BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 892 (Hancock) - State prisons: security housing units.
Amended: April 2, 2014 Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 23, 2014 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE. AS AMENDED.
Bill Summary: SB 892 would reform the policies and procedures of
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) with
regard to offender placement in a Security Housing Unit (SHU) or
Psychiatric Services Unit (PSU), as defined, and require the
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to provide oversight
activities, as specified.
Fiscal Impact (as approved on May 23, 2014):
One-time costs of about $1 million (General Fund) for the
development of individualized plans for existing SHU
inmates, new programming, the SHU credit earning program,
and revision of regulations.
Unknown, potentially major one-time costs in the millions
of dollars (General Fund) should capital improvements be
required to accommodate the yard-time provisions specifying
exercise for SHU offenders in the presence of other
offenders.
Major ongoing costs to CDCR upwards of $19.2 million
(General Fund) to meet the requirements of this bill which
include:
o 1 new Associate Director (and complement of staff):
$1.2 million.
o 10 ombudsmen (2 each per SHU/PSU facility): $2.1
million
o Mental health screenings: $7.2 million
o 90-day correctional counselor assessments: $1.3
million
o Weekly face-to-face interactions with civilian
staff/volunteers: $3.3 million
o Incentives program: $4.1 million
Ongoing costs of about $2.4 million (General Fund) for the
OIG to employ 10 secured housing specialists (the bill
specifies two for each SHU and PSU) and the associated
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complement of staff to carry out the ongoing review and
periodic auditing requirements of the bill.
Potentially significant future cost savings (General Fund)
in reduced SHU/PSU terms due to accelerated movement out of
the SHU/PSU to the general population to the extent
offenders successfully progress through the Step-Down
Program, and benefit from programming, the incentives
program and credit-earning opportunities.
Background: On October 9, 2013, the Assembly and Senate
Committees on Public Safety held a joint informational hearing
on California's prison segregation policies. One of the
panelists, Margaret Winter, Associate Director of the National
Prison Project for the American Civil Liberties Union, reported
on the status of the national dialogue of scrutiny, analysis,
and reform of the policy and practice of segregated housing in
prisons. An article published online by the American
Correctional Association noted in part (Administrative
Segregation: Continuing the Conversation, On the Line, September
2013, Vol. 36, No.5):
According to Winter, segregation should only be
used for those who pose a serious violent
threat to others, and only for as short a time
as possible. "We can agree that corrections
professionals must have the option, in extreme
situations, to separate inmates in order to
maintain security," she said. "But even when
there is compelling need for physical
separation for security reasons, that is not
justification for extreme social isolation,
sensory deprivation or enforced idleness."
?Winter also said that it is crucial for
inmates to be able to earn their way out of
segregation for good behavior, and that
juveniles should never be housed in segregation
long term? She indicated that several recent
court rulings have deemed the segregation of
inmates with disabilities or serious mental
illnesses to be a violation of the eighth
amendment. "We can expect to see more and more
of these cases challenging segregation, not
just for the mentally ill, but for anyone."
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In summary, this hearing highlighted the widely held principle
that while short term segregation is an important tool, long
term segregation can have a detrimental impact not only on
inmates but also on overall public safety.
This bill seeks to increase oversight and accountability of the
placement and monitoring of offenders in the SHU by providing
reforms such as due process protections prior to STG validation,
mental health screenings and monitoring, and additional review
and auditing responsibilities for the OIG. This bill also seeks
to improve conditions of confinement in the SHU through the
provision of appropriate programming and an incentives program.
Proposed Law: This bill would revise policies and procedures for
oversight and accountability of the CDCR use of the SHU and PSU,
as follows:
New CDCR position created - to oversee STG validation and
SHU operations and conditions.
Defines - custody, SHU, PSU, determinate and indeterminate
SHU term, STG, STG affiliate, STG validation.
Due process prior to validation as STG affiliate -
requires CDCR to provide, at a minimum, the following
procedural protections:
o Timely, written, and effective notice to the
inmate that validation is being considered, and facts
upon which consideration is based.
o Decision-making by a dedicated and specially
trained classification committee.
o A hearing at which the inmate may be heard in
person and absent an individualized determination of
good cause, has a reasonable opportunity to present
available witnesses and information.
o An interpreter, if necessary, for the offender
to understand or participate in proceedings.
o An advocate to assist with the offender's
investigation.
o An independent determination by the committee
of the reliability and credibility of confidential
informants.
o A written statement in plain language setting
forth the specific evidence relied upon, and the
reasons for, validation.
Step Down Program placement for all inmates serving
indeterminate SHU terms - effective January 1, 2015:
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o Provides general description of the Step Down
Program, but does not specify number or description of
steps to completion.
o Requires development of individualized plan
for each inmate within 30 days of placement in
program, as specified.
o Requires the provision of promising or
evidence-based programming.
o Requires CDCR to track an inmate's progress in
the program.
o Requires assessment by a correctional
counselor every 90 days to monitor progress and meet
with offender and resource specialist.
o Provides that an offender shall have the
opportunity to advance to the next step of the program
after successful participation in the current step for
180 days.
o Requires CDCR to prepare a comprehensive
reentry plan for every offender who will parole
directly into the community.
Offenders serving determinate SHU terms -
o Requires CDCR to develop an individualized
plan for each offender within 30 days of placement in
SHU, as specified.
o Requires the provision of promising or
evidence-based programming.
o Requires CDCR to track an inmate's progress
meeting the plan goals.
o Requires assessment by a correctional
counselor every 90 days to monitor progress and meet
with the offender and resource specialist.
o Provides that offenders serving a determinate
SHU term shall be eligible to earn credits towards
early release from SHU, and CDCR responsible for
developing guidelines for earning those credits.
o Requires CDCR to prepare a comprehensive
reentry plan for every offender who will parole
directly into community.
Meaningful stimulation requirements - all offenders placed
in SHU and PSU to be provided with the following:
o Access to educational programming, including
in-cell programming.
o Opportunities to exercise in the presence of
other offenders, provided offenders may be separated
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by security barriers, if necessary.
o Daily face-to-face interaction with both
uniformed and civilian staff or volunteers.
o Access to radio or television.
Incentives program - requires CDCR to create a
behavior-driven progressive incentives program that includes
but is not limited to the following for any 30-day period
where an offender in SHU or PSU does not receive a rules
violation report:
o One additional phone call in the following
month.
o One additional photograph, for a maximum of
10.
o Four additional hours of recreational yard
time in the following month.
Provides that an offender is entitled to the privileges
above if disciplinary action is reversed, dismissed, or
modified to a minor rules violation.
Increased credit-earning - provides that an offender is
eligible to earn credits, as specified, during the time he
or she is in the SHU for periods in which he or she remains
free of disciplinary action for six consecutive months.
Mental health screenings and monitoring - requires mental
health screenings by a qualified mental health professional
within 30 days prior to SHU term.
o Provides that an offender who has been
diagnosed with a serious mental illness or who has a
history of serious mental illness and decompensation
in segregated settings shall not be placed in the SHU.
o All inmates segregated in SHU as of January 1,
2015, required to undergo a mental health assessment
by March 31, 2015.
o Mental health of offenders in SHU or PSU to be
monitored by daily log maintained by correctional
staff, documenting offenders' behavior.
o Requires qualified mental health professional
to conduct rounds at least weekly in SHU and PSU to
speak to unit staff, review daily log, and observe and
speak to offenders receiving mental health treatment.
o Requires CDCR to provide training to all
correctional staff in SHU and PSU on how to respond to
an individual experiencing a psychiatric crisis in
ways that reduce rather than escalate the crisis.
Two CDCR ombudsmen for each SHU and PSU - to act as
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offender resource specialists to assist offenders with
concerns/questions about responsibilities and rights during
SHU or PSU confinement, respond to inquiries from offenders'
family members, and explain SHU and PSU policies to the
public.
CDCR data collection requirements - commencing July 1,
2015, required to collect the following data:
o Personal information on offenders going
through the validation process including gender, age,
mental health status, race, date of validation, level
of validation assigned.
o Information on offenders being housed in SHU
or PSU, including personal information noted above,
date placed in SHU and date released, time spent in
each step of Step Down Program, number of visits from
non-staff members, number of telephone calls provided
while in SHU, whether attempts at suicide, any
disciplinary action taken, whether paroled directly
into community, number of administrative appeals
filed, subject matter, and outcomes of the appeals.
New review and audit responsibilities of the OIG -
o Commencing July 1, 2015, review every STG
validation completed on or after July 1, 2015, in
which confidential information was used, to determine
whether minimum level of due process was provided to
inmate and that validation supported by evidence.
[Ongoing]
o On or before July 1, 2016, review central file
of each offender serving indeterminate SHU term who is
denied progress within the Step Down Program to assess
CDCR's compliance with requirements specified in this
bill. [One-time]
o On July 1, 2016, and annually thereafter,
provide audit report to Governor and Legislature of
offenders serving determinate SHU term to assess
CDCR's compliance with requirements of the bill.
[Annual]
o On or before July 1, 2016, and biennially
thereafter, perform audit to assess CDCR's compliance
with incentives program and credit earning provisions
of the bill. [Biennial]
o On or before July 1, 2016, and biennially
thereafter, perform audit to assess CDCR's compliance
with mental health screening, monitoring, and training
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requirements of the bill. [Biennial]
o Commencing January 1, 2017, and biennially
thereafter, required to use the data collected by CDCR
to prepare a report to Legislature that includes, at a
minimum, information on all data points collected.
[Biennial]
o Requires employment of two secured housing
specialists for each SHU and PSU (8 SHU/PSU x 2 staff
= 16 total staff) to monitor the programming and
conditions of the SHU and PSU in addition to assuming
any related duties determined by the IG.
Related Legislation: AB 1652 (Ammiano) 2014 would remove
existing provisions of law prohibiting a person who is placed in
a SHU, PSU, Behavioral Management Unit, or an Administrative
Segregation Unit upon validation as a prison gang member or
associate ineligible from receiving credits. The bill would only
allow an inmate to be assigned to a SHU for the same misconduct
that would make him or her ineligible to earn credits while in a
SHU pursuant to the above provisions. This bill is pending
hearing in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
Staff Comments: This bill will result in major ongoing General
Fund costs for the CDCR and OIG to implement and operate each
year. See "Fiscal Impact" section for an outline of these costs.
Recommended Amendments: For clarity, staff recommends an
amendment to redefine SHU in the bill to include California
State Prison, Sacramento, for a total of 5 SHUs.
There are three PSUs located within three of the five CDCR
facilities with SHUs (CIW, CSP-SAC, and Pelican Bay). For
clarity, the author may wish to consider an amendment to remove
the reference to PSU in the provisions of the bill mandating two
CDCR ombudsmen and two OIG specialists per SHU and PSU, to
clearly indicate only two staff per institution (10 staff)
instead of two staff per unit (16 staff) is intended.
On page 6, in lines 35-37, "Security Housing Unit" is defined as
housing for an offender who is a difficult management case, a
security threat group member , or a maximum security offender.
Staff recommends an amendment to replace the word "member" with
"affiliate," to include both STG members and associates.
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On page 8, in line 7, for consistency, a technical amendment to
Section 2696.5(b), to replace the word "gang" with security
threat group.
On page 8, in line 11, staff recommends an amendment to clarify
reference to "offender" in Section 2697(a) to "offender serving
an indeterminate term" placed in the SHU.
On page 9, in line 22, staff recommends an amendment to Section
2697(h) to add "and annually thereafter" after 2016. As drafted,
the OIG is only required to review central files once by July 1,
2016. This would require the OIG to monitor compliance with this
section on an ongoing basis.
Author amendments do the following:
Reduce required visitation frequency from daily to
weekly.
Clarify that the new ombudsmen and specialist positions
required at CDCR and OIG are per facility, rather than per
SHU and PSU unit.
Revise various definitions.
Make other technical changes.