BILL NUMBER: AB 1998	CHAPTERED  09/29/06

	CHAPTER  732
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 29, 2006
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 30, 2006
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 29, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 24, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 7, 2006
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 27, 2006
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 29, 2006

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chan
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Jones, Koretz, and Lieber)

                        FEBRUARY 9, 2006

   An act to add and repeal Section 3055.5 of the Penal Code,
relating to parole.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1998, Chan  Parole: prerelease program: Alameda County.
   Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to establish 3 pilot programs that provide training
and counseling for female parolees to assist in their successful
reintegration into the community.
   This bill would require the department to contract for the
establishment and operation of a 3-year prerelease parole pilot
program in Alameda County for male and female offenders who were
convicted of a nonviolent offense, in order to provide coordination
between departmental and community service providers to ensure that
offenders transition smoothly from services during incarceration
through reentry programs. The bill would require the contractee to
report to the Legislature and the Governor on the cost-effectiveness
of the program by January 1, 2010.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 3055.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   3055.5.  (a) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
shall contract for the establishment and operation of a prerelease
parole pilot program in Alameda County.
   (b) The purpose of the program is to provide coordination between
departmental and community service providers to ensure that parolees
transition smoothly from services during incarceration through
reentry programs.
   (c) (1) The program shall prepare participants who will be
entering a reentry services program.
   (2) Up to one year prior to his or her release on parole from any
state correctional facility to Alameda County, any male or female
inmate who has been committed for a nonviolent offense may enroll in
the program.
   (d) The program shall include, but not be limited to, a prerelease
assessment screening for needed educational, employment-related,
medical, substance abuse and mental health services, housing
assistance, and other social services.
   (e) In awarding a contract pursuant to this section, the secretary
may accept proposals from public and private not-for-profit entities
located in Alameda County.
   (f) The contractee, with the assistance of an independent
consultant with expertise in criminal justice programs, shall
complete a report that evaluates the cost-effectiveness of the
prerelease program with respect to the effect of the program on the
recidivism rate of the participants. The contractee shall submit that
report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature, and to the Governor, no later than January 1, 2010.
Implementation of the program is contingent upon the availability of
funding for the completion of the report. The contractee may obtain
funding for the report from sources outside the budget of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The Legislature intends
that no more than 5 percent of the cost of the program should be
expended to prepare and submit the report.
   (g) This section shall remain in effect until January 1, 2011, and
as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute that is
enacted before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends that date.