Amended  IN  Assembly  April 20, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 29, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 23, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 428

Introduced by Assembly Member Waldron

February 06, 2023

An act to add Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 6150) to Title 7 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, relating to criminal justice.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 428, as amended, Waldron. California Department of Reentry.
Existing law grants the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) authority to operate the state prison system and gives the department jurisdiction over various state prisons and other institutions. Existing law requires the department to determine and implement a system of incentives to increase inmate participation in, and completion of, academic and vocational education, consistent with the inmate’s educational needs, as specified. Existing law requires the department to develop and implement a plan to obtain additional rehabilitation and treatment services for prison inmates and parolees, and requires the department to expand substance abuse treatment services in prisons to accommodate at least 4,000 additional inmates who have histories of substance abuse, as specified.
This bill would establish the California Department of Reentry, independent from the CDCR, to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts to ensure successful reentry services are provided to incarcerated individuals. The bill would require the department to focus on programming through the period of incarceration that supports successful reentry to society, facilitate the smooth transition of individuals from prison to release by developing individualized reentry plans for each individual, and would recommend and design facilities within existing state prisons to create a better environment for overall mental and physical health, and oversee continuity of care for incarcerated individuals with health and substance use disorders during community supervision and parole, among other things.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 8.5 (commencing with Section 6150) is added to Title 7 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, to read:
CHAPTER  8.5. California Department of Reentry

6150.
 (a) Commencing January 1, 2024, there is hereby established the California Department of Reentry. The California Department of Reentry shall be independent of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The Governor may appoint an executive officer, subject to Senate confirmation, who shall hold the office at the pleasure of the Governor. The executive officer shall be the administrative head and shall exercise all duties and functions necessary to ensure that the responsibilities of the department are successfully discharged.
(b) The mission of the department is to provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships with California’s adult and juvenile criminal justice system to ensure successful reentry services are provided to incarcerated individuals preparing for release and within community supervision and parole. The department shall carry out its mission in a way that reflects the principle of aligning fiscal policy and correctional practices, including, but not limited to, programs, interventions, individualized educational pathways, reentry planning and execution, and transition to housing and workforce training to promote a strategy that fits each county and is consistent with the integrated statewide goal of improved public safety through cost-effective, promising, and evidence-based strategies for managing criminal justice populations.
(c) (1) The department shall regularly engage and work with a balanced range of stakeholders and subject matter experts on issues pertaining to adult corrections, juvenile justice, corrections and reentry strategies relevant to its mission. Toward this end, the department shall seek to ensure that its efforts meet all of the following requirements. requirements:
(A) Are systematically informed by experts and stakeholders with the most specific knowledge concerning the subject matter.
(B) Include the participation of those who must implement programs.
(C) Promote collaboration and innovative problem solving consistent with the mission of the department.
(2) The department may create special committees, with the authority to establish working subgroups as necessary, in furtherance of this subdivision to carry out specified tasks and to submit its findings and recommendations from that effort to the department head.

6151.
 The department shall do all of the following:
(a) Focus exclusively on reentry programs in state prisons and juvenile justice facilities in coordination with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to ensure successful restorative results upon completion of a sentence.
(b) Facilitate the smooth transition of individuals from prison to release and postrelease while under supervision by developing an individualized reentry plan for each person leaving state custody addressing a range of subjects, including, but not limited to, education, career workforce training, mental health and substance use treatment and counseling, assistance with transition to housing, attaining necessary documentation, and maintaining work and housing.
(c) Seek various grants to service the needs of reentry reentry, including, but not limited to, housing rent subsidies, food vouchers, workforce training assistance, career tech education, and scholarships.

(d)Recommend and design facilities within existing state prisons to create a better environment for overall mental and physical health.

(e)

(d) Oversee continuity of care for incarcerated people with mental health, physical health, and substance use disorders during community supervision and parole.

(f)

(e) Focus specifically on programming through the period of incarceration that supports successful reentry to society based on individual needs.

(g)

(f) Work closely with various state departments, including, but not limited to, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the State Department of Public Health, the California Workforce Development Board, and the State Department of Health Care Services as necessary to perform the functions of the department.