As defined in reauthorizations of the JJDP Act, each state's SAG must consist of at least 15 members with special knowledge or training concerning the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency and administration of juvenile justice. Members must represent a broad spectrum, including locally elected officials, representatives of law enforcement and juvenile justice agencies, public and private nonprofit agencies concerned with delinquency prevention and treatment, volunteers and youth workers who work with delinquent or at-risk youth, persons with special experience in school violence, alternatives to suspension or expulsion, learning disabilities, mental health problems, and child abuse and neglect. In addition, a majority of the members (including the chair) cannot be full-time state or local government employees, one fifth of the members must be under the age of 24 at the time of appointment, and at least three members must have been (or be) involved in the juvenile justice system. The CSA is responsible for assuring that the SAG membership complies with all federal statutes.

In carrying out its responsibilities, California's SAG serves as an Executive Steering Committee (ESC) of the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA). The ESC approach is a model for making better decisions on activities, projects and programs that will be implemented and managed by through the involvement of state and local subject matter experts. The process, in brief, consists of CSA staff preparing and presenting information to an ESC, which reviews the information, collects additional data if necessary, and submits recommendations to the CSA. In grant administration, the CSA appoints the ESC to provide recommendations on program design, implementation and operation as well as funding awards. Specific responsibilities often include the development of the technical requirements, rating criteria and evaluation process for the Request for Proposals. The CSA makes final funding decisions based on the recommendations of the ESC. The CSA has experienced no appeals of any funding decision as a result of this ESC process.

There are times when the complexity of an assigned task and the time frame for completing it create a need to expand the data collection and/or issue discussion efforts beyond the ESC. For this reason, the CSA provides executive steering committees the option of establishing subcommittees (typically called workgroups) to allow for the most informed decisions possible and, if appropriate, to develop preliminary recommendations for consideration by the ESC.

In order to allow the SAG to compliment this highly successful ESC approach, the Governor has entrusted the Chair of the CSA with the responsibility for developing recommendations on appointments to the SAG, including the chair (who must always be an eligible member of the CSA). The Governor makes all appointments to the SAG (current list of SAG members).