Amended in Assembly April 12, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 2114


Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Brown and Lackey)

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February 17, 2016


An act relating to prisoners, and making an appropriation therefor.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2114, as amended, Eduardo Garcia. Prisoners: support 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 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,begin delete Coachella,end delete Los Angeles, Monterey,begin insert Riverside,end insert 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.begin insert 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.end insert The bill would also include a statement of legislative findings and declarations.

Vote: 23. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

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

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SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(1) Studies have consistently found that prisoners who maintain
4close contact with their family members while incarcerated have
5better postrelease outcomes and lower recidivism rates. Despite
6this, corrections officials are often obstinate in supporting this
7communication with respect to written correspondence, visitation,
8and phone calls.

9(2) Revising visitation policies to facilitate visits by family
10members, investing in prison-based literacy programs and less
11restrictive mail policies, and reducing intrastate prison and jail
12phone rates would provide prisoners with greater opportunities to
13maintain close relationships with their families.

14(3) Research cites that positive fatherhood involvement improves
15life trajectory for a child. Also, fatherhood involvement in a child’s
16life protects against risk factors that pose harm to children, such
17as problematic behavior, maternal depression, and family economic
18hardship. Fatherhood involvement is also associated with
19promoting children’s social and language skills.

20(4) Specific examples of culturally relevant approaches to
21parenting, fatherhood support, and young male mentorship include
22Cara y Corazón, El Joven Noble, and Circulo de Hombres, which
23have been chosen as the culturally based family strengthening
24interventions in other initiatives.

25(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that
26accomplishes all of the following:

27(1) Supports and creates culturally competent programs that
28increase opportunities for family friendly contact during and after
29imprisonment.

30(2) Funds and creates culturally competent programmatic
31support services and reentry strategies outside of imprisonment
P3    1that support fatherhood involvement, family reunification, and
2family strengthening.

3(3) Supports expanded funding for innovation on culturally
4relevant parenting, fatherhood support, and young male mentorship
5to decrease the risk of violence, suicide, and other traumas that
6children of prisoners who are under 17 years of age may be exposed
7to by providing education, skills-based training, and early
8intervention and treatment referrals to parents, families, and
9children.

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SEC. 2.  

(a) The sum of one million five hundred thousand
11dollars ($1,500,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund
12to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for allocation
13in the manner, and for the purposes, described in subdivisions (b)
14and (c), respectively.

15(b) Thebegin delete fundsend deletebegin insert moneysend insert appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a)
16shall be allocated to each of the following fivebegin delete counties:end deletebegin insert counties
17that elects to participate in the pilot program:end insert
Alameda,begin delete Coachella,end delete
18 Los Angeles, Monterey,begin insert Riverside,end insert and Santa Clara.

19(c) Funds allocated pursuant to this section shall be used to
20create pilot programs in each county to provide reentry services
21and support to persons who are, or who are scheduled to be,
22released from a county jail. Each pilot program that receives
23funding pursuant to this section shall include all of the following
24components:

25(1) Support services for recipients who are parents.

26(2) A mentorship program that employs a culturally relevant,
27population-specific approach that has been employed by nonprofit
28organizations such as the National Compadres Network and the
29Brotherhood of Elders.

30(3) The establishment of a collaborative body of training and
31technicalbegin delete advisors.end deletebegin insert advisers.end insert

32(4) The establishment of a Youth Advisory Council to help
33inform and guide program leaders.

34(5) Leadership opportunities, particularly for youth.

35(6) Services to address mental health issues, including mental
36health issues relating to sexual exploitation, racial and ethnic
37disparities, and trauma.

38(7) An advisory committee in each county to oversee the
39establishment and implementation of the pilot program in the
40county.

P4    1(d) A pilot program shall be eligible to receive funding pursuant
2to this section only if the service providers meet all of the following
3criteria:

4(1) Each provider has a proven track record of providing
5 meaningful, culturally based programming, including the support
6of gender specific and gender fluid approaches.

7(2) Each provider offers services that support culturally based
8family strengthening, character development, and community
9mobilization.

10(3) Each provider offers services both before and after the
11recipient’s release from a county jail.

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(e) (1) Each county that elects to implement a pilot program
13pursuant to this section shall conduct a study and submit to the
14Legislature on or before January 1, 2022, a report evaluating the
15effectiveness of the pilot programs in that county.

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(2) The report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall
17be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government
18Code.

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