Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2114

Introduced by Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia

February 17, 2016

An act relating to begin delete prisoners. end delete begin insert prisoners, and making an appropriation therefor. end insert

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 begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert 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.

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This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that supports and creates culturally competent programs that increase opportunities for family friendly contact during and after imprisonment, that funds and creates culturally competent programmatic support services and reentry strategies outside of imprisonment that support fatherhood involvement, family reunification, and family strengthening, and that supports expanded funding for innovation on culturally relevant parenting, fatherhood support, and young male mentorship. The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations.

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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, 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 also include a statement of legislative findings and declarations.

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Vote:  begin delete majority end delete begin insert ²⁄₃ end insert . Appropriation:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . 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 Corazón, 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.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

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begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert 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. end insert

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(b) The funds appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
allocated to each of the following five counties: Alameda,
Coachella, Los Angeles, Monterey, and Santa Clara.

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(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:

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(1) Support services for recipients who are parents.

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(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.

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(3) The establishment of a collaborative body of training and
technical advisors.

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(4) The establishment of a Youth Advisory Council to help inform
and guide program leaders.

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(5) Leadership opportunities, particularly for youth.

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(6) Services to address mental health issues, including mental
health issues relating to sexual exploitation, racial and ethnic
disparities, and trauma.

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(7) An advisory committee in each county to oversee the
establishment and implementation of the pilot program in the
county.

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(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:

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(1) Each provider has a proven track record of providing
meaningful, culturally based programming, including the support
of gender specific and gender fluid approaches.

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(2) Each provider offers services that support culturally based
family strengthening, character development, and community
mobilization.

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(3) Each provider offers services both before and after the
recipient’s release from a county jail.

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