BILL NUMBER: SB 756 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Ashburn
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Chapter 1.6 (commencing with Section 1212) to Title
8 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, relating to parolees.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 756, as amended, Ashburn. Parolees: drug, alcohol, and anger
management treatment program.
Existing law establishes various rehabilitation programs for
prisoners and parolees.
This bill would establish a pilot program for certain parolees who
violate parole by providing substance abuse treatment, alcohol abuse
treatment, and anger management treatment regimens lasting 16 weeks,
as specified. The program would operate at 3 specified sites for 24
months, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1.6 (commencing with Section 1212) is added to
Title 8 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, to read:
CHAPTER 1.6. PAROLEE DRUG, ALCOHOL, AND ANGER TREATMENT PILOT
PROGRAM
1212. (a) There is hereby created a pilot parole diversion
program for purposes of providing qualifying parolees who violate
parole with treatment for drug abuse, alcohol abuse, or anger
management.
(b) The program shall commence on January 1, 2010, with a
four-month period to establish sites, retain contractors, and select
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation staff to provide program
analysis and supervision. The program shall run for 24 months. No
referrals to the program shall be made after the completion of the
18th month.
(c) The program shall consist of three rehabilitation programs for
substance abuse recovery, alcohol abuse recovery, and anger
management.
(d) The program shall operate at three sites close to public
transportation in industrial areas of Pomona, San Bernardino, and
Riverside. Each facility shall operate substance abuse recovery,
alcohol abuse recovery, and anger management programs concurrently. A
technician shall be on site to collect urine samples from parolees.
Each facility shall have a minimum of two private armed security
individuals during the hours treatment programs are operating.
(e) Each treatment program shall be conducted by service provider
contractors that are not Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
contractors, using existing treatment regimens, some of which may
already be offered inside department facilities. It is a goal of the
program to have three different service providers for each of the
three treatment programs at each site, if possible, in order to
evaluate which service provider obtains the best results. In the
event there are no outside contractors who bid for the job, a
current contractor may be used. Service providers shall provide
immediate reports to the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation on parolee participation so that any violation of the
program provisions will result in immediate referral to the Board of
Parole Hearings for action.
1212.1. (a) When a parole officer determines that a parolee has
violated a condition of parole, the parolee will be taken into
custody pursuant to standard operating procedures, and the violation
referred to a deputy commissioner of the Board of Parole Hearings.
The deputy commissioner will determine if the parolee would be a
candidate to participate in this program, including that the parolee
is not subject to the provisions of Proposition 36, as approved by
the voters November 7, 2000. The fact that the commitment offense for
the parolee was a serious or violent felony shall not disqualify the
parolee from participation in the program.
(b) A parolee whose parole violation consists of committing
another crime shall not be eligible for the program. A parolee who
commits another parole violation that is a crime, other than the use
of drugs, alcohol, or an anger event, while in the program, will not
be allowed to continue in the program.
1212.2. (a) Programming will take place in three daily shifts
from 0900 to 1200 hours inclusive, from 1330 to 1630 hours inclusive,
and from 1800 to 2100 hours inclusive, five days a week, with
multiple drug therapy, alcohol therapy, and anger management therapy
treatments taking place concurrently. The treatment regimens shall
last 16 weeks. Each parolee shall be provided with a transit pass to
the location of the program.
(b) Each parolee will be allowed five failures during the 24-month
term of the program. If the parolee successfully completes the
program, and does not recidivate within the 24 months including
treatment, the parolee will be removed from parole supervision. Each
parolee will be required to provide a urine sample weekly for
purposes of drug and alcohol testing, although the actual number of
tests shall be random, rather than for each parolee for each sample.
(c) An independent laboratory shall process urine samples provided
by parolees during the programming period. A refusal to provide a
sample or be tested will be deemed a failure to participate or
complete the program. A failure to participate in an assigned daily
program without making up the absence immediately with a drug test
will also be considered a violation of the program.
(d) If a parolee fails to complete the program and has been placed
in the program based upon a decision to revoke parole which has been
suspended to allow the parolee to attend the program, the parolee
shall be subject to an incarceration period of nine months.
1212.3. The standard for measuring program success shall be
reduction in recidivism. "Success" shall be deemed to be a reduction
in recidivism to 50 percent, from the current level of 70 percent. If
recidivism is not reduced to 50 percent, the program will be deemed
to have failed.
1212.4. The program is designed to be revenue neutral, with
operating funds coming from Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation funds that would otherwise be spent for incarceration
of the parolees who are enrolled in the program.