Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to contract with a private nonprofit agency or agencies to establish and operate a visitor center outside each state adult prison in California that has a population of more than 300 inmates. Under existing law, those visitor centers are required to provide minimum services to prison visitors, including, among other services, assistance with transportation between public transit terminals and prisons, child care for visitors children, and referral to other agencies and services.

This bill would appropriate $1,500,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for allocation to the Counties of Alameda, Coachella, Los Angeles, Monterey, Riverside, and Santa Clara to implement pilot programs in those counties to provide reentry services and support to persons who are, or who are scheduled to be, released from a county jail. The bill would require the pilot programs to include specified components, including support services for parents and a mentorship program. The bill would require each county that elects to implement one or more pilot programs pursuant to these provisions to conduct a study and submit to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2022, a report evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot programs in the county. The bill would also include a statement of legislative findings and declarations.

Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to contract with a private nonprofit agency or agencies to establish and operate a visitor center outside each state adult prison in California which that has a population of more than 300 inmates. Under existing law, those visitor centers are required to provide minimum services to prison visitors, including, among other services, assistance with transportation between public transit terminals and prisons, child care for visitors children, and referral to other agencies and services.

Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to contract with a private nonprofit agency or agencies to establish and operate a visitor center outside each state adult prison in California which has a population of more than 300 inmates. Under existing law, those visitor centers are required to provide minimum services to prison visitors, including, among other services, assistance with transportation between public transit terminals and prisons, child care for visitors children, and referral to other agencies and services.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that supports and creates culturally competent programs that increase opportunities for family friendly contact during and after imprisonment, that funds and creates culturally competent programmatic support services and reentry strategies outside of imprisonment that support fatherhood involvement, family reunification, and family strengthening, and that supports expanded funding for innovation on culturally relevant parenting, fatherhood support, and young male mentorship. The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations.

Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 2114

Author:(Eduardo Garcia) – As Amended Ver:April 12, 2016

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill appropriates $1.5 million General Fund (GF) for the purpose of creating pilot programs in Alameda, Riverside, Los Angeles, Monterey and Santa Clara counties to provide reentry services and support for persons who are, or are scheduled to be, released from county jail. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires each pilot program that receives funding pursuant to this section include all of the following components:
2. Support services for recipients who are parents;
3. A mentorship program that employs a culturally relevant, population-specific approach that has been employed by nonprofit organizations such as the National Compadres Network and the Brotherhood of Elders;
4. The establishment of a collaborative body of training and technical advisors;
5. The establishment of a Youth Advisory Council to help inform and guide program leaders;
6. Leadership opportunities, particularly for youth;
7. Services to address mental health issues, including mental health issues relating to sexual exploitation, racial and ethnic disparities, and trauma; and
8. An advisory committee in each county to oversee the establishment and implementation of the pilot program in the county.
9. States that a pilot program will be eligible to receive funding pursuant to this section only if the service providers meet specific criteria, such as: 1) proven track record of providing meaningful, culturally-based programming; 2) offers services that support culturally-based family strengthening, character development, and community mobilization; and 3) offers services both before and after the recipient’s release from a county jail.
10. Requires counties that elect to participate in a pilot program to conduct a study and report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the pilot program.

FISCAL EFFECT:

One-time $1.5 million GF appropriation to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (CDCR).

COMMENTS:

1. Background. Under current law, CDCR is authorized to operate pilot programs that affect inmates. Preference is given to counties siting reentry centers and mental health day treatment and crisis care so that parolees with mental health and substance abuse needs can continue to receive services at the conclusion of their period of parole.

To assist inmates who are about to be released, CDCR has created many offender programs under the Office of Offender Services. These programs include Substance Abuse Services Coordination Agencies, for referral, placement and treatment for drug abuse with case managers; the Female Offender Treatment and Employment Program, which allows female parolees to live with their children in a community setting for up to 15 months; the Parolee Services Network, which connects CDCR to the Department of Healthcare Services; and Parolee Service Centers, which provide residency and support services to help parolees maintain employment.

1. Purpose. According to the author, "AB 2114 seeks to address the social and systemic barriers that incarcerated and previously incarcerated men and woman face through facilitating healthy relationships with their families.

“Addressing the barriers faced by re-entry from prison not only supports the well-being of the individual and their families but also the strengthening of their communities.”

This bill would create additional pilot programs to help parents in the criminal justice system connect with their children while they serve their commitments.

1. Support. According to Youth Alliance, “AB 2114 provides critical support to help transform lives and families by creating additional paths of hope and opportunity to a significantly underserved and highly impacted population.
2. Prior Legislation: AB 900 (Solorio), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007, requires CDCR to develop and implement a plan to obtain additional rehabilitation and treatment services for prison inmates and parolees, an Inmate Treatment and Prison-to-Employment Plan, and creates the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board.

Analysis Prepared by: Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 19, 2016

Consultant: Matt Dean

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:

Author:() – As Ver:April 12, 2016

SUMMARY:

Appropriates $1.5 million for the purpose of creating reentry service pilot programs in Alameda, Riverside, Los Angeles, Monterey and Santa Clara counties. Specifically, this bill:

1. Finds and declares all of the following:
   1. Studies have consistently found that prisoners who maintain close contact with their family members while incarcerated have better post-release outcomes and lower recidivism rates. Despite this, corrections officials are often obstinate in supporting this communication with respect to written correspondence, visitation, and phone calls;
   2. Revising visitation policies to facilitate visits by family members, investing in prison-based literacy programs and less restrictive mail policies, and reducing intrastate prison and jail phone rates would provide prisoners with greater opportunities to maintain close relationships with their families;
   3. Research cites that positive fatherhood involvement improves life trajectory for a child. Also, fatherhood involvement in a child’s life protects against risk factors that pose harm to children, such as problematic behavior, maternal depression, and family economic hardship. Fatherhood involvement is also associated with promoting children’s social and language skills; and
   4. Specific examples of culturally relevant approaches to parenting, fatherhood support, and young male mentorship include Cara y Corazón, El Joven Noble, and Circulo de Hombres, which have been chosen as the culturally based family strengthening interventions in other initiatives.
2. States that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that accomplishes all of the following:
   1. Supports and creates culturally competent programs that increase opportunities for family friendly contact during and after imprisonment;
   2. Funds and creates culturally competent programmatic support services and reentry strategies outside of imprisonment that support fatherhood involvement, family reunification, and family strengthening; and
   3. Supports expanded funding for innovation on culturally relevant parenting, fatherhood support, and young male mentorship to decrease the risk of violence, suicide, and other traumas that children of prisoners who are under 17 years of age may be exposed to by providing education, skills-based training, and early intervention and treatment referrals to parents, families, and children.
3. Appropriates the sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) from the General Fund to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
4. States that the funds appropriated shall be allocated to each of the following five counties in the event any of these counties elect to participate in a pilot program: Alameda, Riverside, Los Angeles, Monterey, and Santa Clara.
5. Requires these funds to be used to create pilot programs in each county which will provide reentry services and support to persons who are, or who are scheduled to be, released from a county jail. Each pilot program that receives funding pursuant to this section shall include all of the following components:
   1. Support services for recipients who are parent;.
   2. A mentorship program that employs a culturally relevant, population-specific approach that has been employed by nonprofit organizations such as the National Compadres Network and the Brotherhood of Elders;
   3. The establishment of a collaborative body of training and technical advisors;
   4. The establishment of a Youth Advisory Council to help inform and guide program leaders;
   5. Leadership opportunities, particularly for youth;
   6. Services to address mental health issues, including mental health issues relating to sexual exploitation, racial and ethnic disparities, and trauma; and
   7. An advisory committee in each county to oversee the establishment and implementation of the pilot program in the county.
6. States that a pilot program shall be eligible to receive funding pursuant to this section only if the service providers meet all of the following criteria:
   1. Each provider has a proven track record of providing meaningful, culturally based programming, including the support of gender specific and gender fluid approaches;
   2. Each provider offers services that support culturally based family strengthening, character development, and community mobilization; and
   3. Each provider offers services both before and after the recipient’s release from a county jail.
7. Requires counties that elect to participate in a pilot program to conduct a study and report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the pilot program.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Grants and defines the authority of CDCR to operate pilot programs that affect inmates. (Pen. Code, § 5058.1.)
   
2. Gives preference to counties siting reentry centers and mental health day treatment and crisis care so that parolees with mental health and substance abuse needs can continue to receive services at the conclusion of their period of parole. (Gov. Code, § 15820.907, Pen. Code, § 3073.)
   
3. Creates CDCR authority for the oversight body for rehabilitation programs under their control. (Pen. Code, § 6140.)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "AB 2114 seeks to address the social and systemic barriers that incarcerated and previously incarcerated men and woman face through facilitating healthy relationships with their families.

“Addressing the barriers faced by re-entry from prison not only supports the well-being of the individual and their families but also the strengthening of their communities.”

1. Background: According to background submitted by the author, “As of March 2015, the California prison population stood at 112,300. Less than two thirds of California’s adult male population is nonwhite or Latino (60 percent), but these groups make up three of every four men in prison: Latinos are 42 percent, Blacks are 29 percent, and other races are 6 percent. Among adult men in 2013, Blacks were incarcerated at a rate of 4,367 per 100,000, compared to 922 for Latinos, 488 for non-Latino whites, and 34 for Asians.

“About half of men in prison are fathers of minor children and 42 percent of fathers lived with their children at the time of their arrest.

“Incarceration of fathers destabilizes and harms their families in many ways. Two-thirds of incarcerated parents are nonviolent offenders; however, contact between them and their families is severely restricted and there are very few policies in place that protect and advocate for the rights of their children. Children with incarcerated parents are three times more likely to suffer from developmental or behavioral problems, along with mental health problems such as depression.”

1. Office of Offender Services: To address and other issues facing inmates who are about to be released, CDCR has created many offender programs under the Office of Offender Services. These programs include Substance Abuse Services Coordination Agencies, for referral, placement and treatment for drug abuse with case managers; the Female Offender Treatment and Employment Program, which allows female parolees to live with their children in a community setting for up to 15 months; the Parolee Services Network, which connects CDCR to the Department of Healthcare Services; and Parolee Service Centers, which provide residency and support services to help parolees maintain employment. This bill would create additional pilot programs to help parents in the criminal justice system connect with their children while they serve their commitments.
   
2. Argument in Support: According to Youth Alliance, “Youth Alliance supports the National Compadres Network’s effort to pass this bill because our organization’s purpose is in close alignment with the mission of NCN and the goals of the bill. NCN’s mission is to strengthen, rebalance, and/or redevelop the traditional “Compadre” extended family system by building on natural opportunity factors and on what is culturally considered healthy within an individual, family, community or culture. The mission of the Youth Alliance is to provide innovative services that strengthen and enrich youth and families. Our focus is in rural and semirural communities that are often struggling to create comprehensive and culturally relevant services. AB 2114 provides critical support to help transform lives and families by creating additional paths of hope and opportunity to a significantly underserved and highly impacted population.

“This bill will seek to address the social and systemic barriers that incarcerated and previously incarcerated fathers face through facilitating healthy relationships with their families. Addressing the barriers faced by re-entry from prison not only supports the well-being of fathers and their families but also the strengthening of their communities.

“Incarceration's impact on family life is made worse by the fact that facilities are often located far from cities, high phone costs, and disproportionate sentencing means that fathers and their families rarely see each other. Re-entering society also presents obstacles. With access to public housing and assistance restricted by law to non-felons, many struggle to find suitable living arrangements and financial support. Securing employment is also difficult for many returning fathers, who often have limited education and vocational skills, while facing significant legal and non-legal barriers to meaningful employment. All these factors contribute to the immense challenges facing formerly incarcerated fathers.”

1. Prior Legislation: AB 900 (Solorio), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007, requires CDCR to develop and implement a plan to obtain additional rehabilitation and treatment services for prison inmates and parolees, an Inmate Treatment and Prison-to-Employment Plan, and creates the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

National Compadres Network (Sponsor)
Boys & Girls Club of Coachella Valley
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Catholic Conference, Inc.

California Partnership
California Public Defenders Association
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Coachella Valley Unified School District ASES Office
Community Asset Development Redefining Education
Health Career Connection, Inc.
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Mayor of Coachella Steven A. Hernández (or is it City of Coachella)
MILPA
Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO
National Association of Social Workers
One Circle Foundation
Raices Cultura
Raimi + Associates
Riverside County Latino Commission
Soledad Enrichment Action
United Roots
Youth Alliance
YWCA - MC

Opposition

None

Analysis Prepared by: