(Woodland, CA) November 30, 2020 – Yolo County District Attorney’s Neighborhood Court Program, Step to Success, held its graduation for seven participants on November 30, 2020, at 1:30pm.
Step to Success (S2S) is an expansion of the existing Neighborhood Court (NHC) program model, funded by a grant under Proposition 47. S2S is voluntary diversion program that utilizes restorative justice conferences with collaborative supervision between probation and a CommuniCare case manager. S2S provides assistance to individuals seeking help with mental health and/or substance use disorders linked to their criminal behavior.
Yolo’s Neighborhood Court is one of the few in the country to use restorative justice practices to resolve cases for adults facing criminal convictions. The program began as a pilot project serving first-time offenders in the City of Davis in 2013. By 2015, the program had expanded to include West Sacramento, Woodland, and other areas of Yolo County. Neighborhood Court has broadened beyond the scope of its original design and has expanded its eligibility criteria, to include some low level felony crimes and offenders who may have had previous convictions.
Neighborhood Court allows offenders the ability to resolve criminal cases outside of the traditional court process without receiving a conviction on their record. The program relies heavily upon community volunteers, who meet with participants to discuss the harms from their conduct, in an effort to reach an appropriate resolution that addresses the underlying causes of the criminal offense.
This graduation was unique in that it was done over Zoom due to the COVID pandemic with guest speakers, staff, community volunteers, and their family members. Adriana Galvez of Communicare welcomed everyone and congratulated the graduates. She invited Health & Human Services Branch Director Ian Evans to speak and he praised the graduates for their dedication. Next, District Attorney Jeff Reisig to addressed the graduates. “You all have worked so hard to make this happen,” said Reisig. “We are proud of you and know you will continue to put in the work as you move forward on your journey to healing.” West Sacramento Police Chief Rob Strange told the graduates, “what you did was no cake walk. It’s hard to do it and to do it successfully. Well done!” Finally, Galvez invited the graduates to speak. Alyca Reynolds said “Steps to Success helped me move on to bigger and better things. I moved out of the state and am now writing a book about my life.” She thanked the Steps to Success Staff and told the audience “remember, you don’t have to stay where you are planted.” Galvez concluded the ceremony by thanking staff for their hard work in assisting the graduating class.
Yolo’s Neighborhood Court is one of the few in the country to use restorative justice practices to resolve cases for adults facing criminal convictions. The program began as a pilot project serving first-time offenders in the City of Davis in 2013. By 2015, the program had expanded to include West Sacramento, Woodland, and other areas of Yolo County. Neighborhood Court has broadened beyond the scope of its original design and has expanded its eligibility criteria, to include some low level felony crimes and offenders who may have had previous convictions.
Neighborhood Court allows offenders the ability to resolve criminal cases outside of the traditional court process without receiving a conviction on their record. The program relies heavily upon community volunteers, who meet with participants to discuss the harms from their conduct, in an effort to reach an appropriate resolution that addresses the underlying causes of the criminal offense. If you would like to be part of the graduation please email maria.sanchez@yolocounty.org to receive the zoom link to the graduation.
For more information about the Neighborhood Court program, or Step to Success please visit https://yoloda.org/nc. You may also contact the program staff directly by e-mail at neighborhoodcourt@yolocounty.org or by phone at (530) 666-8401.
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