BILL NUMBER: AB 219INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Portantino FEBRUARY 1, 2011 An act to add Section 5056.8 to the Penal Code, relating to criminal recidivism. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 219, as introduced, Portantino. California Recidivism Goals Development and Achievement Act. Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee programs for the purposes of reducing parolee recidivism. This bill would declare the Legislature's intent regarding the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's role in reducing criminal recidivism. The bill would require the department achieve a reduction in the statewide criminal recidivism rate from 2010 of 20% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of the statewide recidivism rate, as specified. 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. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (1) California's prison problems are tied directly to recidivism and overcrowding. When parolees commit crimes, they not only burden the state's overtaxed prison system--they create new victims and compromise public safety. California's recidivism rate has been historically estimated at 70 percent, one of the nation's highest. It is the intent of the Legislature to make inmate rehabilitation a priority to ensure the public safety and to release inmates to our communities as productive and contributing members of society. (2) As stated in a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 2009 study, female offenders who completed both in-prison and community-based substance abuse treatment had substantially lower return-to-prison rates (8.8 percent after one year and 16.5 percent after two years) than those who completed in-prison substance abuse programs but did not attend community-based substance abuse treatment (25.0 percent after one year and 37.7 percent after two years). These rates compare with a 30.1 percent return-to-prison rate after one year and a 43.7-percent return-to-prison rate after two years for all female offenders of the department. (3) The same study found that male offenders who completed both in-prison and community-based substance abuse treatment had lower return-to-prison rates (25.4 percent after one year and 40.4 percent after two years) than male offenders who completed in-prison substance abuse programs but did not attend community-based substance abuse treatment (39.8 percent after one year and 55.8 percent after two years). These rates compare with a 41.2-percent return-to-custody rate after one year and a 55.6-percent return-to-prison rate after two years for all male offenders of the department. (4) Overall, all offenders, both male and female, who completed both in-prison and community-based substance abuse treatment in the 2005-06 fiscal year had a return-to-prison rate of 21.9 percent after one year and 35.3 percent after two years. This compares with a 39.9-percent return-to-prison rate after one year and a 54.2-percent return-to-prison rate after two years for all offenders. Offenders who successfully complete both in-prison and community-based substance abuse treatment programs have markedly lower return-to-prison percentage rates than offenders who either do not receive treatment or only receive in-prison substance abuse programs. (5) If California is to solve its prison overcrowding problem, immediate steps must be taken to reduce the revolving door of prison that sees inmates return after only a short time. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation coordinate with state agencies as well as consult with the medical community, drug and alcohol abuse treatment professionals and centers, the criminal justice community, industry sectors, business groups, academic institutions, organizations, and other stakeholders in implementing a reduction in criminal recidivism rates to achieve a reduction of 20 percent by 2015 and 40 percent by 2020 from the 2010 level. (c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation develop specific standards, programs, educational opportunities, counseling, and medical and followup care that will reduce criminal recidivism among persons incarcerated in California prisons to meet the targets specified in subdivision (b). (d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation create identifiable and measurable goals designed to assess the effectiveness of programs and efforts to reduce recidivism statewide and at each state correctional facility. SEC. 2. Section 5056.8 is added to the Penal Code, to read: 5056.8. (a) This act shall be known and may be cited as the California Recidivism Goals Development and Achievement Act. (b) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is the state agency charged with creating programs and services to reduce criminal recidivism. As part of this charge, the department shall assess and identify the success of programs and services as necessary to meet state-mandated goals. (c) Using 2010 statewide recidivism statistics as the baseline, the department shall achieve a reduction in the statewide recidivism rate of 20 percent by 2015 and 40 percent by 2020. (d) The department shall adopt regulations that require the reporting and verification of the statewide criminal recidivism rate on an annual basis. In reporting a prior year's criminal recidivism rate, the department shall compare the prior year's rate to the criminal recidivism rate from 2010.