Yolo County Grand Jury releases responses to final report

The Yolo County Grand Jury for 2019 to 2020 has released their official responses to the final consolidated report.

The 2019-2020 Yolo County Grand Jury has posted agency responses on their website to their investigative reports which were published on Sept. 24. Responses to the findings and recommendations by the Grand Jury from affected agencies are required in both writing and electronic formats. A governing body of a public agency must respond within 90 days, and elected officials or agency heads must respond within 60 days.

As of Monday, all affected agencies have responded to the Yolo County Grand Jury as required, except no response has been received from the City of Woodland and the City of Winters, according to a statement from Leslie Field, the foreperson for the Grand Jury.

“The Yolo County Grand Jury functions as a citizen ‘watchdog’ organization to review the operations and performance of county and city governments, school districts and special districts,” Field stated. “Based on these assessments, the Grand Jury publishes its findings and may recommend constructive action to improve the quality and effectiveness of local government. ”

The following are responses from the Grand Jury to the final report:

Monitoring Compliance with 2017-2018 Yolo County Grand Jury Recommendations: The 2019-2020 Grand Jury followed up on seven of the 26 recommendations made by the 2017-2018 Grand Jury to assess their implementation status. Representative and important recommendations were selected from each of the investigative reports, except the Juvenile Detention Facility Investigation, since aspects of this facility were also investigated by the 2018-2019 Grand Jury.

Every School is Vulnerable: Staff and Students Must Feel Safe for Learning to Occur: The 2019-2020 Grand Jury sought to understand school safety from the perspective of those developing, training in and carrying out safety protocols. The Yolo County Office of Education, which provides alternative and special education to students throughout the county, was also included in this investigation.

Reorganization of the Public Guardian and Public Administrator: Prior to January 2017, the Yolo County Public Guardian/Public Administrator was an elected office. In late 2016 the Board of Supervisors voted to eliminate the elected office,  moving the Public Guardian to the Health and Human Services Agency and placing the Public  Administrator in the Office of the Sheriff/Coroner. A comprehensive audit of the requested by the Board of Supervisors after the split exposed disorganization and numerous deficiencies in the operation of the previously combined office.

The Hawk, the Beetle, and the Budget: An Evaluation of the Approved Yolo Habitat Conservation Plan in its First 16 Months: The Yolo Habitat Conservancy is a Joint Powers Agency established to develop and implement a regional Yolo Habitat Conservation Plan / Natural Community Conservation Plan for Yolo County, California. The YHC developed the Plan, obtained state and  federal approval, and currently is in the process of implementing the Plan.

Election Security in Yolo County: The Grand Jury examined four general categories of election security: (1) the physical security of  the ballot, which includes the chain of custody from the polling place or post office to the central  count location, through tabulation, and then to archive; (2) the software security of the vendor  programs used in election machines for voting, scanning ballots, and tabulation; (3) cybersecurity actions to prevent infiltration into the county system and cybersecurity training for  employees; and (4) emergency and contingency planning that prepares election staff with specific emergency responses to ensure voting is not disrupted.

The Davis Police Accountability Commission, SB 1421, and Residual Questions from the Picnic Day 2017 Incident: The Davis Police Accountability Commission (PAC) was created by the Davis City Council in the wake of what has come to be known as the Picnic Day 2017 Incident. The 2019–2020 Yolo County Grand Jury examined the actions of the PAC from its inception to the present, with a view to determining if the PAC is fulfilling the mandate given to it by the City Council.

Striving to Make a Difference: Responses to the 2018-2019 Yolo County Grand Jury Report: This report briefly describes each investigation, summarizes its findings and recommendations, and provides agency and individual responses to those findings and recommendations.

By WOODLAND DAILY DEMOCRAT
March 8, 2021