BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A
2013-2014 Regular Session B
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0
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AB 2060 (V. Manuel Perez) 0
As Amended May 23, 2014
Hearing date: June 24, 2014
Penal Code
AA:sl
SUPERVISED POPULATION WORKFORCE TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation: None
Support: Anaheim Workforce Investment Board; Association for Los
Angeles Deputy Sheriffs'; California Public Defenders
Association; California Workforce Association;
Californians for Safety and Justice; the Edge
Coalition; Fresno Regional Workforce Investment Board;
Golden Sierra Job Training Agency; The Greenlining
Institute; Imperial County Workforce Development
Office; Kern/Inyo/Mono Consortium; Legal Services for
Prisoners with Children; Marin County Workforce
Investment Board; Merced County Workforce Investment
Board; Mexican American Opportunity Foundation;
National Center for Youth Law; North Central Counties
Consortium Workforce Investment Board; NOVA Workforce
Board; PolicyLink; Riverside County Superintendent of
Schools; Riverside Sheriffs' Association; San Diego
Workforce Partnership; Workforce Investment Board of
San Joaquin County; South Bay Workforce Investment
Board; Verdugo Workforce Investment Board; several
individuals
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Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 77 - Noes 0
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD A "SUPERVISED POPULATION WORKFORCE TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM" BE
ESTABLISHED?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to establish the "Supervised
Population Workforce Training Grant Program," as specified.
Current law 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.)
Current law allows funds available in the Recidivism Reduction
Fund to be transferred to the State Community Corrections
Performance Incentives Fund. (Pen. Code § 1233.9.)
Current law states that the California Workforce Investment
Board (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 workforce. (Unemp. Ins. Code §
14010.)
This bill would establish the "Supervised Population Workforce
Training Grant Program" ("program) with the following features
and requirements.
Definitions
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This bill includes the following definitions:
"California Workforce Investment Board" or "State WIB"
means the California Workforce Investment Board established
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 14010) of
Chapter 3 of Division 7 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
"Grant program" means the Supervised Population
Workforce Training Grant Program.
"Recidivism Reduction Fund" means the Recidivism
Reduction Fund created pursuant to Section 1233.9.
"Supervised population" means those persons who are on
probation, mandatory supervision, or post release community
supervision and are supervised by, or are under the
jurisdiction of, a county.
Administration; Eligible Uses of Grant Funds
This bill would require that the program be administered by the
California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB).
This bill would provide that eligible uses of grant funds
include, but are not limited to, vocational training, stipends
for trainees, and apprenticeship opportunities for the
supervised population. "Supportive services and job readiness
activities shall serve as bridge activities that lead to
enrollment in long-term training programs."
This bill would require CWIB in developing this program, to
"consult with public and private stakeholders, including local
workforce investment boards, local governments, and nonprofit
community-based organizations that serve the supervised
population."
This bill would require CWIB to administer the grant program as
follows:
Develop criteria for the selection of grant recipients
through a public application process, including, but not
limited to, the rating and ranking of applications that
meet the threshold criteria set forth in this section.
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Design the grant program application process to ensure
all of the following occurs:
(1) Outreach and technical assistance is made available
to eligible applicants,
especially to small population and rural counties.
(2) Grants are awarded on a competitive basis.
(3) Small and rural counties are competitive in applying
for funds.
(4) Applicants are encouraged to develop evidence-based,
best practices for serving
the workforce training and education needs of the
supervised population.
(5) The education and training needs of both of the
following are addressed:
(a) Individuals with some postsecondary education who
can enter into programs and benefit from services that
result in certifications, and placement on a middle
skill career ladder.
(b) Individuals who require basic education as well as
training in order to obtain entry level jobs where
there are opportunities for career advancement.
Grant Awards
This bill would require that the program be competitively
awarded through at least two rounds of funding, with the first
phase of funding being awarded on or before May 1, 2015.
This bill would provide that each county is eligible to apply,
and a single application may include multiple counties applying
jointly.
This bill would require that each application include a
partnership agreement between the county or counties and one or
more local workforce investment boards that outline the actions
each party agrees to undertake as part of the project proposed
in the application.
This bill would require that at a minimum, each project proposed
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in the application include a provision for an education and
training assessment for each individual of the supervised
population who participates in the project. "The assessment may
be undertaken by the applicant or by another entity. A prior
assessment of an individual may be used if, in the determination
of the CWIB, its results are accurate."
This bill would require that preference be awarded to
applications for the following:
(1) An application that proposes matching funds, including,
but not limited to, moneys committed by local workforce
investment boards, local governments, and private
foundation funds.
(2) An application submitted by a county that currently
administers or participates in a workforce training program
for the supervised population.
(3) An application that proposes participation by one or
more nonprofit community-based organizations that serve the
supervised population.
This bill would require that an application meet the following
requirements:
(1) Set a specific purpose for the use of the grant funds,
as well as provide the baseline criteria and metrics by
which the overall success of the grant project can be
evaluated.
(2) Define the specific subset of the supervised
population, among the eligible supervised population that
the grant money will serve.
(3) Define the industry sector or sectors in which the
targeted supervised population will be trained, including
the current and projected workforce within the region for
those jobs, the range of wage rates, and the training and
education requirements within those industry sectors.
(4) Define the general methodology and training methods
proposed to be used and explain the manner in which the
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progress of the targeted supervised population will be
monitored during the grant period.
This bill would require that as a condition of receiving funds,
a grant recipient shall agree to provide information to the CWIB
in sufficient detail to allow CWIB to meet the reporting
requirements detailed in this bill.
Funding
This bill would require that the grant program be funded, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, using moneys from the
Recidivism Reduction Fund. Implementation of this program would
be contingent upon the director of the CWIB notifying the
Department of Finance that sufficient moneys have been
appropriated for this specific grant program.
Reporting
This bill would provide that on at least an annual basis, and
upon completion of the grant period, grant recipients shall
report to the CWIB regarding their use of the funds and
workforce training program outcomes.
This bill would require that by January 1, 2018, the CWIB shall
submit a report to the Legislature using the reports from the
grant recipients. The report shall contain all the following
information:
(1) The overall success of the grant program, based on the
goals and metrics set in the awarded grants;
(2) An evaluation of the effectiveness of the grant program
based on the goals and metrics set in the awarded grants;
(3) A recommendation on the long-term viability of local
workforce investment board and county collaborations on
workforce training programs for the supervised population;
(4) A recommendation on the long-term viability of county
workforce training programs for the supervised population;
(5) In considering the overall success and effectiveness of
the grant program, the report shall include a discussion of
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all of the following:
(A) Whether the programs aligned with the workforce needs
of high-demand sectors of the state and regional
economies;
(B) Whether there was an active job market for the skills
being developed where the member of the supervised
population was likely to be released;
(C) Whether the program increased the number of members
of the supervised population that obtained a marketable
and industry or apprenticeship board-recognized
certification, credential, or degree;
(D) Whether the program increased the numbers of the
supervised population that successfully complete a job
readiness basic skill bridge program and enroll in a
long-term training program;
(E) Whether there were formal or informal networks in the
field that support finding employment upon release from
custody; and,
(F) Whether the program led to employment in occupations
with a livable wage.
This bill would make these reporting requirements inoperative on
January 1, 2021, as specified, and contains additional technical
language in this regard.
Sunset
This bill would provide that the chapter it would enact would
remain in effect only until January 1, 2021, and as of that date
would be repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is
enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends that date.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's
prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation
relating to conditions of confinement. On May 23, 2011, the
United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its
prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two
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years from the date of its ruling, subject to the right of the
state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances.
Beginning in early 2007, Senate leadership initiated a policy to
hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate the
prison overcrowding crisis through new or expanded felony
prosecutions. Under the resulting policy, known as "ROCA"
(which stands for "Receivership/ Overcrowding Crisis
Aggravation"), the Committee held measures that created a new
felony, expanded the scope or penalty of an existing felony, or
otherwise increased the application of a felony in a manner
which could exacerbate the prison overcrowding crisis. Under
these principles, ROCA was applied as a content-neutral,
provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature did
not erode progress towards reducing prison overcrowding by
passing legislation, which would increase the prison population.
In January of 2013, just over a year after the enactment of the
historic Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, the State of
California filed court documents seeking to vacate or modify the
federal court order requiring the state to reduce its prison
population to 137.5 percent of design capacity. The State
submitted that the, ". . . population in the State's 33 prisons
has been reduced by over 24,000 inmates since October 2011 when
public safety realignment went into effect, by more than 36,000
inmates compared to the 2008 population . . . , and by nearly
42,000 inmates since 2006 . . . ." Plaintiffs opposed the
state's motion, arguing that, "California prisons, which
currently average 150% of capacity, and reach as high as 185% of
capacity at one prison, continue to deliver health care that is
constitutionally deficient." In an order dated January 29,
2013, the federal court granted the state a six-month extension
to achieve the 137.5 % inmate population cap by December 31,
2013.
The Three-Judge Court then ordered, on April 11, 2013, the state
of California to "immediately take all steps necessary to comply
with this Court's . . . Order . . . requiring defendants to
reduce overall prison population to 137.5% design capacity by
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December 31, 2013." On September 16, 2013, the State asked the
Court to extend that deadline to December 31, 2016. In
response, the Court extended the deadline first to January 27,
2014 and then February 24, 2014, and ordered the parties to
enter into a meet-and-confer process to "explore how defendants
can comply with this Court's June 20, 2013 Order, including
means and dates by which such compliance can be expedited or
accomplished and how this Court can ensure a durable solution to
the prison crowding problem."
The parties were not able to reach an agreement during the
meet-and-confer process. As a result, the Court ordered
briefing on the State's requested extension and, on February 10,
2014, issued an order extending the deadline to reduce the
in-state adult institution population to 137.5% design capacity
to February 28, 2016. The order requires the state to meet the
following interim and final population reduction benchmarks:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
If a benchmark is missed the Compliance Officer (a position
created by the February 10, 2016 order) can order the release of
inmates to bring the State into compliance with that benchmark.
In a status report to the Court dated May 15, 2014, the state
reported that as of May 14, 2014, 116,428 inmates were housed in
the State's 34 adult institutions, which amounts to 140.8% of
design bed capacity, and 8,650 inmates were housed in
out-of-state facilities.
The ongoing prison overcrowding litigation indicates that prison
capacity and related issues concerning conditions of confinement
remain unresolved. While real gains in reducing the prison
population have been made, even greater reductions may be
required to meet the orders of the federal court. Therefore,
the Committee's consideration of ROCA bills -bills that may
impact the prison population - will be informed by the following
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questions:
Whether a measure erodes realignment and impacts the
prison population;
Whether a measure addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a bill corrects a constitutional infirmity or
legislative drafting error;
Whether a measure proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy; and,
Whether a bill addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1. Stated Need for This Bill
The author states in part:
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. . . .
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
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ultimately, the number of people incarcerated, as a
number of studies have 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 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.
AB 2060 addresses these challenges by: (1) allocating
resources from the Recidivism Reduction Fund for
workforce training and development that specifically
serves the post-release community supervision
population; (2) incentivizing collaboration between
local WIBs, probation and corrections and community
based organizations that have good track records; and
requiring a local match (investment) that will help
ensure greater program impact and sustainability of
collaboration that is key to success of the State's
criminal realignment strategy.
Investing in services and supports for the reentry
population is also in alignment with statewide
workforce goals. California's Strategic Workforce
Development Plan 2013-2017 includes the goal of
providing access to quality employment services for
formally incarcerated individuals is an overarching
priority for the State Workforce Investment Board
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(CWIB). Further, the Plan underscores the need to
address barriers in existing funding (i.e. Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) Adult and Dislocated Worker
funding) that prevents Local Workforce Investment
Boards (LWIBs) from investing in programs for the
ex-offender population in their areas. With targeted
funding, local workforce systems can provide training
and job placement services that specifically serve
their reentry populations, allowing them to
successfully reintegrate into the community and become
productive, valued members of society.
Additionally, the Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) on
the Administration's Response to Prison Overcrowding
Order recommends that Recidivism Reduction Fund
dollars be used to develop or expand programs that
improve offender outcomes as a strategy for reducing
the number of offenders admitted to state prison. . .
.
As a competitive program, AB 2060 grants greater
consideration to counties that provide matching funds,
have demonstrated collaborative working relationships
with local workforce investment boards, and/or have a
workforce training program for the reentry population.
This will incentivize regions to leverage additional
dollars targeted for workforce training for reentry
populations that can be used to strengthen and expand
training and employment services for formerly
incarcerated individuals. Regions will also be
incentivized to foster collaboration and coordination
with LWIBs, the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, community-based organizations, labor,
and business toward this same goal. Regional
coordination between systems also supports and
advances the state's realignment goals and will
provide greater opportunity to establish effective
strategies for achieving successful realignment.
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2. What This Bill Would Do
As explained above, this bill would create the Supervised
Population Workforce Training Grant Program, administered by the
CWIB, to provide grant funding for vocational training and
apprenticeship opportunities for offenders under county
jurisdiction who are on probation, mandatory community
supervision, or post-release community supervision. The bill
would require CWIB to administer the grant program through a
public process, as specified, with preference for counties (a)
with a demonstrated collaborative working relationship with
local workforce investment boards; (b) with a workforce training
program in place for the supervised population; and (c) that
offer a funding match.
The bill would require grant recipients to report to CWIB
regarding their use of the funds and workforce training program
outcomes upon completion of the grant period and requires CWIB
to report, as specified, to the Legislature by January 1, 2018.
The program would sunset January 1, 2021.
3. 2014-15 Budget Action
SB 852 (Leno), the 2014-2015 budget bill, contains an
appropriation of $1 million for "support of Employment
Development Department, for a recidivism reduction workforce
training and development grant program, payable from the
Recidivism Reduction Fund . . . ."
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4. Background
As explained in the Assembly Public Safety Committee analysis of
this bill, 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 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
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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].)
5. Support
The California Workforce Association, which supports this bill,
states in part:
(J)ob training for post release 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. Without these critical programs, CWA
believes that California will be unable to truly make
progress in lowering the recidivism rate.
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.
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