History Of The Commission
History
On October 17, 2017, the Board of Supervisors directed the Chief Executive Officer to lead a workgroup create an independent entity “focused on Probation Department reform and public accountability as well as coordination of existing recommendations and efforts produced to date.”
On April 9, 2018, the Chief Executive Officer recommended the creation of the Probation Reform Implementation Team (PRIT) to drive this initiative forward. The PRIT was a temporary entity charged with completing the necessary administrative tasks to transform the County’s Probation Commission into the Probation Oversight Commission (POC).
On May 1, 2018, the Board unanimously adopted the Chief Executive Officer’s recommendations and established the POC and a comprehensive reform plan. The PRIT coordinated and prioritized the various recommendations aimed at reforming the Probation Department and reduced these recommendations into a reformation plan.
On June 5, 2019, the PRIT “unveiled its report proposing powers, duties, and a structure to provide oversight of the [Probation] Department” (BOS Motion, 10/01/19 - 140843.pdf (lacounty.gov)). The Board approved creation of the POC in 2019, appointed the nine commissioners late in 2020, and hired the first Executive Director, Wendelyn Julien, Esq., to begin on February 1, 2021. The inaugural meeting of the POC was held on February 22, 2021. By December of 2021, the POC had five staff members, developed a strategic operating plan focusing on nine of the PRIT’s 98 reform priorities, had inspected all eight juvenile institutions and engaged thousands of community members in meetings and town halls.