The San Francisco Superior Court plans to end a 50-year partnership with the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project later this year.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle
The San Francisco Superior Court plans to end a 50-year partnership with a local nonprofit that provides pre-trial diversion services over fiscal and oversight concerns with the program.
The court has decided to stop working with the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project later this year because the organization has for more than a year refused to release its financial records, which “prevents the Court from continuing the partnership in good faith,” Presiding Judge Rochelle East said Thursday.
The court said SF Pretrial has also for years turned in reports that are “inaccurate, overdue, or unclear,” including some stating that a person in the diversion program had failed to check in “when, in fact, the individual has been meeting all requirements.”
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“For many years, the Court has relied on SF Pretrial — and we are grateful for their dedication and partnership,” East said in a statement. “However, it is time to step away from that legacy partnership and align with all other California counties that partner with a transparent public sector department for pretrial services.”
Founded in 1976, SF Pretrial works with people who are out of custody while facing criminal charges, helping them attend court appearances, access rehabilitative services and avoid future arrests, according to its website.
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It is the only nonprofit in the state providing such services. In all other California counties, the services are offered through probation or another government agency.
The court in San Francisco now wants to transition pretrial services to the San Francisco Adult Probation Department, although such a move may depend on how funds are allocated through the city budget.
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The probation department in February submitted a $12.7 million budget proposal for a new pretrial services program, which it expects to include 54 full-time employees. It said it has already started recruiting staff.
Meanwhile, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office is seeking a $22.5 million three-year contract — roughly $7.5 million per year — with SF Pretrial for the same services. The nonprofit was selected in March through a competitive RFP process, records show.
Last year, SF Pretrial was placed on a list with 14 other nonprofit contractors in San Francisco with “serious fiscal or programmatic concerns,” according to a report by the Controller’s Office.
In response, the court requested its financial documents through a public records request last June, which it says the nonprofit has since failed to provide.
David Mauroff, who has been CEO of SF Pretrial for 8 years, said the information released by the court about his program contained “mischaracterizations,” which he planned to address in a forthcoming statement.
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Mauroff said his organization has been left out of discussions about the future of pretrial services in San Francisco.
“The decision to dismantle SF Pretrial is not in the best interest of public safety or our most vulnerable communities. We stand by our nationally recognized outcomes and hope to be part of the discussion about next steps,” he said.
There is no set date for a transition in pretrial service providers, according to the court, but it plans to extend a current contract with SF Pretrial through September while working on the transition.