Applicants needed for Contra Costa County Disproportionate Minority Contact Task Force
County Supervisors are seeking residents interested in reviewing data and discussing issues regarding disproportionate minority contact within the local criminal justice system. On April 12,
2016, the Board of Supervisors approved the 17 member Disproportionate Minority Contact Task Force composed of the following members:
- ·County Probation Officer
- ·Public Defender
- ·District Attorney
- ·Sheriff-Coroner
- ·Health Services Director
- ·Superior Court representative
- ·County Police Chief’s Association representative
- ·Mount Diablo Unified School District representative
- ·Antioch Unified School District representative
- ·West Contra Costa Unified School District representative
- ·(5) Community-based organization (CBO) representatives (at least 1 representative from each region of the County and at least one representative from the faith and family community)
- ·Mental Health representative (not a County employee)
- ·Public Member – At Large
Following passage of Assembly Bill 109, commonly known as Public Safety Realignment, significant program infrastructure, both within the County and in the community, were put into place to support returning citizens with successful reentry into the community following incarceration; however, there remain factors that contribute to minority residents experiencing disproportionate levels of arrest, prosecution and incarceration. Cities and counties across the nation are grappling with the same issue, but precipitating factors and solutions are unique to each jurisdiction.
In Contra Costa County, the Board of Supervisors has charged the newly established Task Force with identifying these unique factors and recommending solutions to improve the experience of minority residents across the County. The Board is seeking applications for seven (7) of the seats above; five (5) community based organization seats, one (1) Mental Health representative seat and one (1) Public member At-Large seat at this time. Applicants for community based organizations seats must be affiliated with a community based organization operating within the County. Applicants for the Mental Health representative seat must be involved in the mental health community within the County, but cannot be a County employee.
Applicants for the Public Member At-Large seat may be any individual that resides or works within the County.
Applicants will be interviewed by the Board of Supervisors’ Public Protection Committee (Supervisors Candace Andersen, District II and John Gioia, District I) with appointment recommendations being sent to the full Board of Supervisors for action. Below is a timeline for the recruitment:
- · June 15th: Application Deadline (7 week application period)
- · June 27th: Public Protection Committee Meeting: Interviews
- · July 12th: Board consideration of PPC nominations
Application forms can be obtained from the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors by calling (925) 335-1900, or by visiting the County webpage at www.co.contra-costa.ca.us. Applications should
be returned to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Room 106, County Administration Building, 651 Pine Street, Martinez, CA 94553. Applications can also be faxed to (925) 335-1913.
