California Assembly Bill AB2114 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2114AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 12, 2016 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia  (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members   Brown   and Lackey   )  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,  Coachella,  Los Angeles, Monterey,  Riverside,  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.  The bill would require each county tha   t 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.  The bill would also include a statement of legislative findings and declarations. Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. 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) Studies have consistently found that prisoners who maintain close contact with their family members while incarcerated have better postrelease outcomes and lower recidivism rates. Despite this, corrections officials are often obstinate in supporting this communication with respect to written correspondence, visitation, and phone calls. (2) Revising visitation policies to facilitate visits by family members, investing in prison-based literacy programs and less restrictive mail policies, and reducing intrastate prison and jail phone rates would provide prisoners with greater opportunities to maintain close relationships with their families. (3) Research cites that positive fatherhood involvement improves life trajectory for a child. Also, fatherhood involvement in a child' s life protects against risk factors that pose harm to children, such as problematic behavior, maternal depression, and family economic hardship. Fatherhood involvement is also associated with promoting children's social and language skills. (4) Specific examples of culturally relevant approaches to parenting, fatherhood support, and young male mentorship include Cara y Corazn, El Joven Noble, and Circulo de Hombres, which have been chosen as the culturally based family strengthening interventions in other initiatives. (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that accomplishes all of the following: (1) Supports and creates culturally competent programs that increase opportunities for family friendly contact during and after imprisonment. (2) Funds and creates culturally competent programmatic support services and reentry strategies outside of imprisonment that support fatherhood involvement, family reunification, and family strengthening. (3) Supports expanded funding for innovation on culturally relevant parenting, fatherhood support, and young male mentorship to decrease the risk of violence, suicide, and other traumas that children of prisoners who are under 17 years of age may be exposed to by providing education, skills-based training, and early intervention and treatment referrals to parents, families, and children. SEC. 2. (a) The sum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for allocation in the manner, and for the purposes, described in subdivisions (b) and (c), respectively. (b) The  funds   moneys  appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be allocated to each of the following five  counties:   counties that elects to participate in the pilot program:  Alameda,  Coachella,  Los Angeles, Monterey,  Riverside,  and Santa Clara. (c) Funds allocated pursuant to this section shall be used to create pilot programs in each county to provide reentry services and support to persons who are, or who are scheduled to be, released from a county jail. Each pilot program that receives funding pursuant to this section shall include all of the following components: (1) Support services for recipients who are parents. (2) A mentorship program that employs a culturally relevant, population-specific approach that has been employed by nonprofit organizations such as the National Compadres Network and the Brotherhood of Elders. (3) The establishment of a collaborative body of training and technical  advisors.   advisers.  (4) The establishment of a Youth Advisory Council to help inform and guide program leaders. (5) Leadership opportunities, particularly for youth. (6) Services to address mental health issues, including mental health issues relating to sexual exploitation, racial and ethnic disparities, and trauma. (7) An advisory committee in each county to oversee the establishment and implementation of the pilot program in the county. (d) A pilot program shall be eligible to receive funding pursuant to this section only if the service providers meet all of the following criteria: (1) Each provider has a proven track record of providing meaningful, culturally based programming, including the support of gender specific and gender fluid approaches. (2) Each provider offers services that support culturally based family strengthening, character development, and community mobilization. (3) Each provider offers services both before and after the recipient's release from a county jail.  (e) (1) Each county that elects to implement a pilot program pursuant to this section shall conduct a study and submit to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2022, a report evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot programs in that county.   (2) The report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.