HomeMy WebLinkAbout2122-7 Follow-up PCE recommendations for DA's Office (Final 5-9-22)Follow-up PCE recommendations for District Attorney’s Office #21/22-7 May 2022
FOLLOW-UP REPORT (secondary)
Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence (PCE)
recommendations for the District Attorney’s Office
(PCE report dated May 2021)
To request this information in an alternate format, please call (541) 330-4674 or send email to internal.audit@deschutescounty.gov
Deschutes County,
Oregon
Audit committee:
Daryl Parrish, Chair - Public Member
Jodi Burch - Public Member
Tom Linhares - Public Member
Scott Reich - Public Member
Summer Sears - Public Member
Stan Turel - Public Member
Patti Adair, County Commissioner
Charles Fadeley, Justice of the Peace
Lee Randall, Facilities Director
The Office of County Internal Audit
David Givans, CPA, CIA – County Internal Auditor
Aaron Kay – Performance Auditor
internal.audit@deschutescounty.gov
Follow-up PCE recommendations for District Attorney’s Office #21/22-7 May 2022
TABLE OF
CONTENTS:
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Follow-up Authority ……..……..………………………………………….……….……..…. 1
1.2. Objectives and Scope …………….………………………………….…………….………… 1
1.3. Methodology …………………………………….…..………………………….…………….… 2
1.4. PCE Report Background ………………………………………………..…………………... 2
2. FOLLOW-UP RESULTS …………………….……….…………………………………………. 3-4
APPENDICES
Appendix I – Updated workplan (status as of April 2022) .…................ 5-66
Follow-up PCE recommendations for District Attorney’s Office #21/22-7 May 2022
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1.
Introduction
1.1 FOLLOW-UP AUTHORITY
Internal Audit Authority:
The Deschutes County Audit Committee has suggested that follow-ups occur within nine months of
the report. The Audit Committee would like to make sure departments satisfactorily address
recommendations. County Administrative Policy GA-15 encourages a follow-up on all
recommendations. The Deschutes County Budget Committee and the Audit Committee desired a
follow-up occur of the recommendations provided by the Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence (PCE)
for the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office (DCDAO). The District Attorney’s Office has been
supportive of the follow-up.
1.2 OBJECTIVES and SCOPE
“Objectives”
define the goals of
the work.
Objectives:
The objective was to follow-up on recommendations made by the Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence
(PCE) in their Assessment of the Deschutes County District Attorney’s Office issued in May 2021 and
discussed with the Deschutes County Budget Committee. This is a secondary follow-up report for
the upcoming budget committee meetings in May 2022. This follow-up report follows report #21/22-
3 issued in December 2021 for the mid-year budget committee meeting.
Scope:
The follow-up included the eighty-five (85) agreed-upon recommendations. The District Attorney’s
office did not agree with six of the recommendations. The original consultants’ report should be
referenced for the full text of recommendations and associated discussion. This follow-up reflects
the status as of April 2022. This will likely be the last follow-up on this subject unless requested.
Follow-up PCE recommendations for District Attorney’s Office #21/22-7 May 2022
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1.3 METHODOLOGY
The follow-up report was developed from information provided by Mary Anderson, Chief Deputy
District Attorney. Comments were sought for the status of the outstanding recommendations.
Follow-ups are, by nature, subjective. In determining the status of recommendations that were
followed up, we relied on assertions provided by those involved and did not attempt to
independently verify those assertions. The updates received are included in Appendix I.
The initial response to the recommendations from the District Attorney’s Office should also be
considered.
Since no substantive audit work was performed, Government Auditing Standards issued by the
Comptroller General of the United States were not followed.
1.4 PCE REPORT BACKGROUND
The County in collaboration with the District Attorney’s Office hired through a competitive bid
process Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence, a national non-profit that works with prosecutors in
offices of all sizes to improve the criminal justice system. The PCE team combined data analysis with
qualitative interviews.
The County desired a top to bottom review of the operations and staffing level of the Deschutes
County District Attorney’s Office (DCDAO) in order to ensure operations are both streamlined and
efficient. Process improvement scope (at a minimum) included optimizing office performance,
completing a weighted case analysis, and recommending appropriate staffing levels for each
department within the DCDAO. It also included comparisons to other District Attorney’s Offices of
similar size and community growth.
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2. Follow-up Results
Figures I & II-
Composition of
recommendation
status by respective
follow up date.
The follow-up included eighty-five (85) outstanding recommendation agreed to by the District
Attorney’s Office. Figures I & II provide successive overviews of the implementation status of the
recommendations over the time periods.
With this follow-up, fifty-six percent (56%) of the outstanding recommendations have been
addressed. A majority of the recommendations have been fully addressed since the report’s
issuance. The office has continued to make significant progress over the time period between follow-
ups.
The details of the follow-up is included at the end of the report in Appendix I. In interpreting the
status, the County Internal Auditor may sometimes raise or lower the status provided by the
department based on the communication(s) received from the department.
Follow-up PCE recommendations for District Attorney’s Office #21/22-7 May 2022
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Figure III -
Percentage of
completion in each
recommendation
category by follow
up
Follow up #1
November 2021
Follow up #2
April 2022
The District
Attorney’s office has
made significant
progress in the six
months between
follow up reports
The initial report was broken down into nineteen (19) topical categories. The number of
recommendations per category can be found within the parentheses.
Follow-up PCE recommendations for District Attorney’s Office #21/22-7 May 2022
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APPENDIX Appendix I – Updated workplan for recommendations for PCE recommendations
(status as of April 2022) - Organized by Category (bold) and topic.
Items that are not completed are greyed out. Some edits have been made to fit the text within this layout.
Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
1 Insufficient Legal Staff
PCE urges Deschutes County to
rectify its staffing deficit and
provide the District Attorney's
Office with new positions.
PCE recommends, at a minimum,
that the County provide the DCDAO
with two additional attorneys and
two new trial assistant positions as
soon as possible. Further additions
to staff should be considered going
forward as the impact of the
backlog and Deschutes County
growing population is more fully
understood.
Completed Jun-21 Attempting to implement the
PCE recommendations without
staffing at the levels
recommended by PCE has
proven to be fraught with peril.
Implementation has been
either delayed or halted due to
the inability to create time for
implementation of the changes
that would have benefited the
office. The unexpectedly long
duration of the pandemic,
turn-over, and economic
barriers to filling vacant
positions have also negatively
impacted moving forward with
the recommended changes.
PCE’s analysis suggests the office is
understaffed by four attorneys.
However, they recommend that instead
of adding two new attorneys now, the
County adds two attorneys and add new
positions in other departments.
I agree with the recommendation to
add two attorneys, and to add positions
in other departments (but if we don’t
add positons in other departments, I
recommend we add the four attorneys
that the data shows we need).
- PCE recommends keeping the 1/1 TA
to DDA ratio in the office. If we add two
new deputy district attorneys this would
require adding two new trial assistants.
I support adding as many new trial
assistants as attorneys, thus I
recommend adding two new trial
assistants.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
2 Caseloads and Time Study
PCE recommends that the CDDAs
do not carry a caseload so they can
focus on managing the DCDAO. If
the Office receives a highly complex
and serious case it may require the
skillset of the CDDAs, however,
their focus should be on managing
and improving the Office.
Completed Sep-21 CDDAs continue to carry
caseloads and one has taken
on an additional second
caseload previously assigned
to a single DDA. Workload,
DDAs on leave, DDA turn-over,
and on-boarding have
increased CDDA work and
reduced supervision and
implementation time.
With additional staffing and
implementation of related
recommendations, we can implement
Chief deputies not carrying caseload,
and moving to more of a
management/supervision/quality
control/mentoring role within 45 days.
3 Office Leadership and
Management
Though the DA and the CDDA are
understandably busy, there are a
number of things that can improve
their connection to the Office:
• Regular Contact with the Staff:
The DA and the CDDAs can walk
through the office on a regular
basis to see how the staff is doing
and listen to their concerns and
suggestions.
Completed Office hours initially were not
utilized, over time and with
consistent observance and
posting of the hours they are
being utilized by the DDAs. A
request was made at a DDA
meeting to expand office hours
to the Team Leads as well. For
many DDAs, having this time
reserved for access to
supervisors has made
communication easier and
more assessable.
The recommendation for office hours
and time to check-in with DDAs is
something we want to implement.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
3.1 • Improved Communication:
When new initiatives are
announced to the public, the DA
should meet with the staff to
explain the new initiatives, the
reasons behind them, and how
they will be implemented. Also,
when a controversial issue occurs,
the DA should explain the policies
underlying his decisions on that
issue to his managers and the
Office.
Completed We continue to refine the
communication within the
office using monthly meetings,
email, and office hours.
Supervisors are also checking
in with people throughout the
week.
3.2 • Reduce the Workload of the
CDDAs:
The CDDAs have too many
responsibilities and cannot attend
to all the needs of the staff. PCE’s
recommendations about the
restructuring of the DCDAO teams,
the hiring of an HR specialist and
the elimination of their caseloads
will free up the CDDAs to attend to
the staff, implement new initiatives
and do increased outreach to the
community.
Underway DDA turn-over and unfilled
DDA positions, the CDDA have
taken on more work, including
covering unfilled DDA
positions. Many of the
progress achieved on
implementing other
recommendations has been
lost. Once DDA positions are
filled, the new DDAs are
onboarded, and if there is a
period of time without
additional turn-over, the
CDDAs will focus on this
recommendation.
With additional staffing and
implementation of related
recommendations, we can implement
Chief deputies not carrying caseload,
and moving to more of a
management/supervision/quality
control/mentoring role within 45 days.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
3.3 • Office Hours:
The CDDAs could designate times
as “office hours” so that the staff
knows when they are free for
consultation.
Completed Dec-21 Office were implemented and
are successful. DDAs have
provided positive feedback. At
the request of the DDAS, Team
Leads have one office hour
each week in addition to the
CDDA Office hours.
The recommendation for office hours
and time to check-in with DDAs is
something we want to implement.
4 Management
• Clarify the Responsibilities of
Leadership:
The primary roles of each CDDA
should be clarified. Though it is
helpful that the CDDAs can cover
for each other, there should be a
clear list of who is primarily
responsible for the many duties
that are required of the CDDAs.
Underway This recommendation is taking
more time than expected due
to an unusual number of
complex cases referred to
DCDA in a short amount of
time. CDDAs will complete
when DDA Supervision
transition is completed
Clarification of Chief Deputy roles and
reassignment of tasks would utilize the
experience, knowledge and judgment of
the Chief Deputies and allow them to be
more available to the attorneys. The
Team Leads recently provided feedback
that many of the DDAs don’t seek
guidance from the Chief Deputies
because they are perceived as being too
busy to assist them. The
recommendation for office hours and
time to check-in with DDAs is something
we want to implement.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
4.1 • Management Training:
All staff with supervisory
responsibilities, legal and nonlegal,
should be required to attend
management training, including the
Team Leaders. The DCDAO has
encouraged such training, however,
it should be mandatory and not
voluntary. The DCDAO should
clarify its management approach,
so it is consistent across
supervisors. HR can provide
recommendations for what types of
trainings would be most beneficial.
Underway Training the management team, and the
adoption of consistent management
approaches, is fully supported and could
be implemented once the office
structure is finalized.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
4.2 • Management Reports:
Once the accuracy of the underlying
data is verified, Prosecutor by
Karpel (PbK) should create standard
reports for the leadership that
provide performance data of the
staff. This will give management
real-time data to assess the staff.
Individualized reports should also
be available to the attorneys, so
they can check their own
performance measures. As a start,
the reports can include:
• Active caseload of each attorney
• Uncharged cases for each
attorney
• Age of case for each attorney
• Pending trials
Completed Jan-22 Casey Newsom has worked
with the Management Team to
create dashboards. We're in
the process of refining them.
Implementation of this recommendation
would allow the Chief Deputies to
engage in many of the other specific
recommendations in the assessment
(e.g. evaluating productivity of DDAs and
efficacy of programs; Policies and
Procedures; complete/additional
electronic evidence) and protocols for
on-boarding new attorneys
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
4.3 • Make Team Leaders Supervisors:
As discussed in greater detail in the
section on the DCDAO teams, the
Team Leaders should be the direct
supervisors of the lawyers in their
team.
Completed Dec-21 Team Leads should be supervisors. The
current system is cumbersome,
inefficient and compromises our ability
to share information between Team
Leads and CDDAs. To provide full
support to, and supervision of, DDAs,
Team Leads should be supervisors not
leads; Team Leads are in a better
position to evaluate performance of
DDAs. The supervision ratios for the
Chief Deputies are too high. This
recommendation should be
implemented immediately.
• A complicating factor may be removal
from the district attorney union, which
should be considered and discussed
with the Team Leads and the association
prior to implementation.
• The new employee evaluation process
was created as part of a workgroup
involving DDAs, VAP, TAs and
supervisors. We have received positive
feedback on the process.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
5 Morale
To enhance morale in the Office,
particularly as the staff starts to
return to the office in person, the
Office can engage the employees in
a variety of ways to improve their
morale. The new proposed team
structure discussed below can also
serve to improve morale. Morale
boosters can include:
• Lunch with the Supervisor:
• Shadow the DA: An employee can
join the DA as the shadow DA for
the day.
• Recognition: Reward extra effort
in the Office with thank you events,
personalized notes/emails, gift
certificates, compensatory time,
and recognition before peers.
• Group Social Activities
Underway Ongoing We have balanced pandemic
protocols with in-person
engagement. There have been
successes and we have learned
from the less successful
events. The Wellness Program
and an IT recognition day were
successes.
Implementation of the
recommendations contained in the PCE
assessment will likely result in a boost in
morale. Some of the specific
recommendations can and will be
implemented immediately.
Other recommendations such as more
office space and remote work would
boost morale but may take more time.
• The impact of the understaffed court
on DCDA is noted in the assessment;
supporting the effort to fully staff the
Circuit Court, and providing the Court
with additional and separate office
space will also positively impact DCDA.
• Retaining DDAs, reducing workload
and performance; and training is
intensive, time consuming, and
necessary.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
6.1 Human Resources
• Evaluations:
Legal and non-legal staff, including
supervisors, should receive annual
evaluations at specific time every
year. Consideration should be given
to starting “360” evaluations so that
supervisors receive evaluations
from the people they supervise.
The evaluation should be in writing,
accompanied by a meeting with the
supervisor to discuss strengths and
weaknesses.
Underway Implementation after
Supervisor transition is
complete. Evaluations have not
occurred, on the list of projects
to complete, but a lower
priority than current demands
of our primary responsibilities.
6.2 • Needed Protocols:
The Office should create protocols
to standardize the onboarding of
staff, the off-boarding of staff, and
a regular evaluation process for
lawyers and non-lawyers. For
example, the senior management
should conduct exit interviews for
all staff leaving the Office. This will
provide insights into areas of
improvement for the Office.
Completed Mar-22 Policy manual completed and
published on DA Intranet to
increase access for quick
reference. Procedure changes
and updates are published on
the DA Intranet as well.
Coverage schedules have been
constant, to assist with DDA
planning, the schedules are
posted on the intranet as well.
PCE has highly emphasized the
importance of improving our training
and onboarding process. The office has
made tremendous growth in the last
year in these areas, and we know we can
and must do better.
By August 1st 2021 I will have a much
more efficient and structured
onboarding process when it comes to
our case management system Karpel.
The IT team will work with our internal
case management and paperless group
to establish case management trainings
going forward.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
6.3 • Job Descriptions and
Classifications:
The HR person can assist with
defining job descriptions and
ensuring that staff are properly
classified.
Planned May-22 Will coordinate with HR in
conjunction with budget
planning. There has been no
action on this
recommendation.
We will do some additional research into
job descriptions. If it in
fact would not classify as working out of
class, then we would develop additional
trainings.
7 Policies and Procedures
• Collect Office Policies:
The Office should review all existing
office policies and, verify that they
are currently applicable and posted
on the DCDAO intranet.
Completed Underway. The Policy manual is in
place, procedures are being updated on
the Intranet. An update to the Policy
Manual for 2022 is under review and will
be published by 12/2021.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
7.1 • Policies on Specific Topics:
The DCDAO should also consider
developing policies in the following
areas:
• Plea Bargaining: The DCDAO
should develop a plea/disposition
policy for first arrests of similarly
situated defendants.
• Lawyer Contact with Witnesses:
The DCDAO should determine
when attorneys should speak with
witnesses directly.
• Review of Digital Evidence: Ideally,
all digital evidence should be
reviewed by the prosecutor, but it is
not always possible. As a result, the
Office should create a policy of
when a prosecutor or TA must
review digital evidence prior to
charging.
• Social Media Policy: The staff
needs clarification about what they
can say and do on social media. The
Office should create a social media
policy outlining the Office’s
expectations.
Completed Posted on the Intranet. As
needed, new policies,
temporary policies (e.g.
COVID), and procedures are
posted on a regular basis.
Underway. See 7
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
8 Teams
• Create Two Equal Trial Teams:
PCE recommends that DCDAO
create two trial teams that handle
all cases, equally divided between
the two teams. The lawyers
assigned to the teams should range
from the least experienced to the
most experienced, though within
each team there can be people who
specialize in certain kinds of cases,
e.g., DV, sex crimes, white-collar
cases or are given special duties,
such as liaison to the Child
Advocacy Center or to a particular
treatment program.
Completed The teams with the Team
Leads have been up and
running. We're receiving
feedback from individual DDAs
and at DDA meetings that the
concept needs to be refined,
including making time for
specific case type meetings.
The analysis of confidential feedback,
objective data of time tracking and
Karpel data, and the experience of PCE
led to this recommendation. With
careful consideration and inclusion of
the office as a whole, this
recommendation is supported.
Implementation, if done correctly, would
take 60-90 days. Related
recommendations, including how intake
is assigned are supported.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
8.1 • Team Leaders be Supervisors:
Each team should have a
supervisor. There are various ways
to structure the supervision: one
Team Leader, two co-Team Leaders
or a chief Team Leader and a
deputy Team Leader. Regardless of
what structure is selected, the
Team Leaders should be
supervisors and have significantly
reduced caseloads, so they have
time to properly supervise their
team.
Completed Team Leads should be supervisors. The
current system is cumbersome,
inefficient and compromises our ability
to share information between Team
Leads and CDDAs. To provide full
support to, and supervision of, DDAs,
Team Leads should be supervisors not
leads; Team Leads are in a better
position to evaluate performance of
DDAs. The supervision ratios for the
Chief Deputies are too high. This
recommendation should be
implemented immediately.
• A complicating factor may be removal
from the district attorney union, which
should be considered and discussed
with the Team Leads and the association
prior to implementation.
• The new employee evaluation process
was created as part of a workgroup
involving DDAs, VAP, TAs and
supervisors. We have received positive
feedback on the process.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
8.2 • Assignment of Intake:
On alternating days or weeks, the
Team Leaders should receive new
cases from the CDDA (see section
below on Intake) and assign them
to lawyers within their team who
have the necessary experience.
Though the initial intake of cases is
done by the CDDA, the assignment
of the cases should be decided by
Team Leaders. In this way the Team
Leaders will be familiar with the
matters handled by their team, can
anticipate issues, and can give the
cases to the most appropriate
attorney based on experience level.
Completed The Team Leads are starting to
refine this process.
Related recommendations, including
how intake is assigned are supported.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
8.3 • Scheduling of Assignments:
The Team Leaders rather than the
CDDAs should create the
assignment schedule for their team
at least a week in advance The
Team Leader will be in the best
position to know who is available
and who is best suited for various
tasks. Also, should substitution of
an assignment be needed, the
Team Leader will know who is free
and can make the necessary
adjustments. The Team Leader
should designate a “floater” for
each scheduling period, so there is
notice as to who can cover
unexpected court appearances. The
scheduling can be rotated between
Teams on regular basis, such as
weekly or monthly.
Evaluations: The Team Leader
should prepare annual evaluations
for all team members, including the
TAs.
Underway The current staffing levels and
coverage requirements have
not allowed for this
recommendation to be
implemented. If we are fully
staffed, the Management Team
is keen to implement this
recommendation.
Clarification of Chief Deputy roles and
reassignment of tasks would utilize the
experience, knowledge and judgment of
the Chief Deputies and allow them to be
more available to the attorneys. The
Team Leads recently provided feedback
that many of the DDAs don’t seek
guidance from the Chief Deputies
because they are perceived as being too
busy to assist them. The
recommendation for office hours and
time to check-in with DDAs is something
we want to implement.
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
8.4 • Team Meetings:
The teams should have regular
meetings and roundtables to
discuss difficult cases, office policy,
and other current issues. This
provides excellent training for the
younger lawyers and creates a
team spirit.
Completed Jan-22 Meetings have been scheduled
through 2022.
8.5 • Meeting with Management:
The Team Leaders should meet
regularly with the CDDAs and the
DA to discuss office policies,
challenging cases, and new
initiatives. This will improve
communication between leadership
and mid-level management and
allow the Team Leaders to convey
information to the line prosecutors.
This will also improve the morale of
the Team Leaders as this will
provide an opportunity for their
comments and suggestions to be
heard by leadership.
Completed
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Rec
# Recommendations Status
Estimated
or Actual
Date of
Completion
Updated Follow-up
comments Initial Comments
8.6 • Caseload Dashboard:
To properly manage their team, the
Team Leaders should know how to
monitor the caseloads and case
status of their attorneys through
their case management system,
Prosecutor by Karpel (PbK). The
CDDA currently provides this
information, however, the
information should be made more
readily available through PbK to
both Team Leaders and line
prosecutors. (See section below on
the office’s case management
system).
Completed Mar-22 IT Director Casey Newsom has
worked with the CDDAs, Kara
Palacio, and the Team Leads to
implement the dashboard. We
will continue to refine it over
the next year.
This has been a longstanding request
and some work has been done to date,
but changing case management
systems, availability of IT staff due to
their workload, and Chief Deputy
workloads has prevented the
development of productivity metrics and
dashboards, establishing the accuracy of
DCDA data and the ability to audit the
data. This recommendation should be
implemented immediately after a
determination of what data set is
reliable and accurate.
8.7 • Office Standards.
The CDDAs can set standard
timelines for various tasks, such as
time to charging, time to
indictment, and time to trial.
Though there are many exceptions
to such standards, the Team
Leaders should have regular
meetings with the line prosecutors
to review their caseloads and the
status of their cases in light of the
general standards set by the Office.
Underway
We started with filing deadlines
for out-of-custody cases and
documentation of follow-up.
4/2022 staffing levels have
delayed implementation
and/or enforcement of some
standards, but they are now
posted and being monitored as
time allows.
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9 Prosecutor Diversion and
Alternatives to Incarceration
• Program Oversight:
The Office has a laudable
commitment to increasing
diversion and treatment. However,
as the programs grow there is
greater need for oversight of the
programs and monitoring the
participants. This requires a
fulltime, rather than part-time staff.
The staff member can oversee the
daily operations of the various
programs, provide training to the
prosecutors, and develop a system
for monitoring compliance that
does not absorb prosecutor time.
Planned May-22 Will consider whether or not to
seek a .5 or 1.0 FTE in
preparation of the proposed
budget. Currently, CDDAs are
meeting with attorneys
assigned to programs.
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9.1
• Training for Staff:
The staff needs more training on
the policies and procedures
underlying the treatment
programs. This will increase their
use and integrate the programs
into the daily decisions made by the
staff.
Underway Training for Staff: Policy and
procedure training materials
on our current diversion
initiatives and their associated
treatment programs have been
developed or will be completed
by 12/1/2021. It was
determined that
comprehensive training on
diversion activities would be
best implemented after
12/1/2021 when DCDAO’s
office reorganization
concluded.
The resource lists, addressed
under 9.2 Survey Available
Resources, will be incorporated
into our diversion program
training plan in 2022, and
service providers will be invited
to specific meetings to share
how their work supports
DCDAO programs.
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9.2 • Survey of Available Resources:
The person assigned to overseeing
diversion and treatment programs
should conduct a survey of
available services in Deschutes
County. An assessment of the
effectiveness of these programs
should also be undertaken. PCE is
informed that Deschutes County
has many excellent service
providers that can provide support
to the DCDAO programs.
Completed Dec-21 Due to limited staffing
resources, DCDAO is unable to
compile and maintain a
comprehensive list of all
treatment programs and
services available in Deschutes
County. However, many local
non-profits with whom we
partner, do keep up-to-date
lists based on their areas of
expertise and share that
information with our office.
When the lists have not been
provided automatically,
DCDAO follows-up with those
agencies to request that
information.
An assessment on the
effectiveness of local programs
will not be conducted. Not only
does DCDAO not have the
staffing resources to undertake
this type of massive task, but
more importantly, assessing
the effectiveness of these
agencies and programs is
outside of our area of
expertise and responsibility.
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9.3 • Tracking Diversion and Treatment
in PbK:
PbK can be used to track the
alternative to incarceration
programs, as well as compliance
with the programs.
Completed Jun-21 DCDAO’s current alternatives
to incarceration programs are
being tracked and participant
compliance at key points
during program enrollment is
monitored in PbK.
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9.4 • Research:
Once the DCDAO has a reliable way
to track their alternative to
incarceration programs, they can
collaborate with researchers to
study the effectiveness of the
programs. Some researchers can
apply for independent grants to
support this type of work.
Completed Conducting comprehensive
evaluations on the impact of
alternatives to incarceration
programs is a practice that has
been and will continue to be
part of DCDAO’s diversion
program implementation
plans. In 2019, DCDAO secured
grant funding to hire an
external evaluator to conduct a
preliminary evaluation on the
Goldilocks Clean Slate
Program.
For DCDAO’s newer initiatives it
is too early in each program’s
implementation to conduct a
comprehensive evaluation on
their effectiveness.
In the meantime, program
data on each program is
monitored internally every six
months by tracking participant
progress and potential
recidivism activity within the
County through PbK. This
baseline assessment allows
DCDAO the ability to identify
any issues and make
appropriate adjustments to the
program’s plan.
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10.1 Case Management System
• Data Entry Protocols:
Protocols should be developed for
who enters data and when. Where
possible, support staff rather than
attorneys should enter the data.
Completed Dec-21 Trial Assistants continue to
review monthly reports at the
directives of the policies and
procedures that have been
developed. We continue to
review work accuracy and
identify data entry points that
need to be monitored and
audited.
Trial Assistants are now
reporting to court and entering
the case notes data. Policies,
procedures, and schedule are
all contained on the intranet.
TAs have already started this process
(auditing data in Karpel) with the
monthly report reviews. These reviews
are monthly check-ins for the TA
supervisor and the TA to evaluate the
TAs caseload and the data that has been
entered for the month. The current
reports that are run are: open case with
no future court date, number of
reminders, TA case clean up, and TA
staff case stats. To improve the auditing
process, we will implement the following
plan:
Meet with IT to identify other data
points that can be review/monitored
(completed by 8/1/2021)
Work with the TA leads to develop
directive/polices for the new reports
(completed by 10/1/2021)
Orientation and training of new
reports facilitated to the TAs
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10.2 • Auditing:
Unless data is entered accurately, it
is of no use. Thus, the DCDAO
should develop an auditing plan to
spot check data entry. Also, DCDAO
should resolve the discrepancies
between the court’s data and the
DCDAO data.
Underway Jun-22 Continuing to track for
completion in June 2022.
Staffing issues are set to be
resolved by end of May and
then additional reviews will be
added to our already existing
auditing program.
TAs have already started this process
(auditing data in Karpel) with the
monthly report reviews. These reviews
are monthly check-ins for the TA
supervisor and the TA to evaluate the
TAs caseload and the data that has been
entered for the month. The current
reports that are run are: open case with
no future court date, number of
reminders, TA case clean up, and TA
staff case stats. To improve the auditing
process, we will implement the following
plan:
Meet with IT to identify other data
points that can be review/monitored
(completed by 8/1/2021)
Work with the TA leads to develop
directive/polices for the new reports
(completed by 10/1/2021)
Orientation and training of new
reports facilitated to the TAs (completed
by 12/1/2021)
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10.3 • Additional IT Staff:
The Office would benefit from an
additional IT staff, or a consultant,
who can help to bring DCDAO’s
data collection and PbK to its full
potential. This will ultimately create
efficiencies and improve the quality
of everyone’s work.
Planned Waiting for a decision from BJA
on grant application. Notice
expect by 12/31/2021. 4/2022-
grant application was denied.
DCDA will need to find
alternative to implement this
suggestion.
I don’t recommend adding a new FTE to
the staff. I do recommend retaining a
consultant, and we have a grant
application pending that makes this
request. If we are not awarded this grant
we will assess whether/how to retain a
consultant.
10.4 • New Computers:
Though the staff has new laptops,
there are some older computers in
the office that need to be replaced.
Consideration can be given to
whether the laptops can be used in
the office with docking stations,
rather than replacing the
computers.
Completed Dec-21 20 computers replaced
between June-August of 2021;
2 computers will be replaced
within the next 30 days
PCE recommends replacing old
computers.
We have roughly 120
desktops/laptops and have determined
that about 10 are either reaching their
5th cycle year or are still running
Windows 7, an operating system no
longer supported.
Our first priority will be to replace the
computers still running Windows 7 by
June 1st 2021.
We will be replacing all laptops and
desktops reaching their 4th or 5th year
after budget replenishment on July 1st
2021 and before September 1st 2021.
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10.5 • Connectivity with Police:
DCDAO should negotiate with its
police departments to develop a
memorandum of understanding of
what, how, and when data can be
shared. Once that is in place,
DCDAO can purchase the PbK
module that allows for improved
connectivity with other agencies.
This will save data entry time and
reduce errors. The intake TA will no
longer need to enter documents
manually.
Underway Worked with Karpel, Tyler
Technology, and County IT to
establish Application Program
Interface and technical
requirements for further
integration prior to July 1st.
Quoted at $29,500 for the total
cost. Tyler was unable to
process the transaction within
a reasonable time, thus
pushing the transaction into
the next fiscal year. We
decided to pursue discussions
again towards the end of the
next fiscal year (March-April
2022).
PCE has recommended in several areas
to enhance our current interface/data
exchanges with other agencies.
The report undervalued the amount
of integrations that are currently active.
We have anywhere between 3-5 data
feeds between each agency that
exchange valuable information such as
court dates, court numbers, subpoenas,
charging information, evidence item
information, and officer vacation
schedules.
We have had several previous
discussions with law enforcement
agencies on this topic, and by July 1,
2021, will have a plan to address the
whether/how of additional integration.
10.7 • 100% Paperless:
All staff members must be required
to go paperless.
Completed
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10.8 • Mandatory Training:
The DCDAO should require
mandatory, continuing PbK
training. Some staff received initial
training but have not kept up with
the nuances of the system. In some
instances, this may require one-on-
one training, particularly with staff
members who have been resistant
to using PbK.
Completed
10.9 • Legal Templates:
The Office is working on developing
and updating templates for legal
work; this work enhances
efficiencies and should be
continued. The juvenile unit could
benefit from templates in PbK.
Completed Mar-22 Updates and new templates
are regularly completed by the
Leads.
10.10 • Streamline Processes Using PbK:
PbK should be used to further
streamline the victim notification
process and the data entry for
victim/witness information should
be simplified.
Completed VAP is using Karpel as
efficiently as possible with its
limited design.
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10.11 • Standard Reports and Data
Dashboard:
Once the data is deemed reliable,
PbK can be the source of many
valuable reports. This data can
inform policy decisions, identify
crime drivers, and assist
supervisors with management. The
Office can also post data on its
website through a data dashboard
so it is accessible to the public.
Completed Feb-22 Two data dashboards are
complete. One focuses on
cases that attention should be
drawn to, the other is a
dashboard with statistical data.
10.12 • Problematic Police Officers:
If there are problematic police
officers that may need to be
disclosed to the defense, they can
be flagged in PbK, so the lawyers
will know when an officer on the list
is associated with one of their
cases. This will be a flag for the
attorney to speak with a supervisor
about next steps.
Completed Jan-22 Brady protocol in place. Notice
is sent when determination is
made and all cases involving
officer are reviewed.
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11 Office Space
• Request More Space:
The DA should request more space
for the staff. Having not seen the
space in person, PCE cannot make
recommendations about how the
existing space could be
reconfigured.
Planned TBD Unable to implement at this
time due to space constraints-
4/2022 no change, space
continues to be an issue, need
to plan for expansion of DCDA
office space in conjunction with
the courthouse project.
Other recommendations such as more
office space and remote work would
boost morale
but may take more time.
11.1 • Rearrange Seating:
If the DCDAO chooses to
restructure their teams, the Office
should re-configure the seating
arrangements of the lawyers and
TAs. The team members should sit
near each other, and the TAs
should sit by the lawyer for whom
they work. This will build a team
spirit, allow for informal training
between experienced and
inexperienced team members and
provide efficiencies as it will be
easier for supervisors to see who is
available to cover various tasks.
Planned TBD Unable to implement at this
time due to space constraints-
4/2022 no change, space
continues to be an issue, need
to plan for expansion of DCDA
office space in conjunction with
the courthouse project.
Waiting for information on the
courthouse expansion project and
whether or not that will created the
needed space for the District Attorney's
Office. Space needs and ADA
compliance are concerns.
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11.2 • Allow Work from Home:
The pandemic has shown that it is
possible to work effectively from
home. Many DCDAO staff have
indicated that they enjoy working
from home, they find it easier to
concentrate and they experience
less stress. The Office should
develop a “Work at Home” policy
that provides guidelines for who
can work from home and when.
Such a policy could allow TAs to
alternate being in the office and to
share a desk. Desk sharing will save
space in the already cramped
office. Lawyers can be given some
flexibility to work from home when
their duties do not require them to
be present in the office. This policy
can boost morale and reduce over-
crowding in the office. Needless to
say, supervisors will have to set
goals for the work that is done at
home.
Completed Remote work has been allowed
during Pandemic. The
Management Team is
monitoring the County's work
on the draft "Remote Work"
policy.
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12 Intake
• Connectivity with the Police:
DCDAO should enter into
arrangements with their police
departments to automatically
import relevant police paperwork
and data into PbK, thus avoiding
the need for manual data entry and
improving data quality.
Completed At this time we have
maximized connectivity.
PCE recommends that we add an FTE to
our case intake department. They also
recommend that we improve
connectivity with law enforcement
agencies in Deschutes County to
streamline the transfer of records from
law enforcement to our office.
If we are successful in improving our
connectivity with law enforcement, as
recommended by PCE, we will not need
a new fulltime position; we would only
need a .5 addition. If we’re unable to
achieve the degree of connectivity that is
envisioned by PCE, I recommend we add
a full-time FTE.
12.1 • Additional Intake Staff:
An additional TA at Intake will
enhance the process by allowing
early and timely entry of
victim/witness information, criminal
histories, and adding a short
summary of the case. The lawyers
and TAs are currently entering this
information at a later time when it
can be more difficult to obtain and
thus more time consuming.
Completed Jun-21 0.5 FTE of intake staff was
received during the 21-22 FY
budget. This 0.5 position has
been filled and person has
been trained for back up
coverage and help with intake
when folder are exceeding the
standard of reports. All
witness and victim information
is being entered at the time of
intake and added when
supplemental reports are
received.
If we are successful in improving our
connectivity with law enforcement, as
recommended by PCE, we will not need
a new fulltime position; we would only
need a .5 addition. If we’re unable to
achieve the degree of connectivity that is
envisioned by PCE, I recommend we add
a full-time FTE.
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12.3 • Part-Time DDA: The DCDAO can
hire a part-time DDA to assist with
charging out-of-custody cases. This
is a good position for an attorney
who needs a modified work plan or
needs to work from home. It should
be noted that given the DCDAO’s
excellent vertical prosecution
system, the more serious cases
should continue to be charged by
the assigned DDA.
Completed Originally rejected
recommendation, but
reassessed based on needs
and have added contract
attorneys.
12.4 • Viewing Digital Evidence Prior to
Charging:
The TAs can assist with viewing
body worn camera footage in some
types of cases, so that the
prosecutor can fully assess the case
prior to charging.
Planned TBD Need additional FTE. Would
require reclassification of Trial
Assistant to Paralegals. Would
be very interested in pursuing
this if the commissioners and
budget committee would be
open to reclassification of trial
assistants
BJA grant announcement by 12/31/2021.
Estimated completion date will depend
on grant award status.
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13 Training
• Designate a Training Coordinator:
The DCDAO can designate an
experienced member of the staff to
be the training coordinator, one for
legal staff and one for support staff.
This person can identify beneficial
training programs and schedule the
programs at regular intervals.
Programs designed for new lawyers
can be given annually or semi-
annually for lawyers who have
joined the Office within the last
year.
Underway May-22 Training Coordinator would
require a new FTE or change in
job description. The
Administrative Coordinator
and her Team Leads have
coordinated training. The
Team Leads are working with
CDDAs on a structured training
program, including the
creation of a training
PowerPoint. Implemented to
the extent possible at this time.
Will review when considering proposed
budget.
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13.1 • Survey Training Needs:
The DCDAO should conduct a
training survey of the staff to
determine what topics the staff
believe are most needed. The Team
Leaders and CDDA can also meet to
discuss the errors most regularly
seen and develop a training
program in response.
Planned Delayed due staffing levels and
turn-over (on-boarding).
PCE recommended providing training to
the TAs to build upon their
understanding of the criminal justice
system. Excellent recommendation, and
we will fully implement. The process of
implantation will be:
Conduct a survey amongst DAs and
TAs to determine what education topics
would be helpful (completed by
7/1/2021)
Based on the results of the survey
work with a senior attorney in office or a
designated trainer out office to develop
curriculum/training session (completed
by 10/1/2021)
Facilitate training to TAs (completed
by 11/1/2021)
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13.2 • Monthly Training:
Monthly in-house training meetings
on substantive legal issues for legal
staff should be developed. Topics
can be taught by lawyers in the
Office, who have dealt with a
particular issue, or by lawyers from
other offices who can be recruited
to train on a particular subject.
Given the staff’s familiarity with
Zoom as a result of the pandemic,
the DCDAO can recruit prosecutors
from other offices to discuss a
particular topic for an hour via
Zoom.
Completed Mar-22 Training is occurring on a
regular basis.
PCE recommended providing training to
the TAs for some legal work such as
writing motions and letters, charging low
level cases, and drafting jury charges.
Excellent recommendation, and we will
fully implement. The process of
implementation will be:
Work with a senior attorney in the
office or a designated trainer outside of
the office to develop curriculum/training
sessions (completed by 8/1/2021)
Facilitate Training to TAs (completed
by 10/1/2021)
We are hesitant to encourage additional
training for charging cases and drafting
jury charges as this may push the TA’s
work out of class and could potentially
require a reclassification of TA work to
paralegal work, which would require a
much larger budget for staff. We will do
some additional research into job
descriptions. If it in fact would not
classify as working out of class, then we
would develop additional trainings.
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13.3 • Training on the Grand Jury
Process:
The grand jury coordinators and a
senior lawyer should train new
lawyers on the grand jury process
and the preparation needed,
particularly with regard to witness
preparation and review of the file.
Underway Will be scheduled with 13.1 as
whole office training. Delayed
due to staffing, turn-over, and
on-boarding new employees.
13.4 • Case Roundtables:
Team Leaders should convene a
roundtable on particularly difficult
cases to discuss the pros and cons
of prosecuting the case. This will
allow for brainstorming of ideas,
will teach the younger lawyers
about the issues that they should
consider, and will develop a team
spirit.
Completed Dec-21
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13.5 • Outside Prosecutor Training:
The DCDAO already avails itself of
trainings sponsored by the Oregon
District Attorney’s Association and
should continue to send its lawyers
to those trainings. There are other
excellent training programs, many
of which are free and online. The
national prosecutor groups offering
these trainings are Aequitas,
(particularly on violence against
women issues), Institute for
Innovation in Prosecution, National
District Attorney’s Association, and
Association of Prosecuting
Attorneys.
Completed All of the attorneys were
provided with season passes to
the ODAA CLEs, and other
online and in-person training
has been made available to
DDAs.
13.6 • Legal Templates:
The Office should continue to
update PbK with standard legal
documents and collect complex
legal motions and briefs in a central
location that can be shared by all
the lawyers.
Completed Advanced Lead Attorney
Shroyer is assigned to this
project for consistency.
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13.7 • Trial Advocacy:
Supervisors should watch younger
attorneys while they are trying a
case so that real time pointers can
be given. Currently, most input
about trial advocacy skills of the
Office’s attorneys comes from the
judges.
Planned Jun-22 Staffing issues and assignment
of extra work to CDDAs and
Leads has not stymied
implementation. Former DDA
who assists with extra-help
contract work will be used in
the future to assist.
Supervision transition, hiring and
training are prioritized. Need to
complete and stabilize before there is
time to observe DDAs in trial. In the
meantime, we are assigning less
experienced prosecutors to assist more
experiences prosecutors in trial. CDDAs
are also assisting less experienced DDAs
in trial. Different method than
suggested, but providing the
opportunity to observe and build trial
skills.
13.8 • Training on New DCDAO
Initiatives:
Rather than an introduction by
email, the whole staff should be
trained on the Office’s new
initiatives so they understand when
and how they should be applied
and the policy underlying the
program. The office leadership
should also seek feedback on the
efficacy of the programs.
Completed In addition to training, program
descriptions and updates are
on the Intranet.
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14 Trial Assistants
• Criminal Justice System Training:
Some TAs report that they would
like a better understanding of the
criminal justice system and the
specific issues related to their
cases; this will enhance their ability
to anticipate the needs of the
attorneys and improve the quality
of their work. If the TA duties are
expanded, the lawyers should be
briefed by management about the
new roles of the TA, so everyone is
on the same page.
Underway TBD See 13-update: we modified
this recommendation based on
staffing issues and workload.
Training has been provided by
the CDDAs and DDAs to other
staff, including TAs, moving
forward we will complete the
survey and implement more
training.
Trial Assistants are now
attending court more often,
tours of agency records,
agency evidence, lab
departments, ride alongs, 911
department, and other
functions of the criminal justice
system are scheduled to occur
once every 6 months.
PCE recommended providing training to
the TAs to build upon their
understanding of the criminal justice
system. Excellent recommendation, and
we will fully implement. The process of
implantation will be:
Conduct a survey amongst DAs and
TAs (completed by 7/1/2021)
Develop curriculum/training session
(completed by 10/1/2021)
Facilitate training to TAs (completed
by 11/1/2021)
PCE recommended providing training to
the TAs for some legal work. Excellent
recommendation, and we will fully
implement. The process of
implementation will be:
Develop curriculum/training sessions
(completed by 8/1/2021)
Facilitate Training to TAs (completed
by 10/1/2021)
We are hesitant to encourage additional
training for charging cases and drafting
jury charges as this may push the TA’s
work out of class, which would require a
much larger budget for staff. We will do
some additional research into job
descriptions.
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14.2 • Victim Advocate Training:
Though assigning the overflow
victim advocate work to the TAs is
not recommended, if this continues
to be the practice, the TAs need
training on the multi-faceted tasks
of the victim advocates. (See
section on Victim Advocates for
further discussion).
Planned May-22 Current staffing level does not
allow for implementation.
We recommend fully staffing VAP so that
all cases are assigned to an advocate. If
VAP is not fully staffed, and TAs have to
continue to provide VAP services, we will
develop clear polices/process for the
required services and organize
continued trainings to equip TA staff
with the necessary skills to successfully
execute these services. These policies
and trainings would be implemented
and completed by 1/1/2022.
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14.3 • Auditing Data in PbK:
As the Office has gone paperless,
the quality of the data in PbK is
especially important. The TAs, IT,
and management should work
together to establish an audit
routine, where the TAs can check
the data in PbK relevant to their
cases. This is especially important
regarding data entered by the
lawyers, as they may enter data in
inconsistent ways, or neglect to
enter the data.
Underway Jun-22 Monthly report reviews were
implemented for Trial
Assistants. Team Leads and
CDDA are working with IT on a
dashboard. Procedures for
data are now published on the
Intra-net and sent out to
attorneys via email.
TAs have already started this process
with the monthly report reviews. These
reviews are monthly check-ins for the TA
supervisor and the TA to evaluate the
TAs caseload and the data that has been
entered for the month. The current
reports that are run are: open case with
no future court date, number of
reminders, TA case clean up, and TA
staff case stats. To improve the auditing
process, we will implement the following
plan:
Meet with IT to identify other data
points that can be review/monitored
(completed by 8/1/2021)
Work with the TA leads to develop
directive/polices for the new reports
(completed by 10/1/2021)
Orientation and training of new
reports facilitated to the TAs (completed
by 12/1/2021)
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14.4 • TAs in Court:
To improve data collection, TAs
should be trained to record court
events in the courtroom. This will
remove this function from the
lawyers, who should focus on the
legal issues rather than data
collection. Ideally a TA should be
assigned to a specific judge, so the
TA learns the routine of that judge
and can more easily gather the
data. If this is not possible, then the
TA can be the data collector
whenever their assigned lawyer is
in court.
Completed Jan-22 The implementation of this process is
underway. We have identified a handful
of
TAs that are excited about this process,
they will be trained first and then serve
as trainers for other TAs as they are
introduced to the process. We like PCE’
suggestion of assigning each TA a judge.
This will likely be the practice we follow
for scheduling TAs in the court. The
timeline for full implantation is:
Train phase 1 of the TAs on taking
notes (completed by 6/5/2021)
Phase 1 TAs train the remaining TAs
(completed by 7/1/2021)
Permanent schedule is implemented
for TAs appearing in court to take notes
(8/1/2021)
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15 Victim Advocates
• Replace the VA Who Left:
Victim advocacy work is
fundamental to a District Attorney’s
Office and to the citizens of
Deschutes County. Victim
advocates provide notifications and
support to those who need it most
and instill confidence in the
criminal justice system. Given the
voluminous amount of information
that is statutorily required for
victims, an additional VA is needed
to keep up with that work.
Completed Replacement Victim Advocate
hired.
PCE recommends that we fill the current
advocate vacancy that that the County
adds an FTE position.
I support this recommendation
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15.1 • Hire a VA with Clinical or Social
Work Experience:
Consideration should be given to
hiring a VA with clinical or social
work experience, so more
meaningful support can be given to
victims and witnesses. This position
should be in addition to replacing
the VA who recently left the Office.
Contact Information for Victims and
Witnesses: The Office should
develop a standard set of questions
for the VA to ask the victims and
witnesses regarding their contact
information. The list should include
contacts for family and friends. The
VA should also ask “How do you
communicate?” because some
victims/witnesses use social media
to communicate rather than emails
and texting. The information should
be added into PbK.
Planned Jun-22 Additional FTE required for this
recommendation was not
approved. Request will be
made in FY23 budget for this
resource.
In a follow up phone call with PCE to
gain additional perspective on this
recommendation, it was learned that
PCE was unaware that the majority of
advocates have degrees in a social
service field and prior social work
experience. Overall, this
recommendation would be to add an
8th Victim Advocate to VAP. This
recommendation is supported and VAP
will continue to utilize their existing
hiring practices to search out the most
qualified candidate to join the DA’s
Office. Victims Assistance will also work
towards ensuring staff are spending
more time providing enhanced direct
services with victims and less time
completing paperwork, per a
recommendation addressed below.
Work with HR to ensure that social
work experience is outlined as a
preferred quality of an applicant in the
Victim Advocate Position Description.
(Complete before posting both Victim
Advocate vacancies June 2021)
If the FY 22 budget is approved, work
with HR to fill the Victim Advocate
vacancy (Complete by June 2021 for an
early July start date)
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15.2 • Contact Information for Victims
and Witnesses:
The Office should develop a
standard set of questions for the VA
to ask the victims and witnesses
regarding their contact information.
The list should include contacts for
family and friends. The VA should
also ask “How do you
communicate?” because some
victims/witnesses use social media
to communicate rather than emails
and texting. The information should
be added into PbK.
Completed Jan-22 Every victim now receives the
option to document how they
prefer to receive
communication as part of their
Victim's Rights. This preference
is documented as a priority
note within the case for all staff
to see. Given the confidentiality
issues surrounding the use of
social media as a
communication method, only
text, email, mail and phone
communications are currently
listed on the form.
PCE recommends a standardized set of
questions to get alternate contact
information for victims and witnesses in
a case.
Currently, Karpel (our case
management program) limits our
collection of contact information to the
standard forms of communication. We
will ask the Karpel programmers to
consider updating the software to add a
social media contact information field,
as well as a way to document more than
one email address. (Complete by June
2021)
Discuss victim contact information
collection and documentation at the
Oregon Victim Advocate Karpel User
Group Meeting. (Complete by June 2021)
Discuss contact information collection
and documentation at the Paperless
Team meeting to see how we want to
address collecting and documenting this
information up front while there is no
designated space in Karpel. (Complete
by July 2021)
Draft and discuss office policy around
contacting victims and witnesses
through social media outlets (Complete
by September 2021)
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15.3 • Outreach to Witnesses:
The Office should develop a plan
for how the VA can reach out to
witnesses, who are not also victims.
Witnesses, who are essential to a
criminal case, often need just as
much support and services as a
victim.
Planned May-22 Request will be made in FY23
budget for this resource.
In a recent phone call with PCE, they
provided clarity that this
recommendation can only be
accomplished in conjunction with their
other recommendations regarding
streamlining documentation in Karpel
and reducing some advocate work on
restitution to free up advocate capacity.
This is a long-term goal for VAP.
Survey DA and TA team regarding the
scope of how many witnesses they
foresee VAP needing to connect with
(Complete by 10/1/2021)
Meet with VAP team to strategize
ways to manage new caseload and
document these contacts (Complete by
2/1/2022)
Update VAP policy and procedure
manual (Complete by 3/1/2022)
Slowly assimilate highest acuity
witness contacts into VAP caseload
starting April 2022
Create report to closely manage
requests for witness contact to
determine workload needs and
capabilities. (3/1/2022)
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15.4 • Survey of Local Service Providers:
The DCDAO should conduct a
survey of available victim/witness
resources in the county, as well as
assessing their effectiveness. A list
of reliable programs should be kept
by the Office and updated regularly.
Completed Implemented in part-current
list is maintained. The
determination of what
constitutes a "Reliable
Program" is not made by VAP.
Completed the
recommendation in part and
reject the assessment of
providers.
Given each victim/survivor reports a
different experience with service
providers, an evaluation of the
effectiveness of outside programs would
be too time-consuming to be completed
by our team (and outside the scope of
our expertise).
VAP already maintains a list of service
providers which is stored on the shared
drive for advocates to access and update
at any time.
Create a formal calendar for reviewing
and updating service provider list
(Complete by 7/1/2021)
15.5 • Regular Meetings with Service
Providers:
The DCDAO should host meetings
with the local service providers so
that relationships are formed, and
the staff is familiar with their
resources. Often victims and
witnesses have a variety of issues
that can benefit from a coordinated
approach across government
agencies. Where there are gaps in
services, the DA can advocate for a
coordinated solution.
Planned TBD No change VAP already hosts regular unit meetings
in which local service providers attend
and discuss service provision. (Already
completed)
VAP will establish a monthly calendar
for 2022 unit meetings to ensure we
host at least one service provider a
month (Complete 12/1/2021)
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15.6 • Training for VAs and TAs:
The VAs and TAs should attend
regular trainings or webinars on
how to work with victims and
witnesses in a trauma-informed
way. Training on how to provide
safety planning for victims and
witness would also be beneficial.
Completed VAP attends regular ongoing training in
which topics frequently include Trauma
Informed Service Delivery, Vicarious
Trauma, and Safety Planning. (Already
Completed)
VAP will extend future invitations for
training to Kara Palacio, TA manager for
her determination on whether or not it
is appropriate for her team to attend.
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15.7 • Automating and Streamlining VA
Work:
Automating various aspects of the
VAs work will save time. PbK should
be reviewed to assess how to
further streamline victim
notifications and outreach. The
pandemic has demonstrated that
much outreach can be done
remotely, including contacts with
victims and witnesses. The VA staff
should receive additional training
on PbK and how it can make their
work more efficient. For example,
PbK can now text victims though an
office computer or office cellphone.
Some VAs may need an office
cellphone as they understandably
do not want to use their personal
phones to text victims.
Underway Jun-22 IT Supervisor Casey Newsom
and Program Manager Ashley
Beatty met with Program
Expert Laurie Duke with PbK to
go over current office process
and practices. Per Ms. Duke,
Deschutes County VAP is as
“efficient as we can be with the
system we have.” After meeting
with us, Ms. Duke wrote up 4
enhancement requests that
would streamline processes for
our office. To this day, there is
no movement on these
requests. Until changes are
made, VAP is unable to make
any improvements.
Manager will meet with the Oregon
Karpel Workgroup to discuss
streamlining capabilities. (Complete by
June 2021)
Manager will work with our IT team to
write enhancement requests for any
streamlining option not already existing
in Karpel (Complete by July 2021)
VAP will work with IT to determine if
there are any existing capabilities within
Karpel that aren’t already in use
(Complete by July 2021)
Manager will work with IT to
determine if any additional work-around
can be developed outside of Karpel to
enhance/streamline victims’ services.
(Complete by 1/1/2022)
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15.8 • Training for Legal Staff:
The legal staff are not fully
informed about what a VA’s work
entails and what services can be
offered. The lawyers should receive
training on the VA tasks, how to
update victim/witness contact
information, office policy on when
they are required to speak with
victims and witnesses, what
services are available, and how to
speak with witnesses in a trauma
informed way.
Planned Given the recent turnover in
the office, there has not been
an appropriate time that we
could implement this. We will
implement some cross training
in the early Spring of 2022.
Trial Assistants have worked
closely with VAP to streamline
processes and identify what
victim tasks are appropriate for
Trial Assistants to handle.
Most of this work has been
focused on unassigned victim
cases and is fairly limited as
most of the work would
require trial assistants to work
out of class.
Survey will be sent to DDAs to determine
what information they would like to see
contained in a training (Complete by
12/1/2021)
Deliver a training on VAP services to
legal staff (Complete by 4/1/2022)
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15.9 • Restitution:
Restitution is important to victims
and can be a part of restorative
justice for the defendant. It is also a
helpful form of community
outreach, as it demonstrates the
benefit of government. The Office
should designate a restitution
coordinator on the legal staff, as
well as a VA/TA point person. Some
restitution matters require
complicated civil litigation for which
some lawyers have little training.
This may be an excellent task for a
modified-duty attorney and a part-
time VA/TA.
Completed VAP has been working with the
trial assistants to identify a
designated resource within the
trial assistant team. We have
cross trained the person and
started assigning some
restitution tasks. There is not
an identified DA resource at
this time as each attorney likes
to work every aspect of their
case.
PCE recommends designating an
attorney as a point of contact for
restitution coordination. Given the
vertical prosecution within the office, it
may pose additional challenges to have
a singular point of contact to make
decisions regarding restitution on other
attorneys’ cases. However, it would
create consistency for both the VAP
team and the courts to receive
consistent restitution information from
the DA’s Office. Should the DA’s Office
designate a Legal Restitution
Coordinator, VAP will work with that
person to streamline restitution
processes.
16 Other Office Staff
• Roles and Classifications:
Once the roles of the staff are
defined, then their HR
classifications should also be re-
evaluated.
Planned May-22 Will work with HR and consider
changes in preparation of the
proposed budget.
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16.1 • Cross-Training:
In some instances, there is only one
staff member who knows how to
complete a needed task. This is a
risk to the Office if that staff
member is out or leaves the Office.
An analysis should be done as to
who needs cross training and on
which tasks.
Underway TBD Staff turnover and onboarding
has been prioritized at this
time.
17 Community Outreach
• Community Advisory Board:
The DA should revitalize
DeschutesSafe or create a
Community Advisory Board that
can provide continuing input on
crime issues and new initiatives.
Planned May-22 Requires additional FTE. Will
review in conjunction with
drafting the proposed budget.
17.1 • Open Forum Meetings:
The DA can continue the open
forum meetings that were held in
2016. The meetings can center
around issues of general concern,
for example, opioid overdoses,
drunken driving, or homelessness.
Planned May-22 Requires additional FTE. Will
review in conjunction with
drafting the proposed budget.
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17.2 • Youth Education Programs:
Though the DCDAO does some
education programs in schools, it
can develop a regular education
program for middle and high
school students that explains the
criminal justice system and
highlights the many types of jobs
that exist in that system. Lawyers,
police officers, victim advocates,
trial assistants, and others can
participate in the program. There
may be educators who can assist
with curriculum development.
Planned May-22 Requires additional FTE. Will
review in conjunction with
drafting the proposed budget.
17.3 • Adult Education Programs:
As the Allyship report noted, the
public does not understand the role
of the prosecutor. The DCDAO can
form a Citizen’s Academy for adults
with regularly scheduled classes
taught by prosecutors and police
on criminal justice topics.
Planned May-22 Requires additional FTE. Will
review in conjunction with
drafting the proposed budget.
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17.4 • Multi-Disciplinary Approach to
Repeat Offenders:
The DA can convene stakeholders,
such as hospitals, schools, police,
and social services to develop a
multi-disciplinary individualized
approach to repeat offenders with
mental illness and substance
abuse. This can be coordinated with
some of the multi-disciplinary
meetings outlined above.
Planned May-22 Requires additional FTE. Will
review in conjunction with
drafting the proposed budget.
17.5 • Improve Website:
The DCDAO’s website should be
improved to include educational
materials about the criminal justice
system, public service bulletins (e.g.
how to obtain Narcan), and
schedules of community events.
The DA can seek input from a
community advisory committee
about what should be on the
website. Once the Office’s data is
improved, the Office can post its
data on the website.
Planned TBD BJA grant application denied.
Planned for 2022.
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18 Police
• Prosecutor-Police Coordination of
Crime Data:
The prosecutor is a central hub for
all the police departments and can
assist with creating a centralized
data collection system to identify
and analyze crime trends. For
example, once countywide data is
collected, the prosecutors and the
police can strategize about pressing
crime issues such as drug
overdoses, or crime issues related
to homelessness. Modern
prosecutors work collectively with
their police departments on this
type of analytics.
Planned Dec-22 Implemented to the extent
possible at this time. If BJA
grant denied. Will need
additional funding and/or FTE.
PCE has recommended in several areas
to enhance our current interface/data
exchanges with other agencies.
The report undervalued the amount
of integrations that are currently active.
We have anywhere between 3-5 data
feeds between each agency that
exchange valuable information such as
court dates, court numbers, subpoenas,
charging information, evidence item
information, and officer vacation
schedules.
We have had several previous
discussions with law enforcement
agencies on this topic, and by July 1,
2021, will have a plan to address the
whether/how of additional integration.
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18.1 • Coordination of Release of
Information:
The police and DA should
coordinate regarding the release of
investigative information prior to a
press conference, particularly with
regard to victim and witness
information.
Completed They also recommend that we improve
connectivity with law enforcement
agencies in Deschutes County to
streamline the transfer of records from
law enforcement to our office.
If we are successful in improving our
connectivity with law enforcement, as
recommended by PCE, we will not need
a new fulltime position; we would only
need a .5 addition. If we’re unable to
achieve the degree of connectivity that is
envisioned by PCE, I recommend we add
a full-time FTE.
18.2 • DA-Police Collaboration on
Ongoing Challenges:
The DCDAO, as well as other
agencies in Deschutes County,
should work closely with the police
to address the homelessness issue
and the new law legalizing drugs.
This requires uniformity across
police departments and the
participation of the community and
Deschutes County officials.
Completed Completed training re new law
legalizing drugs. Continue to
work with police to address the
homelessness issue.
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19 Courts
• More Judges and More Space:
Deschutes County should advocate
for more judges that are
desperately needed. The
requirement for more judges will
be painfully apparent as the courts
re-open. Even if the Oregon
Legislature fails to appoint new
judges, the county should work to
have judges temporarily assigned
to the county or recruit retired
judges to do some of the more
routine matters. More Space for the
Courts: Regardless of how
additional judges are brought to
the county, they will need
additional space. The County
should immediately develop a plan
for how to accommodate two or
three new judges.
Competed Mar-22 No change is DDA to address
increased workload and
coverage for 2 additional
judges. With changes in
Pandemic protocols and
addressing the backlog of
cases in the warrant queue, we
expect that the impact of
unfilled DDA positions and
increased court time will have
an exponential impact on
workload.
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19.1 • Develop a Priority Trial System:
The DA and the public defender
should meet with the judges to
advocate for an improved method
of scheduling trials. Other counties
in Oregon have developed a priority
trial list that has been successful. A
priority list will give the litigants and
the witnesses some notice of which
cases are most likely to go forward,
thus reducing wasted time on cases
that end up being adjourned for
over for six months, leading to
year-long delays.
Completed The court directs the process and is not
seeking input on this matter at this time.
The Trial Court Administrator has
engaged in conversations on this topic
and DCDA provided input.
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19.2 • Relationship with the DA and the
Courts:
The DA should meet with the
presiding judge on a regular basis
to discuss issues of mutual interest;
this can also be done with the
public defender. This regular
contact should improve their
relationship and allow the DA to
explain new initiatives and hear
feedback about the DCDAO
attorneys. The DA can also alert the
presiding judge to rude or
inappropriate conduct of the
judges.
Completed Channels of communication
between DCDA and the Court
(via the Presiding Judge) are
open. The CDDAs and Team
Leads are having more
conversations with Judges
when appropriate.
Complete
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19.3 • Lessons Learned from the
Pandemic:
The pandemic has revealed many
new methods for appearing in
court. This has proven to be a
benefit for all concerned,
particularly witnesses and
defendants who can appear
remotely and do not have to take
time off from work or obtain
childcare. The courts, the DCDAO
and the public defender should
meet to discuss lessons learned
from the pandemic.
Completed Court procedures related to
appearances has been
announced by the Chief Justice.
The DC Presiding Judge has
asked for input throughout the
Pandemic, DCDA has been
responsive.
Complete
Recommendations not included in follow-up (Not agreed to)
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# Recommendations Comments
6 • Hiring an HR professional.
The Office should hire an HR professional, even if it is part-time or as
a consultant. This person can address HR issues in the Office and
assist with tasks such as leave, payroll, employee disputes, and
discipline. The HR professional can also help with developing formal
management protocols for the Office. This person can take over HR
tasks from the CDDAs.
I disagree with this recommendation. I will meet with Kathleen
Hinman to discuss the best way to address the HR needs of the
DA’s office. Perhaps a dedicated person in her office to devote a
certain amount of hours per month to the DA’s office, or a
consultant retained on an as-needed basis. In any event, I am not
recommending adding a new HR FTE to the DA’s office.
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# Recommendations Comments
10 • Supervision:
One member of the IT staff should be designated as the supervisor
and that person should report to the CDDAs, rather than to the DA.
PCE has recommended changing the current organizational
structure of IT. In the assessment they suggest “one member of
the IT staff should be designated as the supervisor and that
person should report to the CDDAs, rather than to the DA”. We
believe the IT department benefits from having an autonomous
methodology and I disagree with the recommendation, however,
we believe there should be adjustments in how we operate
internally for better accountability:
IT will implement an internal incident/ticketing system. This
system will provide clear understanding of incident prioritization,
delegation of tasks, and timelines for project completion to both
IT and the requestor. This would result in accountability for the IT
team while providing status information to requestors. This
system will be implemented by July 1st.
10.6 • Connectivity with the Courts:
DCDAO should receive a feed of data from the courts on pending
and disposed cases. This will significantly improve the DCDAO’s
ability to create accurate management reports.
We have reached the limits of integrating our case management
system with the courts. Unfortunately, at this time no further
integration is available.
12.2 • TAs or Law Students Charging Low Level Cases:
Various low-level cases are very routine. A TA or a law student can be
trained to prepare draft charges that can later be reviewed by a DDA.
This may be amenable to remote work and the TA or law student can
be very effective as they gain expertise in these charges and their
work will reduce the number of cases awaiting charging and
disposition.
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# Recommendations Comments
14.1 • Paralegal Training:
The TAs can be trained to do some legal work, such as writing
standard motions and letters, charging low level cases, and drafting
jury charges. A number of the TAs had done this type of work in
earlier jobs. The lawyers should always review and approve the work.
Would require reclassification of Trial Assistant to Paralegals.
Would be very interested in pursuing this if the commissioners
and budget committee would be open to reclassification of trial
assistants
14.5 • Crime analyst training:
Some of the TAs, who have the aptitude and interest, can be trained
as a crime analyst who can assist with internet research in support of
a case, as well as analyzing crime trends. This is a position that is
becoming common in modern prosecutor offices and can be
performed in collaboration with the DCDAO investigators. For more
information about the use of crime analysts in a prosecutor’s office
see: The Problem Solving Prosecutor – Modern Variations on the
Crime Strategies Unit. Crime analysts can do a variety of tasks
including:
o Gathering evidence in support of prosecutions, such as reviewing
social media posts, analyzing cell phone records, and gathering
related crime data.
o Analyzing crime patterns through statistics, maps, and timelines.
o Preparing presentations for trial or public events.
o Collaborating with law enforcement to gather evidence, especially
in areas where specialized knowledge of technology is required, such
as social media analysis.
Would require reclassification of Trial assistant to Paralegals.
Would be very interested in pursuing this if the commissioners
and budget committee would be open to reclassification of trial
assistants
{End of Report}