Amador County – During a special Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, many questions were raised about the plan for the 445 employees who will ultimately lose their jobs or be transferred as a result of the planned closure of Preston Youth Correctional Facility.
CDCR Undersecretary Scott Kernan said the closure is “a population and money issue” stemming from $39 million in cuts to the DJJ and a total of $1.4 billion in cuts to the CDCR by the state. He said “we only get resources for the (ward) population we have.” He said the area of layoff will be limited to Amador County, and the “details of reemployment won’t be realized until we sit down with the labor organizations.”
Chairman Brian Oneto asked about bumping rights, and if they will hold open positions specific to the surrounding area. Kernan said “employees will be able to take any vacancies throughout the department” and the “entire state system is currently on limited term.”
Hellan Roth Dowden, a representative of SEIU Local 1000, stood up in the audience to say “we want to let Kernan know that we want to increase the area of layoff to beyond Amador County.” Kernan said they will discuss this later.
Assemblymember Alyson Huber pushed for firm dates on employee layoffs, ward transfers and other closure procedures. She also asked: “What is the plan for all the staff if you just keep transferring wards to other academies?”
Kernan said they are balancing staff among the facilities and DJJ Chief Deputy Secretary Rachel Rios said “the timeframes we give you are fluid because there are certain notifications over time that staff are entitled to.” Neither official could provide definite dates for layoff procedures. Rios said the number of staff relates to ward population figures, and “all new commitants have stopped going into Preston.”
During public comment, Jerry Cassesi said Amador is “a much more depressed, small county” and this is “not the way to treat a community that has supported these facilities for many, many years and (generations).” He pointed out that Preston is on the Ione city seal. He said you could close a facility in Stockton “with essentially zero impact.”
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