BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 407
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 16, 2007

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mark Leno, Chair

                     AB 407 (Swanson) - As Amended:  May 1, 2007 

          Policy Committee:                               
          EducationVote:10-0
                                           Public Safety                    
                                                                 6-1

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  


          This bill establishes the Probation Youth Success Act (PYSA) and  
          authorizes the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE)  
          and the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) to each  
          conduct a three-year pilot project to provide comprehensive,  
          integrated services to selected juvenile ranches, camps, and  
          forestry camps until January 1, 2013, as specified.   
          Specifically, this bill:   


          1)Requires the programs to provide specified services, including  
            a standards-based vocational or career technical education  
            program, tutoring, counseling, and mental health services, as  
            specified.   


          2)Specifies the criteria for wards to be selected for the  
            program, including a level of earned high school credits,  
            difficulty in passing standardized tests, and interest in  
            postgraduate or continuing education, as specified. 

          3)Requires the maximum grant for this project over the  
            three-year pilot period not to exceed $4.5 million, as  
            specified.  This measure requires the county offices of  
            education (COE) to provide $1 for each $5 dollars allocated by  
            the state, including in-kind services. 

          4)Requires each participating COE to provide services to a  








                                                                  AB 407
                                                                 Page  2

            minimum of 400 wards and complete a report that evaluates the  
            effectiveness of the PYSA by June 30, 2012.  This measure  
            further requires the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to  
            conduct an analysis of the report, as specified. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          GF/98 costs of $10 million to provide a $4.5 million grant to  
          LACOE and ACOE, as specified.  

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose .  According the LAO report, California Criminal  
            Justice: A Primer, counties currently are responsible for more  
            than 98% of all juvenile offender cases.   According to  
            information provided by the author, "About 9,000 children and  
            youth are incarcerated in county probation department  
            facilities. The average reading level of the incarcerated  
            youth is at or below the 5th grade level and they are 2-3  
            times more likely to require special education." 


            The author states, "The purpose of this bill is to provide a  
            3-year pilot program of career and technical education,  
            literacy support and transition services to reduce recidivism  
            among youth in selected county-operated probation camps and  
            similar facilities." 


           2)Background  . The average daily population of county juvenile  
            halls, camps and ranches statewide is 13,500. The camps and  
            ranches portion of this total is 4,000. Wards age 15 to 17  
            account for 78% of the camp and ranch population. L.A. County  
            accounts for 32% of the state total (ranking first),  
            Sacramento County for 4.5% (ranking fourth), and Alameda  
            County for 3.2% (ranking ninth). 
           
          3)Previous legislation  .  AB 2798 (Goldberg), which was similar  
            to this measure, was held on this committee's suspense file in  
            May 2006.  


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081