Debra Lewis Consulting

02/23/2025

News straight outta Inglewood, CA

02/18/2025

Judge Miguel Espinoza put off a decision on the fate of the troubled detention center until April 18 while he awaits two critical reports.

03/27/2023

California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to transform San Quentin State Prison, a facility in the San Francisco Bay Area known for maintaining the highest number of prisoners on death row in the country.

03/23/2023

Mr. Stevenson was one of 23 people honored at the White House.

03/13/2023

Keith Wattley will be a speaker at The Sentencing Project's upcoming LWOP webinar! Don't forget to register to join us March 14 from 2-3pm ET (11am-12pm PST) to learn more about the origins of LWOP sentences & how they've become increasingly commonplace.

bit.ly/TSPlwopwebinar

10/11/2022

10/07/2022

Image courtesy of the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF). This summer, Hawai`i made headlines for a milestone achievement several years in...

09/03/2022

https://buff.ly/3R4R9eO California’s shuttering of state-run youth is underway, but the local juvenile halls where young people will be transferred are far from the “trauma-informed” alternatives originally envisioned by authorities.

08/22/2022

SFPD's police chief says that the news of 14-year-old, a 13-year-old, and an 11-year-old being accused of violently beating and robbing a woman in San Francisco "shocks the conscience"... but is this common? Here's what a lawyer said:

02/26/2022

Judge Andrew Steckler has recused himself in light of allegations by defense attorneys that he increased a man’s prison term because he was mad at a deputy public defender.

01/14/2022

Alameda Family Services is so thrilled about our new partnership with the City of Alameda and the Alameda Fire Department. We believe that the CARE Team model will provide a much needed alternative to police response for mental health crises here in Alameda.

What is the CARE Team?

The CARE Team (Community Assessment Response & Engagement) provides a new way of responding to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. If you’re in crisis or see someone who may be in crisis, call 911 or 510-337-8340, the police non-emergency line, and explain the current situation so our dispatchers can determine if the CARE Team is the appropriate resource to send. If so, a mobile crisis team led by the Alameda Fire Department with a licensed Paramedic and an Emergency Medical Technician trained to respond to individuals experiencing mental health challenges will arrive in a low-profile vehicle. They’ll help the client navigate the best path forward and find resources, including 24/7 clinical care and case management from Alameda Family Services.

In the pilot program’s first 3 weeks, there were 32 calls for service, including 10 calls that used the on-call clinician to support the client on scene. 16 calls were referred by the CARE Team for follow-up case management and 7 clients are actively receiving services as a result. Read more about the CARE Team, including an FAQ with answers to some of the questions we have heard about this new program: www.alamedaca.gov/careteam.