Jail
#5 in San Bruno the opportunity to earn ServSafe
food handling certification. ServSafe is a food
and beverage safety training program
administered by the National Restaurant
Association and required by the State of
California for food service workers. The
program began on March 6, and it is anticipated
it will enroll up to 80 individuals annually.
The first
part of the program, IN2 Work, is designed to
provide inmates with food service training and
resume-building practical work experience. It
requires students to take classes in food
service and participate in on-the-job training
over a five-week period.
When
students complete the classroom and on-the-job
training, they enroll in the second part of the
program, Recipe for Success, which prepares them
for the certification exam. Once certified, they
will be eligible for employment in the food
service industry after release from
custody.
Inmates
selected for the program are identified by
Aramark and Five Keys staff, then screened by
rehabilitation services coordinators before
admittance. Candidates for the program must have
a high school diploma or GED level basic reading
and math skills, or be currently working toward
a diploma or GED. They must also have
sufficient time to serve in order to complete
the program before release, and have an interest
in food
service. |
|
Sheriff
Attends Chinese
New
Year Parade
 Sheriff Vicki
Hennessy was honored to participate in San
Francisco's Chinese New Year parade Feb. 11. The
event, held in Chinatown and the Financial
District neighborhoods, welcomed in the Year of
the Rooster. With Deputy L. Mendoza and Deputy
D. Ng, they enjoyed a beautiful night with a
large crowd and positive reaction. There were
thousands along the parade
route. | |
and
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