BILL NUMBER: AB 2525	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Galgiani

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2008

   An act to amend Sections 3020 and 5068 of the Penal Code, and to
amend Section 736 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to
criminal behavior.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2525, as introduced, Galgiani. Criminal behavior: preschool
attendance.
   Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to conduct assessments and examinations of all inmates
that include, but are not limited to, data regarding the inmate's
history of substance abuse, medical and mental health, education,
family background, criminal activity, and social functioning.
   This bill would require the department to include 2 additional
questions regarding preschool attendance to be asked as part of an
assessment or an examination.
   Existing law requires the Division of Juvenile Facilities to
accept a ward committed to it if the Chief Deputy Secretary for the
Division of Juvenile Justice believes that the ward can be materially
benefitted by the division's reformatory and educational discipline,
and if the division has adequate facilities, staff, and programs to
provide that care.
   This bill would require the Division of Juvenile Justice to
include, as part of its initial intake questionnaire for juveniles
within its jurisdiction, 2 additional questions regarding preschool
attendance.
   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.  Section 3020 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   3020.  The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall
conduct assessments of all inmates that include, but are not limited
to, data regarding the inmate's history of substance abuse, medical
and mental health, education, family background, criminal activity,
and social functioning.  The department shall include two
specific questions to be asked during an assessment, as follows: (a)
"Did you attend preschool?" and (b) "If yes, for how long?"  The
assessments shall be used to place inmates in programs that will aid
in their reentry to society and that will most likely reduce the
inmate's chances of reoffending.
  SEC. 2.  Section 5068 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   5068.  The  Director of Corrections  
Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 
shall cause each person who is newly committed to a state prison to
be examined and studied. This includes the investigation of all
pertinent circumstances of the person's life such as the existence of
any strong community and family ties, the maintenance of which may
aid in the person's rehabilitation, and the antecedents of the
violation of law because of which he or she has been committed to
prison. Any person may be reexamined to determine whether existing
orders and dispositions should be modified or continued in force.

   The department shall include two additional questions as part of
its initial intake questionnaire for persons within the custody of
the department, as follows: (a) "Did you attend preschool?" and (b)
"If yes, for how long?" 
   Upon the basis of the examination and study, the  Director
of Corrections   Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation  shall classify prisoners; and
when reasonable, the  director  secretary 
shall assign a prisoner to the institution of the appropriate
security level and gender population nearest the prisoner's home,
unless other classification factors make such a placement
unreasonable.
   As used in this section, "reasonable" includes consideration of
the safety of the prisoner and the institution, the length of term,
and the availability of institutional programs and housing.
   As used in this section, "prisoner's home" means a place where the
prisoner's spouse, parents, or children reside at the time of
commitment.
   When the diagnostic study of any inmate committed under
subdivision (b) of Section 1168 so indicates, the  director
  secretary  shall cause a psychiatric or
psychological report to be prepared for the Community Release Board
prior to the release of the inmate. The report shall be prepared by a
psychiatrist or psychologist licensed to practice in this state.
   Before the release of any inmate committed under subdivision (b)
of Section 1168, the  director   secretary 
shall provide the Community Release Board with a written evaluation
of the prisoner.
  SEC. 3.  Section 736 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   736.  (a) Except as provided in Section 733, the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities,
shall accept a ward committed to it pursuant to this article if the
Chief Deputy Secretary for the Division of Juvenile Justice believes
that the ward can be materially benefitted by the division's
reformatory and educational discipline, and if the division has
adequate facilities, staff, and programs to provide that care. A ward
subject to this section shall not be transported to any facility
under the jurisdiction of the division until the superintendent of
the facility has notified the committing court of the place to which
that ward is to be transported and the time at which he or she can be
received.
   (b) To determine who is best served by the Division of Juvenile
Facilities, and who would be better served by the State Department of
Mental Health, the Chief Deputy Secretary for the Division of
Juvenile Justice and the Director of the State Department of Mental
Health shall, at least annually, confer and establish policy with
respect to the types of cases that should be the responsibility of
each department. 
   (c) The Division of Juvenile Justice shall include, as part of its
initial intake questionnaire for juveniles within its jurisdiction,
two additional questions, as follows:  
   (1) "Did you attend preschool?"  
   (2) "If yes, for how long?"