BILL NUMBER: AB 1387 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2011
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Solorio
FEBRUARY 18, 2011
An act to amend Section 271 of the Penal Code, relating
to crimes. An act to add Section 3054.5 to the Penal
Code, relating to parole.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1387, as amended, Solorio. Crimes: child abandonment.
Rebuilding Communities and Rebuilding Lives Act of
2011.
Existing law, until January 1, 2011, required the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish a pilot program in
Alameda County for parolees returning to Alameda County to conduct
needs-based assessments of the individual parolees, as specified.
This bill would require the California Emergency Management
Agency, subject to an appropriation of funds, to establish a Youthful
Offender Reentry (Cal-Yor) competitive grant program specifically
targeting offenders who will be between 16 and 23 years of age upon
their release from a local county juvenile facility, the Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Division of Juvenile Facilities,
probation, or parole to assist in community reintegration upon
release, as specified. The reentry programs would include
construction training, academic services, counseling, and tracking of
graduates after completion of the program. The bill would require
the agency to maintain statistical information related to the reentry
programs, as specified.
Existing law provides that every parent of any child under the age
of 14 years, and every person to whom that child has been confided
for nurture, or education, who deserts that child in any place
whatever with intent to abandon that child, is punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison or in the county jail not exceeding
one year or by fine not exceeding $1,000 or by both that fine and
imprisonment.
This bill would increase the fine specified above to a fine not
exceeding $1,500.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3054.5 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
3054.5. (a) This section shall be known as the Rebuilding
Communities and Rebuilding Lives Act of 2011.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Recidivism rates of youthful offenders in California are
unacceptably high.
(2) Relevant studies show that access to education and job
training programs can play a significant role in reducing recidivism
rates especially if enrollment takes place immediately upon release
from incarceration.
(3) The California Emergency Management Agency debuted the
California Youthful Offender Reentry competitive grant program in
2011 and utilized appropriate federal funding to support this
program.
(4) The Legislature intends to continue this program contingent
upon appropriate funding.
(c) (1) The California Emergency Management Agency, to the extent
funds are appropriated for the purpose of this section, shall
establish a Youthful Offender Reentry (Cal-Yor) competitive grant
program specifically targeting offenders who will be between 16 and
23 years of age upon their release from a local county juvenile
facility, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Division
of Juvenile Facilities, probation, or parole.
(2) Grantees shall preenroll eligible youths into eligible
community programs, as defined in this section. Priority shall be
given to programs that have existed for at least one year prior to
the effective date of this section and to those eligible community
programs that have operated at any time in the previous three years.
(3) Each grantee shall officially enroll each youthful offender
into its program no more than 72 hours after release from a described
local or state facility. Participation of an eligible youth in any
eligible community program shall commence no more than 72 hours after
release, parole, or discharge from a facility operated by the
department or the local entity. Enrollment and participation are
subject to the approval of each program or local entity.
(d) For purposes of this section, an "eligible community program"
means, at a minimum, a program that provides all of the following:
(1) Integrated education and job training services and activities
on an equally divided basis, with 50 percent of participants' time
spent in classroom-based instruction, counseling, and leadership
development instruction, and 50 percent of participants' time spent
in experiential job training.
(A) The education component described in this paragraph shall
include basic skills instruction, secondary education services, and
other activities designed to lead to the attainment of a high school
diploma or its equivalent. The curriculum for this component shall
include math, language arts, vocational education, life skills
training, social studies related to the cultural and community
history of the participants, and leadership skills.
(B) Bilingual services shall be available for individuals with
limited English proficiency, and an English learning curriculum shall
be provided where feasible and appropriate.
(C) A program shall have a goal of a minimum teacher-to-student
ratio of one teacher for every 18 students.
(D) The job training component described in paragraph (1) shall
involve work experience and skills training apprenticeships related
to construction and rehabilitation activities described in paragraph
(4).
(2) Assistance in attaining postsecondary education and in
obtaining financial aid shall be made available to participants prior
to graduation from the program.
(3) Counseling services designed to assist participants in
positively participating in society, including all of the following,
as necessary:
(A) Outreach, assessment, and orientation.
(B) Individual and peer counseling.
(C) Life skills training.
(D) Drug and alcohol abuse education and prevention.
(E) Referral to appropriate drug rehabilitation, medical, mental
health, legal, housing, and other community services and resources. A
program shall have a goal of a minimum counselor-to-participant
ratio of one counselor for every 28 participants.
(4) Acquisition, rehabilitation, acquisition and rehabilitation,
or construction of housing and related facilities to be used for the
purpose of providing home ownership for disadvantaged persons,
residential housing for homeless individuals and very low income
families, or transitional housing for persons who are homeless, ill,
deinstitutionalized, or who have disabilities or special needs.
(5) Leadership development training that provides participants
with meaningful opportunities to develop leadership skills, including
decisionmaking, problem solving, and negotiating. A program shall
encourage participants to develop strong peer group ties that support
their mutual pursuit of skills and values.
(e) Each eligible community program shall work cooperatively with
local probation and parole offices to ensure appropriate oversight of
any eligible youth who enrolls and participates in the program for
the duration of the eligible youth's participation and term of
probation or parole. Eligible community programs shall meet the
requirements described in Article 4 (commencing with Section 9800) of
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 3 of the Unemployment Insurance
Code.
(f) For purposes of this section, an "eligible youth" means a
person between 16 and 23 years of age, who is economically
disadvantaged, as defined in Section 12511 of Title 42 of the United
States Code, and who is under the custody and control of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile
Facilities or a county.
(g) Priority for enrollment shall be given to eligible youths whom
the department or local entity has determined to be gang affiliated,
or who have an immediate family member who has been identified as
gang affiliated.
(h) The California Emergency Management Agency shall maintain
statistical information on the success of this program, including,
but not limited to, the number of eligible youths served and the rate
of return to custody for those eligible youths who enroll and
participate in an eligible community program. This information shall
be provided to the Legislature upon request.
SECTION 1. Section 271 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
271. Every parent of any child under the age of 14 years, and
every person to whom that child has been confided for nurture, or
education, who deserts that child in any place whatever with intent
to abandon that child, is punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison or in the county jail not exceeding one year or by a fine not
exceeding one thousandfive hundred dollars ($1,500) or by both that
fine and imprisonment.