BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON public safety
Senator John Vasconcellos, Chair S
1997-98 Regular Session B
1
0
8
SB 1089 (Lockyer and Rainey) 9
As amended April 9, 1997
Hearing date: May 13, 1997
Penal Code and Welfare and Institutions Code (Urgency)
SH:js
INTENSIVE SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAMS
HISTORY
Source:Author
Prior Legislation: SB 760 and AB 126 (1996) - in conference
at end of session (amendments prepared for
conference and discussed included language in
this bill; never taken to vote of conference)
AB 10 - Chapter 585, Statutes of 1993
Support: Therapeutic Communities, Inc.; California
Healthcare Association; Sheriff, San Bernardino County
Opposition:None known
(SEE COMMENT 5 FOR RECOMMENDATIONS OF 5/12 SUBCOMMITTEE ON
PRISON CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONS HEARING.)
KEY ISSUES
SHOULD THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS BE REQUIRED TO expand
the number of beds in state correctional institutions for
intensive SUBSTANCE abuse treatment using the therapeutic
community model (aMITY pROGRAM MODEL) by 4,000 beds in
addition to already authorized beds by January 1, 2002?
(CONTINUED)
should the department of corrections be required to establish a certification
criteria for designating a public or private facility as a substance abuse
treatment facility by July 1, 1998, so that additional offenders may be placed
in those facilities during the final 12 months of the offender's sentence?
SHOULD RELATED CHANGES BE MADE?
PURPOSE
Under existing law the Director of the Department of
Corrections is vested with the supervision, management and
control of the state prisons and is responsible for the
care, custody, treatment, training, discipline and
employment of persons confined in those prisons. The
Director may prescribe rules and regulations for the
administration of the prisons. (Penal Code Sections 5054
and 5058)
Under existing law (P.C. Sec. 1203.03), any individual
convicted of an offense punishable by state imprisonment
may be diverted to a diagnostic facility of the Department
of Corrections for examination and treatment of addiction
as part of his or her sentence. Similarly, the law
requires the court to order the examination for treatment
of any convicted defendant, or individual whose probation
has been revoked, if it appears that he or she is or may
become addicted to narcotics, for purposes of determining
the propriety of commitment to the California
Rehabilitation Center (W. & I. Code Sec. 3051).
Existing law contains the Substance Abuse Community
Correctional Treatment Act which is intended to establish
substance abuse community correctional centers and programs
to be operated locally in order to implement
state-of-the-art rehabilitation programs commensurate with
public safety considerations. (Penal Code Sections 6240 -
6247)
This bill would codify legislative findings and
declarations that:
over 70 percent of the state's new commitment admissions to
prison have a known history of substance abuse. Drug
charges are a known contributing factor in over 60
percent of the parolees returned to prison for parole
violations.
the relationship between public safety, recidivism, and
substance abuse is undeniable and significant.
Additional resources are necessary to intervene with
substance abuse and other behaviors that contribute to
criminality.
research has demonstrated the effectiveness of intensive
drug treatment programs in reducing recidivism of state
inmates. The evaluation of the therapeutic community
model of intensive substance abuse treatment has shown a
significant reduction in recidivism for participants on
parole for one year after release from the Amity
Institutional Substance Abuse Treatment Program at the
Robert J. Donovan State Prison in San Diego.
Return-to-custody data for program participants and a
control group as of April 18, 1995, indicated that 26
percent of the program subjects with both institutional
and community treatment were returned to custody,
compared to 43 percent of the participants with in-prison
treatment only and 63 percent of the control group.
the provision of an effective model of treatment to the
offender population establishes the prospect of future
cost savings due to avoided incarceration. The community
treatment services provided to the in-prison program
graduates will build on the treatment framework
established in the institution and contribute to a
greater degree of public safety due to reduced crime and
drug-related activity.
This bill creates a mandate for new/additional intensive
substance abuse treatment programs.
This bill requires the Department of Corrections to do the
following:
the Department of Corrections shall establish a
certification criteria for designating a public or
private facility as a substance abuse treatment facility
by July 1, 1998. The department shall ensure that a
certified facility provides a cost-effective and secure
environment that minimizes risk to public safety and
provides 24-hour supervision of inmates placed in the
program.
the department shall also develop treatment protocols based
on the therapeutic community model of intensive substance
abuse treatment.
the department shall contract for treatment of inmates in
those facilities.
it is legislative intent that the department contract for
at least 1,000 beds by July 1, 2001.
the Director of Corrections may place eligible offenders in
those facilities, as specified.
those criteria include less than one year remaining of a
sentence; a demonstrated history of alcohol/substance
abuse, with restrictions based upon such factors as
commitment offense and behavior while incarcerated.
the department shall expand the number of beds in state
correctional institutions for intensive substance abuse
treatment using the therapeutic community model by 4,000
beds in addition to already authorized beds by January 1,
2002.
the department shall report, as specified, to the Joint
Committee on Prison Construction and Operations, no later
than March 1, 2002, on the results of these requirements.
This bill also requires the following pertaining to the
existing Narcotic Addicts Commitment and Treatment program
in the Welfare and Institutions Code:
provides that a judge in a superior court may suspend,
rather than shall suspend, an order that a defendant be
sent to state prison, if the judge finds that the
defendant may be addicted to narcotics or may be in
imminent danger of becoming addicted to narcotics.
adds as an option for confinement in the intensive
substance abuse treatment programs created by this bill.
limits such confinement unless all of the following apply:
(1) The defendant has a pattern of habitual
nonviolent criminality related to substance
abuse and addiction.
(2) The defendant previously has been referred to
a community-based substance abuse treatment
program, but has failed to complete or benefit
from that treatment.
(3) The defendant would benefit from custodial
treatment.
(4) The defendant's current conviction is not for
a violent crime, as specified, and the defendant
does not have a prior conviction for a violent
crime
This bill requires the department to expand the number of
beds in the intensive substance abuse treatment program by
an additional 3,000 beds by January 1, 2002 (in a new W. &
I. Code Section 3051.5).
The purpose of this bill is to expand the use of intensive
substance abuse treatment programs based upon the
therapeutic community model for persons confined in the
Department of Corrections, as specified.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
The author's office has provided the following background:
Over 70 percent of the state's prisoners have a
history of substance abuse. The failure to provide
effective drug treatment while inmates are in prison
jeopardizes public safety when they are released and
increases recidivism. Research has proven that
intensive drug treatment programs can reduce
recidivism by more than 50%. By investing additional
resources to expand existing programs that work,
recidivism can be reduced. This could avoid the need
for 8,000 beds by the year 2002-2003.
Institutional Treatment and Community After Care.
Expand existing program use therapeutic community
model of intensive treatment (Amity program model).
Existing program would expand by 4,000 beds over 5
years. First year cost: $3.6 million.
Intensive Substance Abuse Treatment Program for
Judicial Commitments. Expand existing program,
which uses the therapeutic community model of
intensive treatment, by 3,000 beds over 5 years.
Judges would determine inmate eligibility for the
program. Second and third strikers would be
excluded. Inmates in this program could also be
placed in locked, community drug treatment
facilities with 24 hour supervision. First year
cost: $2.7 million.
Community Based Treatment Facilities. State would
contract with community based facilities for
intensive drug treatment using the therapeutic
community model. Placement in a 24 hour supervised
locked facility would be in lieu of state prison
housing for the final 12 months of an offenders
sentence. In addition to savings related to reduced
recidivism, this would free up state prison beds.
2. Department of Corrections and Substance Abuse Treatment
Expansion
The department is opening a 1,500 bed substance abuse
treatment facility at Corcoran II in August of this year.
That facility has a 4-bed dorm configuration.
Discussions during the last session pertaining to the
conference on SB 760/AB 126 involved proposals to develop
additional substance abuse capacity for state prison
inmates. Integral to that discussion was the number of
beds which could feasibly be developed within a given
period of time. The Amity/therapeutic community model of
intensive treatment involves a "community" which requires
some period of time to develop in a facility as well as a
community for post-release support.
Questions raised about the implementation of this bill are
likely to involve whether or not the number of beds in
facilities can be created within the timeframes set by the
bill; whether or not post-release support communities may
be developed in those timeframes; whether or not the
inter-related approach proposed by this bill may be
implemented without any negative impact upon any of the
three programs; and whether or not the proposed expansion
to private and public contracting facilities may be
implemented?
Presumably these and other issues will be discussed as the
year progresses and after the CDC adopts a formal position
with suggestions for amendments to this bill.
3. Cross-Reference in This Bill to SB 295 - Proposed New
Penal Code Section 19.3
This bill contains restrictions on the transfer of inmates
to the public or private substance abuse treatment programs
which the CDC will designate in the bill. For example, no
person who has ever been convicted of a violent felony may
be transferred to those programs. Nor may the person have
been convicted of "any felony listed in subdivision (e) of
Section 19.3" of the Penal Code .
There is currently no such section of the Penal Code.
However, SB 295 (Rainey and Lockyer) which is viewed by the
authors' as paired with this bill does propose a new Penal
Code Section 19.3.
At some point, it may be appropriate to either add the
identical proposed new Penal Code Section 19.3 to this bill
or to make the bills contingent upon each other. That
amendment may not be necessary at this time, although it
would appear that anyone reading this bill may otherwise be
confused by the cross-reference to Penal Code Section 19.3.
4. Additional Related Legislation
AB 875 (Takasugi) modifies the community correctional
center statutes and adds new authorization for the Director
of Corrections to "contract for the establishment and
operation of community correctional facilities that offer
programs for the treatment of addiction to alcohol or
controlled substances based on the therapeutic community
model, only if the cost per inmate of operating the
facilities will be less than the cost per inmate of
incarcerating inmates in a state correctional facility."
That bill is currently in this Committee without a hearing
date set.
5. Recommendation of Subcommittee
On May 12, 1997, the Subcommittee recommended "Do Pass and
Rerefer to the Committee on Appropriations" 4-0.
***************