"INTERACTIONS" The Newsletter of the California Association of Superior Court Investigators. CASCI Board

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1 F R E S N O S U P E R I O R C O U R T "INTERACTIONS" The Newsletter of the California Association of Superior Court Investigators W I N T E R CASCI Board Jo Cynthia Ann Morris Webb- President Beckford Fresno President County (559) San Francisco County Rebecca (415) Walsky Vice President Madera Max Krupnik County (559) Vice President Orange County Amy (657) Smith Treasurer Ventura Vacant County Treasurer (805) Madera County Bobbie Rowlands Secretary Nevada Jessica County Moorer (520) Secretary Placer & Yolo County Members at Large: (916) Kathy Dees Alameda County (510) Members at Large: Cynthia Kathy Dees Webb- Beckford Alameda County San Francisco County Susan Kasser (415) Ventura County Greetings to All CASCI Members! Welcome to the fall 2012 edition of Interactions. The Board has been working hard to update the CASCI website and working on an excellent training program for our 36 th annual CASCI Conference which is schedule for April 29, 2013-May 1, 2013 in beautiful San Rafael in Marin County across the bay from San Francisco, easily assessable from both San Francisco and Oakland International Airports. The conference site is Embassy Suites Marin at the very low cost of $89.00 per night. You will be able to earn all mandatory training hours at this conference and the Board encourages your participation and attendance. We are also working on updating the CASCI Directory and if you have not already, please send in any changes to Carol Lombard. Please contact Lori Coopwood to be added to the CASCI Listserve, a most useful and informative tool. We ask for your patience during this transition. As a matter of interest I would like to direct you to a series of articles regarding fiduciary abuse entitled Loss of Trust which can be accessed from the San Jose Mercury News at I as well as all the board members would like to wish a happy, safe and fulfilled holiday season for all. Cynthia Webb-Beckford Rick Carol Wishnak Lombard Sonoma Tehama County (707)

2 2012 CASCI Overall Conference Evaluation Recap Submitted by Max Krupnik The overall ratings for the 2012 CASCI Conference have been tallied with the following results: Twenty attendees rated the overall conference and topics as excellent, Seventeen attendees rated the overall conference and topics as very good. As for the overall rating of conference speakers, twenty-three attendees rated the speakers as excellent and fourteen attendees rated the speakers as very good. There was an interesting mix of Court Investigators at the conference, related to the number of years on the job. Five attendees indicated that they have been working as a Court Investigator for less than one year. Ten attendees have spent one to five years on the job, nine attendees have spent five to ten years on the job and thirteen attendees have been on the job for more than ten years. Many wonderful comments were received from attendees regarding the conference such as: 1. Speakers/topics were relevant to my job and cases I work on. 2. Enjoyed the opportunity to speak with other CI s and hear how they handle issues in their Courts. 3. The conference helped me in the learning process of conducting conservatorship and guardianship investigations. 4. Each class provided new and helpful information. 5. Obtained better understanding regarding investigative work and gathering information. 6. Topics applied well to everyday duties, presenters gave good information regarding testifying/report writing, learned a lot from Project WHAT! 7. Topics went in depth into dementia, substance abuse and mental illness. 8. Better understanding of interviewing elderly for conservatorship investigations. 9. Learned good information about report writing. 10. Learned more about accountings. 11. The conference helped me network with CI s in our field. 12. Deeper understanding of dementia and addiction. 13. The quality of the speakers exponentially improved my ability to do my job better and more professionally. 14. This conference added depth to my knowledge of the work and has given me new ideas for improving my methods. 15. Received good understanding regarding dual diagnosis and dementia. 16. Better understanding of children with incarcerated parents. 17. Enabled me to write better reports for the Court. Suggestions for improving the conference received from attendees included: 1. Provide snacks in between classes. 1. Provide agenda for business meeting. 2. Direct speakers to focus on CI issues. 3. Five minute breaks during two hour presentations. 4. Choose a more convenient location. 5. Encourage larger attendance. 6. More time. 7. Make each session ninety minutes instead of two hours. 8. Have experienced CI s meet and greet new CI s, as a form of welcome and networking. Make coffee available during the workshops and meetings.

3 Save the Date! Please join us for the 36th annual CASCI Conference scheduled to be held at the Embassy Suite Hotel in San Rafael on April 29, 2013 through May 1, The Board members would like to announce that there is a vacancy for chairperson of the Public Information Response Team (PIRT), and the Guardianship committee. There is also a vacancy for a Regional Representative for Region III. (Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne and Yolo) If you are able to serve in one of the above positions, please contact Cynthia Webb- Beckford at: cwebb-beckford@sftc.or CASCI LISTSERVE Our CASCI Yahoo Group is going strong, but not all CASCI members have joined this important, and informative, group resource. In order to join, send an to List Serve Manager, Lori Coopwood, at lcoopwood@courtinvestigations.com TO JOIN THE CASCI LISTSERVE, YOU MUST BE A PAID CASCI MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING.

4 Join us in wishing the following retiree s a fond farewell and best wishes in future endeavors, (even if only to rest, relax and travel!) Kelly Jensen: Superior Court Investigator Sonoma County Superior Court Kelly is retiring after 25 years with the county courts, eight of which were as a court investigator. Kelly was extremely knowledgeable about the system and very thorough in her duties. She was always reliable and able to help whenever it was needed. She is sorely missed. John Storm, Part-time investigator, Sonoma County Superior Court, retirement date: October 15, 2012 John s career was primarily as Probation Officer, first with contra Costa County and then for 30 years as a Federal Probation Officer. After he retired from the federal government, he came to Sonoma to work part-time in our office. He has been here for 7 years and is a fiscal fraud expert. As you can imagine he too will be sorely missed. Rick Wishnak, Manager Sonoma County Superior Court Nancy Petraborg, Supervising Court Investigator, Orange County Superior Court, retirement date: March 19, 2012 Nancy is happily spending her free time travelling remodeling her home and taking creative writing classes. Nancy Ward, Court Investigator, Orange County Superior Court, retirement date: July 2012 She and her husband Larry are enjoying long road trips with members of their Corvette club. Constance Catlapp Orange County Superior Court

5 CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF SUPERIOR COURT INVESTIGATORS (CASCI) 2012 Membership Dues Statement CASCI Membership Benefits: Statewide and Regional CASCI conferences at discounted rates; Access to the CASCI Listserve - an forum with other CASCI members; Access to the Statewide CASCI Directory. The CASCI Listserve is for the benefit of CASCI members in good standing. The only way to join this very informative exchange service is to send an to List Serve Manager, Lori Coopwood, at Lcoopwood@courtinvestigations.com. Name: Title: County: Office address: Phone: Fax: Please make your Check/Money Order out to CASCI for $50.00 (per investigator) and mail to: Cynthia Webb-Beckford San Francisco Superior Court 400 McAllister Street, Room 202 San Francisco, CA Fax: (415)

6 REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES & UPDATES Region I Eldon Johnston (Colusa County) (530) Counties: Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba. Region II Cynthia Webb-Beckford (San Francisco County) (415) Counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma. Region III Vacant Counties: Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, Placer, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne and Yolo. Region IV Christel May (San Diego County) (619) Counties: Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. TASK FORCE COMMITTEES Legislative Task Force Chairperson Vince Morda (Ventura County) DeeDee.Blackwood@slo.courts.ca.gov Guardianship Task Force Chairperson Vacant P.I.R.T. Task Force Chairperson Vacant

7 P A G E 7 REMEMBER!!! According to California Rules of Court , new Court Investigators must complete 18 hours of education within one year of his/her start date. Established Court Investigators must complete 12 hours of education each year. CASCI is an AOC-approved provider of these mandatory education requirements. Also, CIs must keep accurate records for two full years of his/her participation in every program and/or training fulfilling the educational requirements. CASCI MEMBERSHIP Being a CASCI member will save you $$$ on the cost of the annual statewide CASCI Conference, plus give you members-only benefits like exclusive access to the CASCI Listserv, a great resource for Court Investigators throughout the state of California. In addition, you are helping to support a group dedicated to providing training, an updated directory of court investigators, and legislation updates for all California Court Investigators. Annual dues (calendar year) are $ The membership form is available on the CASCI website. If you would like to join or renew for 2012, please send your check, along with your name, title, county, work address/telephone, as well as your address to: **Please make your Check/Money Order out to CASCI Cynthia Webb-Beckford San Francisco Superior Court 400 McAllister Street, Room 202 San Francisco, CA Fax: (415) CASCI WESBSITE The CASCI website at contains valuable information for all Court Investigators. We do our best to keep it up to date. For questions about the website, please contact Max Krupnik or at: mkrupnik@occourts.org