BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2061 Hearing Date: June 14, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Waldron |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |April 25, 2016 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|AA |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Supervised Population Workforce Training Grant Program
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation:AB 2060 (V. Manuel Pérez) - Chapter 383,
Statutes of 2014
Support: A New Way of Life Re-entry Project; California
Catholic Conference; California Correctional Peace
Officers Association; California Public Defenders
Association; California Workforce Association; Legal
Services for Prisoners with Children; Rock Church
Prison Ministry; Second Chance; one individual
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: 76 - 0
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to 1) establish an additional
Supervised Population Workforce Training Grant (SPWTG) Program
priority for applications that include one or more employers who
have demonstrated interest in employing individuals in the
AB 2061 (Waldron ) PageB
of?
supervised population, including "earn and learn" opportunities,
and intent to hire; 2) expand the areas of the final program
assessment to include whether the SPWTG Program provided
training opportunities in areas related to work skills learned
while incarcerated, including, but not limited to, while working
with the Prison Industry Authority; and 3) make additional
technical changes.
Current law establishes the California Workforce Investment
Board. (Unemp. Ins. Code, § 14010 et seq.)
This bill updates references to the California Workforce
Investment Board to reflect its new name, the California
Workforce Development Board (CWDB).
Current law establishes the Supervised Population Workforce
Training Grant Program (SPWTGP), to be administered by the
California Workforce Investment Board (now known as the CWDB).
(Pen. Code, §1234.1.)
Current law requires the CWDB to administer the SPWTGP by doing
the following:
a) Developing criteria for the selection of grant
recipients, as provided;
b) Design the grant program application process to ensure
outreach and technical assistance is available to
applicants;
c) Ensure grants are awarded on a competitive basis; ensure
small and rural counties are competitive in applying for
funds;
d) Encourages applicants to develop evidence-based best
practices for serving the workforce training and education
needs of the supervised population; and
e) The education and training needs of individuals with
some postsecondary education and those who need basic
education are addressed. (Pen. Code, § 1234.2.)
Current law provides that preference shall be awarded to
applications for the following:
AB 2061 (Waldron ) PageC
of?
a) Propose matching funds, as specified;
b) Is proposed by a county that currently administers or
participates in a workforce training program for the
supervised population; and
c) Proposes participation by one or more nonprofit
community-based organizations that serve the supervised
population. (Pen. Code, § 1243.3, subd. (e).)
This bill would also give preference to an application that
proposes participation by one or more employers who have
demonstrated interest in employing individuals in the supervised
population, including, but not limited to, earn and learn
opportunities and intent to hire letters for successfully
completing the program.
This bill defines "earn and learn" to have the same meaning as
in Section 14005 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.<1>
Current law requires, on at least an annual basis, and upon
completion of the grant period, grant recipients to report to
the California Workforce Development Board regarding their use
of the funds and workforce training program outcomes. (Penal
Code § 1234.4 (a).) Current law further requires that, by
January 1, 2018, the State WIB California Workforce Development
Board shall submit a report to the Legislature using the reports
---------------------------
<1> That provision states, "(q) (1) "Earn and learn" includes,
but is not limited to, a program that does either of the
following: (A) Combines applied learning in a workplace setting
with compensation allowing workers or students to gain work
experience and secure a wage as they develop skills and
competencies directly relevant to the occupation or career for
which they are preparing. (B) Brings together classroom
instruction with on-the-job training to combine both formal
instruction and actual paid work experience. (2) "Earn and
learn" programs include, but are not limited to, all of the
following: (A) Apprenticeships. (B) Preapprenticeships. (C)
Incumbent worker training. (D) Transitional and subsidized
employment, particularly for individuals with barriers to
employment. (E) Paid internships and externships. (F)
Project-based compensated learning."
AB 2061 (Waldron ) PageD
of?
from the grant recipients. The report is required to contain all
the following information:
The education and workforce readiness of the supervised
population at the time individual participants entered the
program and how this impacted the types of services needed
and offered;
Whether the programs aligned with the workforce needs of
high-demand sectors of the state and regional economies;
Whether there was an active job market for the skills
being developed where the member of the supervised
population was likely to be released;
Whether the program increased the number of members of
the supervised population that obtained a marketable and
industry or apprenticeship board-recognized certification,
credential, or degree;
Whether the program increased the numbers of the
supervised population that successfully complete a job
readiness basic skill bridge program and enroll in a
long-term training program;
Whether there were formal or informal networks in the
field that support finding employment upon release from
custody;
Whether the program led to employment in occupations
with a livable wage; and
Whether the metrics used to evaluate the individual
grants were sufficiently aligned with the objectives of the
program. (Pen. Code, § 1234.4.)
This bill would add whether the program provided training
opportunities in areas related to work skills learned while
incarcerated, including, but not limited to, while working with
the Prison Industry Authority.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized
AB 2061 (Waldron ) PageE
of?
legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential
impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States
Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the
state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care
to its inmate population and the related issue of prison
overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison
overcrowding.
On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to
reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of
design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
In December of 2015 the administration reported that as "of
December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State's 34
adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed
capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state
facilities. The current population is 1,212 inmates below the
final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed
capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February
2015." (Defendants' December 2015 Status Report in Response to
February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge
Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).) One
year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State's 34 adult
institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity,
and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.
(Defendants' December 2014 Status Report in Response to February
10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman
v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)
While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison
population, the state must stabilize these advances and
demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place
the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently
demanded" by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and
Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December
31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,
Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee's
consideration of bills that may impact the prison population
AB 2061 (Waldron ) PageF
of?
therefore will be informed by the following questions:
Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed
to reducing the prison population;
Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy;
Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or
legislative drafting error; and
Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1.Stated Need for This Bill
The author states:
Returning to responsible working life after
incarceration or drug/alcohol intervention is a
critical and often a difficult process. Finding
employment for rehabilitated persons is a major
contribution to reducing recidivism rates. Business
and non-profits that hire former convicts
significantly help them, their families, and
communities they will live in.
In reality, it is difficult, if not daunting, for a
previously convicted person to attain employment due
to lack of training, social skills, bias or fear. AB
2061 will bridge the gap in making it easier for a
business or non-profit to hire those rehabilitated
persons, allowing them to learn much needed job skills
and experience in order to fully return to life in
society.
2.Background
This bill refines provisions enacted into law in 2013 by AB 2060
AB 2061 (Waldron ) PageG
of?
(V. Manuel Pérez). That measure created the Supervised
Population Workforce Training Grant Program, administered by the
CWIB, to provide grant funding for vocational training and
apprenticeship opportunities for offenders under county
jurisdiction who are on probation, mandatory community
supervision, or post-release community supervision. CWIB is
required to administer the grant program through a public
process, as specified. SB 852 (Leno), the 2014-2015 budget
bill, contained an appropriation of $1 million for "support of
Employment Development Department, for a recidivism reduction
workforce training and development grant program, payable from
the Recidivism Reduction Fund . . . ."
-- END -