BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1589
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2006
Counsel: Heather Hopkins
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mark Leno, Chair
SB 1589 (Romero) - As Amended: June 21, 2006
SUMMARY : Requires the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to
explore options to provide specialized programming outside of
DJJ facilities for high-risk or high-need offenders and requires
DJJ to explore options regarding the placement of female wards
outside of DJJ facilities. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that DJJ shall explore options to provide specialized
programming outside of DJJ facilities for high-risk or
high-need offenders if programming is available. Specialized
programs for these offenders shall take into account
commitment offenses, delinquency history, age, gender, medical
and mental health condition, risk levels, and any other
commitment criteria.
2)Provides that DJJ may also consider changes with respect to
eligibility, age, jurisdiction, or length of confinement in
order to ensure quality programming within DJJ facilities.
3)Provides that given the small number of female offenders and
their specialized needs, DJJ shall explore options to provide
programming for female offenders outside of DJJ facilities.
4)Provides that in considering these options DJJ shall give
priority for the placement of female offenders to governmental
agencies, or if those options are not appropriate or available
for the placement of female offenders, DJJ shall report any
and all other alternatives to the Legislature at that time.
DJJ shall transfer all female offenders out of DJJ facilities
as expediently as possible.
5)Provides that once the female offender population has been
transferred out of DJJ facilities, the California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDR) shall find an
alternative use for the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility.
Options shall include housing male wards of DJJ or low-level
offenders from the adult inmate population. If adult inmates
SB 1589
Page 2
are housed in this facility, CDCR shall implement an honor
yard program, such as exists at the California State Prison,
Los Angeles County, in Lancaster, drawing on the policies set
forth in its honor yard operational procedures.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that CDCR's DJJ has jurisdiction over all educational
training and treatment institutions now or hereafter
established and maintained in California as correctional
schools for the reception of wards of the juvenile court and
other persons committed to CDCR. [Welfare and Institutions
Code (WIC) Section 1000.]
2)Provides that DJJ may do all lawful acts which it deems
necessary to effectuate the purposes for which such schools
are established, and to promote the well-being, education and
reformation of the inmates thereof; but the authority shall
not incur any indebtedness in excess of the moneys
appropriated or otherwise made available for the use of such
schools. (WIC Section 1002.)
3)Authorizes DJJ, in order to provide counties with alternative
placement options, to establish, maintain, or facilitate the
development of regional centers, which may be available on a
contract basis to counties for the placement of wards. The
regional centers, depending on the services needed, may
provide, but are not limited to, the following: mental health
programs, short-term incarceration and treatment services, and
boot camp programs. Counties may jointly develop regional
centers. (WIC Section 1000.1.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "DJJ currently
houses approximately 130 female wards, which is less than 5%
of the total juvenile offender population in state custody.
Yet, the Ventura Youth Correctional facility, in which the
female wards are housed, currently costs the state over $31
million. The budgeted cost per female wards is among the
highest in DJJ.
"Yet, despite the enormous amount of money expended to service
SB 1589
Page 3
the female juvenile offender population, problems that are
endemic to other DJJ facilities also exist at the Ventura
Youth Correctional Facility. In the recent Accountability
Audit of 2005, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found
that 30% of classes were being cancelled due to an
unavailability of teachers. Although the OIG found
significant improvement from a 2002 audit conducted when
Ventura was still a co-educational facility, the OIG also
found that improvements could be made in the provision of
health, mental health, education, and in staff training and
safety. The OIG also recommended the implementation of better
fiscal controls to mitigate the bloated Ventura budget.
"Other problems relating to the gender-specific needs of the
population also continue to exist, such as a lack of
comprehensive policies and procedures governing the medical
care of the female wards. As part of the reorganization, CDCR
convened the Gender Responsive Strategies Commission to come
up with policies and procedures that would efficiently meet
the gender-specific needs of the female population in
corrections. Official recommendations have yet to emerge from
the Commission.
"However, in January 2006, DJJ did submit an intent to solicit
interest among local providers for safe and efficient
programming for female offenders, within state custody, but
outside of state-operated facilities. That proposal is
currently in its preliminary stages.
"Also in January 2006, as part of the Farrell lawsuit, DJJ
convened a panel of experts to examine some of the more
pervasive problems in the system, including the
over-expenditure of state monies for inefficient treatment of
the female population. The panel of experts supported the DJJ
proposal to find local providers to move girls into local
facilities and programs.
"The DJJ currently suffers from a recidivism rate between 70%
and 90%. Recidivism in California is not only about taxpayer
monies, it also about the public safety. Studies show that
the most effective rehabilitative programs for youthful
offenders are local programs that are close to families and
conducted in familiar environments. Given these findings, it
behooves the State to find local alternatives not only for
juvenile offenders, but for other high-risk, high-need
SB 1589
Page 4
populations who require specialized treatment and effective
programming. This bill will begin the exploration into viable
alternatives for more cost-efficient and rehabilitative
treatment for youthful offenders across California."
2)Female Wards : This bill would require DJJ to transfer all
female offenders out of DJJ facilities as expediently as
possible. There are currently fewer than 150 female wards in
DJJ. Because the female DJJ population is so small and
presents programming requirement that are unique from male
wards, the idea of providing them with residential
correctional programming elsewhere is not a new. However,
while this has been discussed informally for some time,
tangible steps towards implementing such a change appear to
have not yet transpired.
In their recent "Safety and Welfare Plan: Implementing Reform in
California," the Farrell experts recommended the following
with respect to girls in DJJ:
"The Safety and Welfare Planning team supports DJJ's proposal to
solicit interest by local providers to move girls into local
facilities and programs. The girls at Ventura use only a
fraction of the capacity of the institution, currently
occupying only five of 12 single-celled housing units . . . .
"
3)Specialized Programming : This bill would require DJJ to
"explore options" regarding specialized programming resources
outside of DJJ for high-risk/high-need offenders. For the
past several years, DJJ has been under intense scrutiny and
criticism because of violence in its institutions, ward
suicides, and its wholesale failure to provide mandated
education and treatment to wards, most of whom have
significant mental health problems. The DJJ currently is
under a court-ordered consent decree to improve its conditions
pursuant to a class action lawsuit brought by the Prison Law
Office ( Farrell v. Warner ).
In its Overview of the 2006-2007 Budget, the Senate Committee on
Budget and Fiscal Review includes the following information
about the Governor's proposed budget:
"For the juvenile population (at CDCR - DJJ), expenditures have
increased while the population has decreased. The juvenile
SB 1589
Page 5
population has decreased from over 10,000 in 1996 to an
estimated 2,680 by the end of the budget year. In recent
years, the average cost per ward has increased significantly.
In 2000-01, the estimated average cost per ward was $51,000,
while in the budget year that average cost per ward is
estimated to increase to approximately $150,000. The cost per
ward will continue to increase as the population declines and
the costs of the Farrell Remedial Plans roll out over the next
several years. "
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Books Not Bars
Youth Law Center
Opposition
California District Attorneys Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
Analysis Prepared by : Heather Hopkins / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744