The Tule River Indian Reservation is located 15 miles east of Porterville, California. The Reservation is 55,000 acres along the western slope of the Sierra Mountains and is bordered by the Sequoia National Park on all sides.
LACO assisted the Tribe in the permitting and entitlements for their Justice Center including completion of an environmental assessment (EA), a biological assessment, CEQA compliance, and a cultural resource report. As the first Department of Justice (DOJ) Correctional Facility on Tribal Lands in California, the project was particularly challenging as the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, was not familiar with the California Indian experience.
The project consists of a single-tribe multi-purpose justice center. Plans include a two-story, 12,490 square foot building with a parking lot. The proposed Justice Center will align with the other tribal and non-tribal social service, health, and legal entities to provide probation services, substance abuse, and mental health screening, assessment, and treatment services, employment assistance, family reunification, and referrals. The Tribe will coordinate inmate services with the California Department of Corrections and the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department on issues including parole supervision, probation monitoring, court supervision, transportation, and case management. The facility was completed in November 2014.