Bill Text: CA AB2200 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Rebuilding Communities and Rebuilding Lives Act of 2010.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-05-28 - In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission. [AB2200 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2200-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2200 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Solorio
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to add and repeal Section 3054.5 of the Penal Code,
relating to parole.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2200, as introduced, Solorio. Rebuilding Communities and
Rebuilding Lives Act of 2010.
Existing law, until January 1, 2011, requires the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish a pilot program in
Alameda County for parolees returning to Alameda County to conduct
needs-based assessments of the individual parolees, as specified.
This bill would require the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to establish reentry programs for parolees between 16
and 23 years of age to assist in community reintegration upon
release, parole, or discharge from detention, as specified. The
reentry programs would include construction training, academic
services, counseling, and tracking of graduates after completion of
the program. The bill would require the department to maintain
statistical information related to the reentry programs, as
specified. The bill would also provide that these provisions would be
repealed on January 1, 2014.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3054.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
3054.5. (a) This section shall be known as the Rebuilding
Communities and Rebuilding Lives Act of 2010.
(1) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, to the
extent funds are appropriated for the purpose of this section, shall
establish a reentry program specifically targeting offenders who will
be between 16 and 23 years of age upon their release, parole, or
discharge from a facility or program operated by the department or a
county. The department, through the Division of Juvenile Facilities,
shall preenroll eligible youths into eligible community programs, as
defined in this section. The department, through the Division of
Juvenile Facilities, additionally shall work with counties to
facilitate the preenrollment of eligible youth from county detention
facilities into eligible community programs, as defined in this
section. Priority shall be given to programs that have existed for at
least one year prior to the effective date of this section and to
those eligible community programs that have operated at any time in
the previous three years.
(2) Beginning January 1, 2011, the department shall identify each
youth that meets the eligibility requirements of this section and is
scheduled to be released, paroled, or discharged from a facility or
program operated by the Division of Juvenile Facilities no later than
December 31, 2011. No less than 45 days prior to the scheduled
release, parole, or discharge date of an eligible youth, the
department, in coordination with the Director of Employment
Development and the appropriate eligible community program, shall
enroll a youth in any eligible program located in a city no more than
60 miles from his or her last known address, or intended release
city. Participation of an eligible youth in any eligible community
program shall commence no less than 72 hours upon release, parole, or
discharge from a facility operated by the department. Enrollment and
participation are subject to the approval of each program.
(b) For purposes of this section, an "eligible community program"
means, at a minimum, a program that provides all of the following:
(1) Integrated education and job training services and activities
on an equally divided basis, with 50 percent of participants' time
spent in classroom-based instruction, counseling, and leadership
development instruction, and 50 percent of participants' time spent
in experiential job training.
(A) The education component described in this paragraph shall
include basic skills instruction, secondary education services, and
other activities designed to lead to the attainment of a high school
diploma or its equivalent. The curriculum for this component shall
include math, language arts, vocational education, life skills
training, social studies related to the cultural and community
history of the participants, and leadership skills.
(B) Bilingual services shall be available for individuals with
limited English proficiency, and an English learning curriculum shall
be provided where feasible and appropriate.
(C) A program shall have a goal of a minimum teacher-to-student
ratio of one teacher for every 18 students.
(D) The job training component described in paragraph (1) shall
involve work experience and skills training apprenticeships related
to construction and rehabilitation activities described in paragraph
(4).
(2) Assistance in attaining postsecondary education and in
obtaining financial aid shall be made available to participants prior
to graduation from the program.
(3) Counseling services designed to assist participants in
positively participating in society, including all of the following,
as necessary:
(A) Outreach, assessment, and orientation.
(B) Individual and peer counseling.
(C) Life skills training.
(D) Drug and alcohol abuse education and prevention.
(E) Referral to appropriate drug rehabilitation, medical, mental
health, legal, housing, and other community services and resources. A
program shall have a goal of a minimum counselor-to-participant
ratio of one counselor for every 28 participants.
(4) Acquisition, rehabilitation, acquisition and rehabilitation,
or construction of housing and related facilities to be used for the
purpose of providing home ownership for disadvantaged persons,
residential housing for homeless individuals and very low income
families, or transitional housing for persons who are homeless, ill,
deinstitutionalized, or who have disabilities or special needs.
(5) Leadership development training that provides participants
with meaningful opportunities to develop leadership skills, including
decisionmaking, problem solving, and negotiating. A program shall
encourage participants to develop strong peer group ties that support
their mutual pursuit of skills and values.
(c) Each eligible community program shall work cooperatively with
local probation and parole offices to ensure appropriate oversight of
any eligible youth who enrolls and participates in the program for
the duration of the eligible youth's participation and term of
probation or parole. Eligible community programs shall meet the
requirements described in Article 4 (commencing with Section 9800) of
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 3 of the Unemployment Insurance
Code.
(d) For purposes of this section, an "eligible youth" means a
person between 16 and 23 years of age, who is economically
disadvantaged, as defined in Section 12511 of Title 42 of the United
States Code, and who is under the custody and control of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or a county on or after
January 1, 2011, and whose release, parole, or departure date is
scheduled for any date prior to January 1, 2014.
(e) No more than 200 eligible youths shall be enrolled pursuant to
this section. Priority for enrollment shall be given to eligible
youths whom the department has determined to be gang affiliated, or
who have an immediate family member who has been identified as gang
affiliated.
(f) The department shall allocate twenty thousand dollars
($20,000) per year, or a fraction thereof, per enrolled youth, to
each eligible community program that enrolls an eligible youth for
each year of participation, or fraction thereof, to defray the costs
of the services provided by the eligible community program. The
department shall provide no less than 50 percent of each annual
payment at the time of enrollment of the eligible youth, and any
remaining portion of an annual payment shall be made to the eligible
community program upon completion of each year of participation. Each
eligible community program shall retain only that portion of the
payment that is commensurate with the participant's actual
participation and shall return the balance of the payment to the
department. Funding shall be used to supplement, rather than
supplant, existing programs.
(g) The department shall maintain statistical information on the
success of this program, including, but not limited to, the number of
eligible youths served and the rate of return to prison for those
eligible youths who enroll and participate in an eligible community
program. This information shall be provided to the Legislature upon
request.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends
that date.
