Alameda County Superior Court's presiding judge requested $3 million from the board of supervisors to continue the Pretrial Expansion Program, which the county's probation department wants to take over.

Alameda County Superior Court's presiding judge has written an unusual letter to the county's board of supervisors, requesting $3 million to keep a pretrial services program running — and to fend off a bid by the county's probation department to take it over.

Judge Michael Markman asked for the funding to extend the court's seven-month-old "Pretrial Expansion Program" for another year, KTVU FOX 2 reported. Without continued support, the program is at risk of shutting down in its current form on Dec. 31.

The program provides temporary housing, food vouchers, bus passes, and mental health and substance abuse assistance to people who have been charged with a crime and are awaiting trial while out of custody. According to the report, it currently serves about 600 people out of a total pretrial population of nearly 4,000.

A turf battle over pretrial services

At the same time Markman made his request, Alameda County Chief Probation Officer Brian Ford proposed that the probation department take over pretrial services instead. In most California counties, probation departments run such programs. But Alameda County turned these services over to the court system, aided by case managers from a Berkeley nonprofit called Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency, known as BOSS.

Markman described Ford's counterproposal as "vague" and "unrealistic," telling KTVU it would likely cost more and serve fewer people. The court's program currently operates with 12 BOSS employees at $3 million a year, while Ford's draft calls for 19 civilian probation employees. Markman estimated probation's plan would serve almost 500 fewer people.

"Rushing to re-create in three months a replacement pretrial services 'model' that will likely cost millions more than the current program, and that provides a level of services well below that which the current program provides, is the very definition of bureaucratic insanity," Markman wrote in an email to Ford that was also sent to supervisors, according to KTVU.

Ford did not respond to KTVU's requests for comment. However, Probation Deputy Director Albert Bañuelos provided a statement emphasizing that pretrial services remain a state responsibility, that the court's program was supported by a "one-time" $3 million allocation, and that probation's draft model "remains under discussion."

Early results show promise

Data Markman provided to the county in May suggests the program has had meaningful results. The recidivism rate among participants is 18 percent, compared with a typical rate above 40 percent for a similar moderate-risk population, according to the court's figures. Participants also appeared in court about 50 percent more often than those not in the program, KTVU reported.

Additionally, 180 people in the program found stable housing and 200 enrolled in substance abuse treatment. Before the pilot launched, the court estimated it cost $15 million a year to re-arrest people who failed to appear, according to Markman's staff.

Supervisors weigh in cautiously

KTVU reported hearing back from three supervisors — Lena Tam, Elisa Marquez and Nikki Fortunato Bas. None stated outright which model they preferred, though all emphasized the importance of pretrial services. Bas said she is committed to the current program and that any changes should undergo a "rigorous evaluation."

The dispute unfolds against the backdrop of a California Supreme Court decision requiring courts to release most defendants on their own recognizance or set affordable bail, increasing the number of people out of custody while awaiting trial.

While this story involves another Bay Area county rather than Napa Valley, the policy questions around pretrial services and county funding apply broadly across California's court systems.