BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2060
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 8, 2014
Counsel: Shaun Naidu
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2060 (V. Manuel Pérez) - As Amended: April 2, 2014
SUMMARY : Establishes the Supervised Population Workforce
Training Grant Program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the Supervised Population Workforce Training Grant
Program to be administered by the California Workforce
Investment Board (CWIB).
2)Requires that the grant program be competitive; open to all
counties, as specified; and funded, upon appropriation from
the Legislature, using money from the Recidivism Reduction
Fund.
3)Requires CWIB to administer the grant program as follows:
a) Develop criteria for the selection of grant recipients
through a public process.
b) Design the grant program application to ensure all of
the following occurs:
i) there is fairness and competitiveness for smaller
counties;
ii) there is fair and equitable geographic distribution
of grant funds; and,
iii) there is greater consideration given to counties
that have demonstrated a collaborative working
relationship with local workforce investment boards or
that currently have in place a workforce training program
for the supervised population.
4)Provides that each county is eligible to apply for the grant
program funds but that preference is given to counties with
demonstrated matching funding. Allows matching funds to come
AB 2060
Page 2
from governmental or nongovernmental sources, including, but
not limited to, local workforce investment boards, local
governments, or private foundation funds.
5)States that eligible uses of grant funds include, but are not
limited to, vocational training, stipends for trainees, and
apprenticeship opportunities for the supervised population.
6)Requires grant recipients to report to CWIB regarding their
use of the funds and workforce training program outcomes upon
completion of the grant period.
7)Requires CWIB to submit a report, as specified, to the
Legislature, using the reports from the grant recipients, by
January 1, 2017 containing all the following information:
a) The overall success of the grant program;
b) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the grant program;
c) A recommendation on the long-term viability of local
workforce investment board and county collaborations on
workforce training programs for the supervised population;
and,
d) A recommendation on the long-term viability of county
workforce training programs for the supervised population.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Creates in the State Treasury the Recidivism Reduction Fund
for moneys to be available, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, for activities designed to reduce the state's
prison population, including, but not limited to, reducing
recidivism. (Pen. Code, § 1233.9.)
2)Allows funds available in the Recidivism Reduction Fund to be
transferred to the State Community Corrections Performance
Incentives Fund. (Pen. Code, § 1233.9.)
3)States that CWIB is the body responsible for assisting the
Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous
improvement of California's workforce investment system and
the alignment of the education and workforce investment
systems to the needs of the 21st century economy and
AB 2060
Page 3
workforce. (Unemp. Ins. Code, § 14010.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "With orders
from the U.S. Supreme Court to reduce its prison population,
the state needs smart, effective policies to help local
jurisdictions achieve realignment goals and reduce recidivism.
Workforce development for the re-entry population is a
practical strategy for improving access to a stable job. It
helps improve offender outcomes, reduce the likelihood of
recidivism, and promote community safety and stability."
2)Background : According to material provided by the author's
office "Access to high quality workforce training is critical
to advancing successful reentry and lowering recidivism rates.
Workforce training opportunities to men and women re-entering
our communities ensures that they gain training and education,
job readiness skills, and job placement assistance required
for securing necessary employment after being released from
prison. This would lower repeat offenses, and ultimately, the
number of people incarcerated, as a number of studies haven
[sic] proven that people are less likely to offend or
recidivate if they are gainfully employed. However,
California and other states that seek to expand training and
job placement services for re-entry population face
significant challenges in securing public and private sector
funding. One major challenge stems from the Workforce
Investment Act basic success metric to get participants into
the workforce as quickly as possible. This basic program
design acts as a disincentive for Local Workforce Investment
Board (WIB) to develop and/or expand training programs and
initiatives that serve Californian's [sic] with greater needs
or who face higher barriers in securing employment. Local
WIBs and community based workforce training programs who have
built a track record of success rely heavily on collaborative
program planning, case management, and other implementation
strategies that also require resources."
3)State Strategy on Employment of Former Offenders : The federal
Workforce Investment Act requires the Governor, through CWIB,
to submit a State Strategic Workforce Development Plan (State
Plan) to the U.S. Department of Labor. This plan outlines a
AB 2060
Page 4
five-year strategy for the investment of federal workforce
training and employment services funds. With respect to
services to former offenders, CWIB states the following:
The State Board has leveraged the [California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)]
expertise to help Local Boards obtain additional
funding from "realignment" funds allocated to
counties. A workshop was conducted by the California
Workforce Association, which included CDCR and Local
Board staff sharing knowledge about realignment and
funding so that Local Boards might be in a better
position to engage their counties in seeking funding
to serve this new "realigned" population.
The State Board will continue to work closely with
CDCR and Local Boards to encourage and develop
innovative services for the ex-offender population.
With Policy Link and the National Employment Law
Project (NELP), the State Board is helping convene
Local Boards, to ensure formally incarcerated
individuals have access to quality employment
services. The State Board also worked with EDD and
NELP to develop a directive to ensure that Local
Boards comply with nondiscrimination obligations when
serving individuals with criminal records.
http://edd.ca.gov/Jobs_and_Training/pubs/wsd12-9.pdf.
Consistent with Adults Goal Objective 1, Action 2; the
State Board will work with the Local Boards to
identify in their Local Plan strategies they will
utilize to identify and remove barriers hampering
their investment of WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker
funds in [career technical education] programs to the
ex-offender population in their areas.
(Shared Strategy for a Shared Prosperity: California's
Strategic Workforce Development Plan 2013 - 2017, California
Workforce Investment Board (2013) Services to State Target
Populations, p. 10-7, 8
[as of Apr. 2, 2014].)
AB 2060
Page 5
4)Recidivism Reduction Fund : Pursuant to an order from the
federal Three-Judge Court presiding over the Plata/Coleman v.
Brown cases, California was required to reduce its prison
population to 137.5% of system-wide design capacity by
December 31, 2013. In response, the Governor proposed an
immediate plan to expand inmate housing to comply with the
court order and avoid the early release of prison inmates. In
the days following the release of the Governor's original
plan, the Governor and the Legislature agreed to a different
proposal that would take effect should the Three-Judge Court
grant the state's request to modify the order to allow the
state additional time to comply. The new plan, laid out in SB
105 (Steinberg), Chapter 310, Statutes 2013, stipulated that
if the amount of funding necessary to comply with a revised
court order extending the time to comply is less than the $315
million appropriated to facilitate immediate inmate housing
without any early release, the Director of Finance is to
direct the Controller to transfer the first $75 million of
such savings to the Recidivism Reduction Fund. Any additional
savings is to be allocated as follows: 50% reverted to the
General Fund and 50% transferred to the Recidivism Reduction
Fund. The purpose of the Recidivism Reduction Fund is to fund
activities aimed at reducing the state's prison population,
including, but not limited to, reducing recidivism. (Pen.
Code, § 1233.9.) This bill seeks to use funds from the
Recidivism Reduction Fund, upon appropriation of money into
the Fund by the Legislature, to provide matching-fund grants
to county governments to assist in vocational training,
stipends for trainees, and apprenticeship opportunities for
persons who are on probation, mandatory supervision, or
postrelease community supervision, with the goal that stable
employment and expanded job opportunities will "reduce the
likelihood of recidivism, and promote community safety and
stability."
5)Drafting Error : In Penal Code section 1234.4, subdivision
(c)(1) created by this bill, it states that the requirement
that CWIB submit a report to the Legislature becomes
inoperative on January 1, 2021, pursuant to Government Code
section 12031.5. There is no section 12031.5 within the
Government Code, however. It is recommended that the author
remedy this error to reference the appropriate statute.
6)Argument in Support : The California Workforce Association
"supports AB 2060 because job training for postrelease
AB 2060
Page 6
individuals is one of the most critical things that the state
can do to help ensure former offenders success post release in
supporting themselves and their families and not recidivating.
Local Workforce Investment Boards and America's Job Centers
of California specialize in working with individuals who have
the biggest barriers to employment, including ex-offenders.
One service they provide is on the job training for eligible
enrollees of the Workforce Investment Act and fund several
weeks of training at a place of employment while a worker
learns critical skills to be successful on the job. This
eliminates some risk and provides financial assistance to
businesses that are willing to give individuals a second
chance and turn their lives around and contribute to the
economy."
7)Current Legislation : AB 1797 (Rodriguez) would require the
State WIB, in consultation with specified agencies, to
identify opportunities for "earn and learn" job training
opportunities and develop the means to identify, assess, and
prepare a pool of qualified candidates seeking to enter those
training models. AB 1797 is pending in the Assembly Committee
on Labor and Employment.
8)Prior Legislation : SB 105 (Steinberg), Chapter 310, Statutes
of 2013, among other things, creates the Recidivism Reduction
Fund in the State Treasury to be available for appropriation
by the Legislature for activities aimed at reducing the
state's prison population, including, but not limited to,
reducing recidivism.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Public Defenders Association
California Workforce Association
Californians for Safety and Justice
Four private individuals
Opposition
None
AB 2060
Page 7
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744