BILL NUMBER: AB 2114 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia
FEBRUARY 17, 2016
An act relating to prisoners. 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 which 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 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.
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.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no yes . Fiscal committee: no
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 Coraz�n, 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 o
ne 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 appropriated pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be
allocated to each of the following five counties: Alameda, Coachella,
Los Angeles, Monterey, 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.
(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.