BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2414
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 18, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Isadore Hall, Chair
AB 2414 (Solorio) - As Amended: March 29, 2012
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUBJECT : Postdischarge Youthful Offender Community Reentry
Grant Programs.
SUMMARY : Extends, until 2018, a youthful offender reentry
competitive grant program consisting of grants administered by
the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) to eligible
community programs, as defined, to target offenders who will be
16 to 23 years of age upon discharge from local or California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) facilities,
or parole, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes operation of the grant program contingent upon funds
appropriated for the purposes of the program
2)Provides that participation by discharged offenders would be
voluntary, and that priority would be given to youths who are
gang affiliated, or who have a family member who is gang
affiliated, as specified.
3)Sets forth those elements which, at a minimum, would be
required to be provided in an eligible community program by a
grantee.
4)Provides that addition to funds appropriated for the purposes
of this title, Cal EMA may accept private contributions to
fund these grants.
EXISTING LAW
1)Directs the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to administer
the Juvenile Justice Community Reentry Challenge Grant Program
(JJCRCGP) to award grants on a competitive basis to applicants
that demonstrate a collaborative and comprehensive approach to
the successful community reintegration of juvenile parolees.
2)States that the programs awarded grants through the Juvenile
Justice Community Reentry Challenge Grant Program shall
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provide wrap-around services, as specified.
3)Provides that the CDCR shall operate the Preventing Parolee
Crime Program with various components including, at a minimum,
residential and non-residential multi-service centers,
literacy laboratories, drug treatment networks and job
placement assistance for parolees.
4)Provides that prisoners on parole shall remain under the legal
custody of CDCR and shall be subject at any time to being
taken back within the enclosure of the prison.
5)Provides the Board of Parole Hearings has the power to
establish and enforce parole rules and regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Background : Established in 2010, through a one-time allocation
of funds, the California Youthful Offender Reentry Program
(Cal-YOR) offers grants to nonprofit organizations on a
competitive basis that provides services to address the needs of
youth offenders reentering society. Half of the one-time
allocation of funds is provided by the federal Edward Byrne
Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG). The remaining funding
is provided by the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance's
Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program (RSAT).
Youthful offenders are defined as individuals aged 16 through
23, who were convicted of a crime and entered the juvenile
justice system prior to adulthood. Priority is given to
youthful offenders that are gang affiliated, or who have an
immediate family member identified as gang affiliated. Within 72
hours of release the youth are enrolled into Cal-YOR funded
programs.
Cal-YOR is based on an award winning re-entry model developed by
YouthBuild USA, a national coalition of job training programs
specializing in at-risk youth.
Author's Statement : According to the author, "�this bill] would
provide authorization for the continued operation of a
cost-effective, innovative, program that targets youthful
offenders who are reentering society? and would ensure that the
AB 2414
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program continues its critical role in reducing crime by
offering young men and women a second chance and by rebuilding
communities victimized by crime."
YouthBuild USA Programs : In 1992, YouthBuild was established
under the Federal Housing and Community Development Act of 1992.
The objectives of the program included providing opportunities
designed to help disadvantaged young adults obtain education,
employment, and leadership skills, and to expand the supply of
permanent affordable housing for homeless persons and members of
low income and very low income families. In 2006, President
Bush signed the YouthBuild Transfer Act into law after it passed
by unanimous consent in both houses of Congress, moving the
YouthBuild program from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development to the United States Department of Labor. The
federal program provides grants to organizations on a
competitive basis to create YouthBuild programs. Currently,
there are 273 YouthBuild programs operating throughout the
country. Thirty three Youth Build programs are operating in
California as part of the California YouthBuild Coalition
(CYBC).
Arguments in Support : The California YouthBuild Coalition
states that, "Cal YOR YouthBuild Programs enroll a mix of youths
who are exiting both state and county correctional facilities.
The program's combined recidivism rates average less than 10%,
significantly better than the state rate of 70%. Two of these
programs have had no participants return to state or local
correctional facilities. In 2007, the Fresno YouthBuild tested
a version of this reentry program after securing funding from
the Juvenile Justice Challenge Grant, which was a one-time
allocation in the California State Budget. The Fresno program
had amazing results. They enrolled twenty-nine youth who were
incarcerated in DJJ facilities."
CYBC further states that, "according to an official DJJ
evaluation, only one of these students committed a new offense.
All 29 youth were employed for some period of their enrollment.
Half of the students achieved a high school diploma or GED
equivalent after less than 12 months in the program. Eight of
the youth eventually enrolled in a community college or
university within the first year. AB 2414 would ensure that the
Cal-YOR program, as funding is available, continues its critical
role in reducing crime, offering young men and women a second
chance, and rebuilding communities victimized by crime."
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Double referral : Should AB 2414 pass the Assembly committee on
Public Safety on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, this bill will be
referred to the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization
where it will be heard on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.
Author Amendments : The author will be offering amendments in
committee to fix leg counsel drafting errors. These amendments
will also delete lines 16-21 on page 4 thus deleting the
requirement that Cal EMA maintain statistical information on the
success of this program.
Prior Legislation :
AB 1387 (Solorio), 2011-2012 Legislative Session. The bill
would have established the Rebuilding Communities and Rebuilding
Lives Act of 2011 and stated that Cal EMA, to the extent that
funds are appropriated, shall establish a Youthful Offender
Reentry 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 (CDCR) Division of Juvenile
Facilities (DJF), probation, or parole. The bill was amended to
address another issue.
AB 2200 (Solorio), 2009-2010 Legislative session. The bill
would have mandated, to the extent that funds were appropriated,
to establish "Rebuilding Communities and Rebuilding Lives Act of
2010" which would have mandated CDCR to establish a reentry
program specifically targeting offenders who will be between 16
and 23 years of age upon their release, parole, or discharge
from either state or county custody. The bill was held on the
Assembly Appropriations Committee's Suspense File.
AB 1049 (Solorio), 2007-2008 Legislative Session. The bill
would have required CDCR to establish the Rebuilding Lives and
Communities Reentry Programs for parolees between the ages of
18-24 to assist parolees with community reintegration in
specified communities. The bill was vetoed.
AB 1806 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 69, Statutes of 2006.
Established the Juvenile Justice Community Reentry Challenge
Grant Program to be administered by DJJ to award grants on a
competitive basis to counties and nonprofits organizations to
provide specified wrap around services to juvenile parolees.
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AB 643 (Wesson), Chapter 829, Statutes of 1999. Established a
YouthBuild Program within the Employment Development Department
to provide grants to organizations which employ and train
disadvantaged youth in conjunction with the construction or
rehabilitations of housing for low income and other specified
populations.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California YouthBuild Coalition (Sponsor)
California Public Defenders Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Felipe Lopez / G. O. / (916) 319-2531