Reducing Recidivism Rates

This main purpose of the project is to support Santa Cruz County to reduce recidivism rates. Defining recidivism from the county's perspective and discussing the factors that contribute to recidivism helps to understand the problem this project seeks to address. A discussion of the consequences of high recidivism rates helps the community understand why something must be done. AB 109 is an important bill that impacts this population in Santa Cruz county allowing for innovative solutions to be implemented. With AB109 funding a new service center was created to serve this population. The Santa Cruz Probation Service Center (PSC) opened in June 2019 and seeks to serve the community by providing needed services. One component of the service center is to have front line peer navigators support the clients as they utilize services. The project was to create the Peer Navigator Position, create a recruitment strategy, and provide evaluation materials to support professional development of this important position. The peer navigators play an important role at the PSC by working in conjunction with Probation officers and the offenders to reduce recidivism rates.