Santa Clara County leaders want to reduce recidivism at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas and plan to study offering transportation and housing options upon release.
Unlike the county’s main jail in San Jose, Elmwood doesn’t have a nearby resource center to help formerly incarcerated people reenter society when released. Elmwood releases often occur in the early morning and late night hours when essential reentry services are closed. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to explore the creation of a dedicated on-site resource center that could provide food, hygiene kits, phone access and connections to housing and behavioral health programs.
The idea comes from Board President Otto Lee after a recent visit to the facility, where he said he witnessed a “significant shortfall” in reentry services.
“Our goal should always be to decrease our jail population,” Lee said at the meeting. “But we aren’t trending in that direction based on the numbers we’re looking at.”
Elmwood offers a shuttle service for recently released people to get to the county’s existing Reentry Resource Center in San Jose, but it’s not always practical. Santa Clara County has the highest number of county late night jail releases at 35% compared to Alameda at 10%, Contra Costa at 17% and San Mateo at 10%, according to data from the Sheriff’s Office. Varying release hours make it difficult to coordinate reliable shuttle schedules and offers inconsistent access to behavioral health screenings, direct housing placements and intensive case management for people at the highest risk of ending up in jail again.
Sheriff Bob Jonsen supports Lee’s request, which he said is particularly urgent for late-night releases.
“These (releases) can significantly contribute to higher recidivism rates, placing individuals in precarious situations right at the start of their reintegration journey,” Jonsen told San José Spotlight. “I envision providing clear information and access points for these resources directly outside our facility, ensuring a seamless and supportive transition for all individuals in need.”
Lee’s idea found a notable champion at Tuesday’s meeting from Superior Court Judge Stephen Manley, the architect of Santa Clara County behavioral health court which in 1994 started diverting people from jail into treatment and has since become a national model.
“What we have learned through research is this effort really succeeds when you greet and meet the individual when they are leaving custody, rather than having a delay,” Manley said in support of Lee’s request. “The delay leads to people not being in treatment or getting the services they really need.”
County officials said a resource center at Elmwood would ideally be open from 7 a.m.- 12 a.m. to ensure access at all release times. They’re also drawing inspiration from the existing resource center near the main jail in San Jose and the Pima County Transition Center in Arizona, which offers food, phone charging, hygiene kits and emergency housing and mental health treatment center referrals adjacent to the county jail facility.
Santa Clara County officials voiced excitement about Pima County’s reported results, with rearrests dropping to less than 10% among people who used the center compared to a 27% rate among people who did not. Additionally, Pima County reported substantial cost savings due to a drop in recidivism, estimated at approximately $80,000 per month for local municipalities, totaling roughly $940,000 since its inception in August 2023.
The potential for future reentry services comes after two violent incidents this year among people incarcerated at Elmwood — one of them fatal. It prompted the NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley to call out a lack of oversight in emails to county leaders. Elmwood also had the bulk of all inmate deaths in county jails last year, which overall reached a 20-year high.
“This situation underscores a troubling pattern of attacks that the Sheriff’s Office has failed to address transparently,” NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley President Sean Allen, a former correctional officer, wrote to county leaders on March 3. “They have not adequately protected those who are un-sentenced, unadjusted, and presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
Some residents at the meeting voiced concern the county’s existing resource center also lacks accessible hours. The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, and the first Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Javier Aguirre, director of the county’s Office of Reentry Services, said the county resource center extended its hours to 8 p.m. during the pandemic, but didn’t receive as many clients as expected.
Supervisor Sylvia Arenas requested Lee gather feedback from formerly incarcerated people, some of whom spoke in support of the idea at the meeting. But they also complained his request lacked that input.
“I think it makes a lot of sense and would be really meaningful,” Arenas said at the meeting.
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
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