Since 2010, the job of probation officers has drastically changed in California. Todays probation officers are faced with greater risk as they supervisor more sophisticated and violent offenders than ever before, due to realignment. Realignment has also caused juvenile detention officers to be faced with a more sophisticated and violent juvenile offender.
In 2012, Sacramento County Probation Association (SCPA) Executive Officers Timothy Sowards and Greg Stuber approached the Sacramento County Probation Association Board of Directors with the ideal of creating a benevolent fund for Sacramento County Probation Officers, with the goal of extending the fund over time to probation officers statewide. With their underling philosophy of training and officer safety there was no better person who embodied that philosophy than Retired Sr. DPO Randy Yamada. The SCPA Board unanimously agreed and supported the creation of the Randy Yamada Foundation.
The Randy Yamada Foundation (RYF) was created July 17, 2013 as a Charitable Organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.
Primary Purpose. The primary purpose of the Foundation shall be to maintain a benevolent fund to provide financial assistance to the spouses, families, and co-workers of fallen men and women who were employed as sworn peace officers by the Sacramento County Probation Department and were a member of their respective labor association.
Secondary Purpose. The secondary purposes of the Foundation shall be to maintain a benevolent fund to provide financial assistance (a) to any sworn peace officer, who is a member of his or her respective labor association, who suffers the loss of a spouse or child while employed by the Sacramento County Probation Department; (b) to any sworn peace officer or the officer’s spouse or child who suffers an emergency while the officer is employed by the Sacramento County Probation Department and a member of his or her respective labor association, under the conditions identified in the Standing Rules adopted by the Foundation Board of Directors; and (c) to the survivors of any sworn peace officer killed in the line of duty, under the conditions identified in the Standing Rules adopted by the Foundation Board of Directors.
The tertiary purpose of the Foundation shall be to provide educational support to family members of Sacramento County Probation Association (SCPA) members through scholarships and grants for educational purposes, including but not limited to community college and university attendance, housing, books and supplies; to give donations to local charitable and education youth groups; to provide scholarships to the community; and to carry on other charitable activities associated with these goals as allowed by law.