Soon to be ankling Probation Chief Don Blevins is back from vacation looking very tanned and cheerful.
The latest word (from sources close to probation and the Board of Supes) is that, although Blevins was informed two weeks ago (as WLA reported) it is time for him and LA County Probation to part ways (translation: the Supervisors have the votes to fire him if they want to), he will likely not be fired but will resign—which would be better for everyone. It’s not clear that his exit package has been finalized, which may still be the sticking point. But the deal is reportedly close.
As reported earlier, the Sups interviewed a contender for Blevins’ job on Tuesday. No word what they thought of the candidate.
Probation’s second in command, Cal Remington, is reportedly set to step in as the Interim Chief. (He was Interim Chief before Blevins arrived.)
Remington is well liked as a smart and solid administrator with an ability to get along with the various personalities on the Board of Supervisors plus others such as union bosses.
Although at first, some were startled by the move to replace Blevins just as the first of the state’s “realignment” parolees were being handed over to LA County control on October 1. But Remington is viewed as having a steady hand.
Some would like him to stay on for the duration, but thus far he has not agreed to do so.
Rumors that the Probation Chief was headed for the door have been circulating for nearly six months. Yet, until last month, the Board of Supes didn’t have three firm votes to oust Chief Blevins who was increasingly viewed as not up to the task of reforming a badly broken Probation Department.
Now they do have the necessary three votes.
It didn’t help the beleaguered Chief that, in July, multiple employees’ unions called a press conference and announced a very public vote of No Confidence in Blevins.
Blevins.
However, it is likely that the decision to replace Blevins has most to do with the last couple of scathing reports from the Justice Department regarding the depressing lack of progress in reforming the County’s juvenile probation camps, as required by the Department of Justice.
The juvenile camps must be in “substantial compliance” with the Feds requirements by Oct. 31, or Justice could impose a consent decree and take over management of juvenile camps. As it stands now, sources close to the compliance efforts say that the Oct. 31 marks will not be met—not even close.
With the threat of a Federal Consent Decree looming ever larger, and problems like widespread employee absenteeism throughout the Probation department remaining unsolved, the Supervisors likely felt they had little choice but to move on Blevins, and to move fast.
But if a mutual parting of the ways can be engineered-–as it appears that it nearly has been—so much the better.