Piloting Pretrial Service Referrals in in Alameda County

Project Context: 

• Judges in the Superior Court of Alameda County (California) have a limited set of tools available during their pretrial decisions. They can either detain an individual or release them under one of three circumstances: on their own recognizance, on cash bail, or on passive or active supervision with conditions, including GPS and/or alcohol monitoring. 
• Court leaders in Alameda County wanted focus on providing service navigation, individualized support, and access to resources to clients during the pretrial period to remove barriers to compliance with court-ordered obligations. 
• The Superior Court of Alameda County piloted a service referral program to test whether connecting clients to service providers could reduce future involvement in the criminal legal system and shift spending from incarcerating people to treating and supporting them. This involved: 
  • Working within the Collaborative Courts system to help clients with substance use treatment. 
  • Partnering with Alameda County Behavioral Health to refer clients to behavioral health or supportive services, such as housing and mental health services. 
• Limited provider capacity and other barriers mean many pretrial clients may remain incarcerated until trial or are at risk of unsuccessful outcomes while on pretrial release (e.g., new criminal activity, failure to appear). 
• The GPL began providing technical assistance to the Superior Court of Alameda County as a part of the 2023 Pretrial Initiative and continued that support through the 2024 Pretrial Initiative. 

How the GPL Supported: 

• Designed a pilot to strengthen the pretrial service referral system. The pilot: 
  • Expanded service referrals to every person awaiting trial, regardless of risk level. 
  • Increased judges’ understanding of individual pretrial clients’ needs. 
  • Ensured all pretrial clients get information about available resources and supports, including an index of local service providers that case managers can use with clients during the referral process. 
• Facilitated expansion of the pilot to include more comprehensive case management services, program evaluation, and collection of client feedback. 

Results: 

• The Superior Court of Alameda County, with support from Alameda County Behavioral Health, successfully assessed 190 clients through the pilot program and provided them with recommendations for supportive services, such as substance use treatment and affordable housing. 
• As of December 2025, Alameda County had contracts with seven service providers that were informed by the needs assessment performed on those 190 clients in the pilot, including: 
  • Sober living housing 
  • Outpatient treatment 
  • Anger management 
  • Parenting classes 
  • Employment support 
• Building on the pilot’s results, Alameda County also committed to a $3 million expansion in 2026 to staff the program, creating 12 dedicated case management positions contracted through a community-led nonprofit provider to help people awaiting trial connect with the service providers. 

Project Tool: Index of Providers Servicing Alameda Pretrial Clients

The GPL supported the Superior Court of Alameda County in building an index for provider services (pictured above). Case managers use the index to help people awaiting trial connect to services. 

Image courtesy of the Superior Court of Alameda County. To access the tool, visit: https://www.alameda.courts.ca.gov/pretrial-service-recommendation-project 

GPL Project in the News:

• Alameda County’s Pretrial Resource Centers: Support Is a Winning Strategy (APPR) 
• People awaiting trial in Alameda County now have better access to resources (The Oaklandside) 
• Alameda County court links defendants with caseworkers to prevent recidivism (KTVU FOX 2)