Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 26-000071
MEETING DATE:	03/10/26
legal entity taking action:	Board of Supervisors
board of supervisors district(s):	All Districts
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	District Attorney (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Matthew Pettit (714) 347-8440
	Keith Bogardus (714) 347-0511

Subject: Appoint Extra Help Working Retirees

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Do Not Concur

No Legal Objection

Discussion

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: Yes

Current Year Cost: $90,256

Annual Cost: $173,292

Staffing Impact:

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: GF: 50%, State: 50% (Prop 172)	County Audit in last 3 years: No
Levine Act Review Completed: N/A

Prior Board Action: N/A

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Approve the appointment of Anne Selin and Barrie Pink as Extra Help Working Retiree Deputy District Attorneys to perform critical legal services on behalf of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office pursuant to Section 7522.56(f) of the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013.

SUMMARY:

Approval of the appointments of Ms. Selin and Ms. Pink as Extra Help Working Retiree Deputy District Attorneys will allow the candidates to perform critical legal services on behalf of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) has identified the need to utilize two Extra Help Retirees for approximately 12 months because of their leadership and subject matter expertise in critical areas.

Anne Selin- Mental Health/Recidivism Reduction Unit

OCDA requests approval for Ms. Selin to continue to work in the District Attorney’s Office after her retirement in March 2026 and to waive the 180-day waiting period so she may begin working immediately. Ms. Selin has been a prosecutor for over 34 years and currently serves as Assistant Head of Court/Senior Deputy District Attorney assigned to the Mental Health/Recidivism Reduction Unit. For the last twenty years, Ms. Selin has been assigned to the Collaborative Courts covering WIT Court, Recovery Court, Opportunity Court, Assisted Intervention Court, Veterans Treatment Court, Drug Court, DUI Court, Military Diversion, and Homeless Outreach Court, and she is considered the OCDA subject matter expert in virtually all operations in the Collaborative Courts. Orange County has been a leader in the development of model problem-solving courts, not only in California but on a national stage. For the past two decades, Ms. Selin has helped drive policy, guidelines, and procedures on behalf of the OCDA together with county partners, both at the ground level in court, as well as through the Collaborative Court Advisory and Steering Committees.

In her current assignment, Ms. Selin oversees the Collaborative Mental Health Treatment Courts and participates in the team that reviews all the mental health evaluations for all the Collaborative Courts. She provides input on placement recommendations, determining which cases require a DA waiver for an individual to be eligible to participate in the Collaborative Courts in order to balance the individual’s need for the program with the public safety needs of the community. Ms. Selin’s vast experience spanning over 20 years in the collaborative court space makes her the most trusted expert in the DA’s office to make these difficult decisions. In addition, Ms. Selin has played a significant role in design and development, and currently directs OCDA’s FIRST Point pre-filing diversion program, a unique prosecution-led diversion program incorporated in the County of Orange 2025 OC Cares Vision and Strategic Plan. This year, OCDA made the decision to expand FIRST Point to other law enforcement agencies beyond the pilot agencies of OCSD, Seal Beach PD, and Irvine PD.

Ms. Selin’s work is critical, and her retirement creates a huge void of experience the DA’s office will not be able to fill promptly with a replacement attorney. If approved to continue to work as an extra help working retiree, Ms. Selin will begin working immediately following her retirement, so she can continue to provide her leadership and expertise in the Collaborative Courts and with FIRST Point.

Barrie Pink – Insurance Fraud and Public Assistance Units

OCDA also requests approval for Ms. Pink to continue to work in the District Attorney’s Office after her retirement in March 2026 and to waive the 180-day waiting period so she may begin working immediately. There is a critical need to have Ms. Pink continue to work in OCDA after her retirement in March 2026 because the workload in the District Attorney’s Office exceeds the available personnel, and the shortage is particularly acute with respect to experienced attorneys. Ms. Pink has been a prosecutor for 28 years and currently serves as a Senior Deputy District Attorney assigned to both the Insurance Fraud and the Public Assistance Units while also overseeing the Pre-Filing Disposition Program. For approximately 5 years, Ms. Pink has been the sole DDA handling the Public Assistance Division’s (PAD) caseload. Since taking over PAD’s caseload, Ms. Pink gained extensive subject matter expertise and familiarity with social services procedures that cannot be quickly taught.

The investigation and prosecution of Public Assistance fraud is time-consuming and requires the review of voluminous evidence. Ms. Pink has multiple active investigations and prosecutions that cannot be easily reassigned. The amount of time it would take to bring another DDA up to speed on the case facts in addition to familiarizing themselves with the ways in which the PAD and Social Services Agency operate, would create a delay in investigative and prosecutorial efforts.

OCDA needs Ms. Pink to begin working immediately following her retirement so that she can continue to provide her expertise and experience in these areas of law while a suitable replacement is identified and trained to assume these responsibilities.

The District Attorney’s Office intends to initiate a recruitment process to backfill the workload associated with these positions. Should these positions be subject to the ongoing hiring freeze once vacated, the office will seek the necessary approvals to proceed. In the interim, the requested extra help retirees will provide essential support to ensure continuity of operations.

Because Ms. Selin and Ms. Pink will be retired from their positions less than 180 days from the date of retirement, the appointment as Extra Help Retiree Deputy District Attorneys requires Board approval in order to comply with the Working Retiree Reemployment Policy and the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013, Section 7522.56 (f).

Upon Board approval of the appointment, Ms. Selin and Ms. Pink will be supervised by Senior Assistant District Attorneys and the terms of their employment will be governed by the County’s Working Retiree Reemployment Policy that limits assignments to no more than 960 hours per fiscal year at an hourly rate not to exceed 80 percent of the hourly rate that the employee earned at the time of retirement, or Step 1 of the salary range if 80 percent is less than Step 1.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

OCDA is planning for these Extra Help Retirees to both work approximately 500 hours each in the remaining months of FY25-26 and the funding for these roles will be covered by salary savings in Budget Control 026 due to positions remaining vacant for the remainder of FY25-26. Due to the anticipated 6–9 months recruitment timeline, these positions are not expected to be filled until next fiscal year. Utilizing these Extra Help-Retiree classifications allows the department to stay within its existing budget while preserving essential institutional knowledge. These positions are planned to be temporarily covered by 960-hours extra-help retirees in the next fiscal year’s budget until permanent recruitment is completed.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Government Code Section 7522.56
Attachment B - Working Retiree Reemployment Policy