BILL ANALYSIS
AB 565
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 11, 2000
Chief Counsel: Harry M. Dorfman
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mike Honda, Chair
AB 565 (Florez) - As Amended: January 3, 2000
SUMMARY : Establishes the Violence Prevention and Public Health
Act (Act) which creates the Office of Violence, Crime, and Gang
Prevention (Office) which is required to consolidate existing
prevention programs to enhance efficiency, accountability and
cost-effectiveness. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Office to consolidate, coordinate, and administer
existing state-operated programs undertaken primarily to
prevent at-risk youth and at-risk families from entering or
continuing the cycle of crime, violence and gangs.
2)Requires the Office to provide technical assistance and
support to local communities, cities and counties in designing
and implementing programs and strategies to help youth and
families described in #1 above.
3)Requires the Office to review state-operated prevention
programs to determine if they are community based and require
collaboration; if they follow the public health model and
approach to prevent or reduce violence, crime and gangs; if
they identify specific goals and objectives; if they require
measurable outcomes such as changes in attitudes and
behaviors; and if each program requires effective evaluation.
4)Requires the Office to make recommendations and changes where
appropriate to ensure the state-operated prevention programs
contain the components described in #3 above.
5)Requires the Office to administer a grant program that makes
resources available to community-based efforts that take a
public health approach to preventing and reducing crime,
violence and gangs.
6)Requires the Office to identify and disseminate information
regarding the availability of state, federal, public and
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private funding which can be used for prevention or
intervention.
7)Requires the Office to apply for state, federal, public and
private funds that can be awarded to organizations through the
grant program.
8)Requires the Office to analyze state public policy to assess
California's responses to crime, violence and gangs, and issue
recommendations to ensure the state follows the public health
model regarding prevention and intervention efforts.
9)Requires the Office to evaluate existing state-operated
programs to determine their effectiveness.
10)Requires the Office to develop a statewide plan for
consolidating, augmenting, allocating and coordinating
violence, crime and gang prevention programs and resources.
The plan shall be known as the California Violence Prevention
and Public Health Plan (Plan).
11)Requires the Office to promote and advocate at all levels of
government for the provision, expansion and funding of
effective community-based prevention and public health
programs as part of a balanced strategy to prevent and reduce
violence, crime and gangs.
12)Requires the Office to report annually to the Legislature,
starting at the close of the second year of operation, no less
than the following information:
a)Activities taken by the Office and their outcome;
b)Activities taken to implement the Plan and their outcomes;
c)The number of at-risk youth and at-risk families
participating in state-operated prevention programs and the
outcomes of their participation;
d)The number of youth arrested for violence, crime and gang
activity, the disposition of their arrests, and the number
of youths made wards of the court; and,
e)The number of adults arrested for violence, crime or gang
activity, the disposition of their arrests, and the number
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of adults sentenced to jail, state or federal prison.
13)Forbids the Office from engaging in, or promoting,
containment or suppression-type activities that necessitate
the identification, monitoring or disclosure of gang members,
juvenile or adult offenders to law enforcement agencies.
14)Requires that programs administered under the grant program
be designed to do, at a minimum, the following:
a)Improve attitudes and behaviors towards violence, crime or
gangs;
b)Identify specific goals and objectives;
c)Take a public health model approach to preventing and
reducing crime;
d)Target at-risk youth, young adults and families;
e)Require the involvement of community-based organizations;
f)Require collaboration with other organizations and agencies
where appropriate; and,
g)Require each program to be objectively evaluated to
determine whether goals are being met.
15)Specifies the types of prevention and intervention programs
that shall receive funding from this grant program:
a)Community-based youth violence, crime or gang prevention or
early intervention programs;
b)School-based youth violence, crime or gang intervention or
prevention programs;
c)Early childhood intervention programs designed to prevent
violence, crime or gangs, and which serve young children
and families at risk;
d)Family violence, domestic violence and sexual assault
prevention programs;
e)Programs that provide shelter and support services to
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at-risk youth and families;
f)Prevention programs that include alcohol and substance
abuse prevention efforts;
g)Intervention programs that provide support services to
youth and young adults entering or exiting the juvenile
justice system, and their families; and,
h)Prevention programs that include health care services.
16)Establishes the Plan's goal to reduce youth violence, crime
and gang activity to a reasonable level within 10 years, and
to reduce it further or maintain it at a reasonable level
thereafter.
17)Requires the Plan to include the following "measurable
objectives":
a)Identification of prevention and public health strategies
to reduce violence, crime and gang activity;
b)Implementation of prevention and public health strategies
in communities experiencing "significant levels" of
violence, crime and gang activity;
c)Identification and procurement of resources to assist in
reaching the Plan's goal;
d)Recommendations for improving the delivery of current and
new prevention services; and,
e)Evaluation of how local and state government responds to
youth violence and crime.
18)The Plan shall contain the following:
a)Current information regarding crime and violence, gangs and
gang activity, in California;
b)A summary of violence, crime and gang prevention programs
operated by the state and the funding level allocated
annually to each program;
c)Identification of gaps in prevention and early intervention
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programs;
d)Identification of risk factors that make youth and families
vulnerable to the cycle of violence, crime and gangs;
e)Identification of protective factors that can prevent and
reduce violence, crime and gangs;
f)Identification of community guidelines for preventing and
reducing crime and gangs;
g)Short-term and long-term strategies for implementing
protective factors;
h)A plan to secure resources and work with local communities
statewide; and,
i)Identification of state-operated programs to be
consolidated into the Office.
19)Requires the Plan to be submitted to the Legislature within
two years of enactment.
20)Defines at-risk youth and young adults to include persons
between five and twenty-five years of age who fall into no
less than two of the following categories:
a)Live in a high crime or high violence neighborhood as
identified by state or federal agencies;
b)Live in a low-income neighborhood as identified by the U.S.
Census Bureau;
c)Excessively absent from school or performing poorly in
school;
d)Come from socially dysfunctional families as diagnosed by a
social service or health professional;
e)Have been emotionally, physically, or sexually abused;
f)Have entered the juvenile justice system;
g)Are identified by the juvenile justice system as being at
risk;
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h)Are current or former gang members;
i)Have one or more family members who are current or former
gang members;
j)Are wards of the court; or,
aa) Have recently been released from the California Youth
Authority, juvenile hall, boot camp, or other state or
local governmental youth detention facility.
21)Defines at-risk families to include one of the following two
circumstances:
a)Include at least one at-risk youth or young adult; or,
b)Have been identified as at risk of engaging in negligent,
abusive or criminal behavior.
22)Mandates the transfer to the Office the following programs
"within one to two years" of this bill being enacted into law:
a)The California Gang, Crime, and Violence Prevention
Partnership Program from the Office of the Attorney
General;
b)The At-Risk Youth Early Intervention Program, the Juvenile
Crime Enforcement and Accountability Challenge Grant
Program, and the Repeat Offender Prevention Grant Program
from the Board of Corrections;
c)The Conflict Resolution and Youth Mediation Program, the
Gang Risk Intervention Program Grant, the High Risk Youth
Education and Public Safety Program, and the Targeted
Truancy and Public Safety Program from the California
Department of Education; and,
d)The Community Alternatives to Violence Program, and the
Juvenile Crime Prevention Initiative Program from the
Department of Social Services.
23)Declares the Legislature's intent that each program mentioned
in #22 above continue to receive funding if they are found to
be "promising or effective in preventing or reducing violence,
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crime or gang activity, and if they are found to be promising
or effective in improving attitudes and behaviors of at-risk
youth, young adults or families towards violence, crime and
gangs."
24)Authorizes the Office to enter into a memorandum of
understanding with state departments operating any program
described in #22 above in order to allow the department to
continue to operate a program if it is scheduled to terminate
within one year of the date the program is transferred to the
Office.
25)Requires formation of an advisory board (Board) to meet at
least four times a year to carry out the following duties:
a)Provide direction and make recommendations regarding the
activities, priorities, and policies of the Office;
b)Provide input and recommendations for the Plan;
c)Take a visible and active role to inform the public of the
need to expand and fund public health and prevention
strategies which can prevent and reduce violence, gangs and
crime;
d)Develop relationships with the public and private sector
for purposes of applying for and securing resources for the
grant program;
e)Help the Office promote prevention programs in local
communities; and,
f)Help the Office develop state prevention and intervention
policy that "fill in the gap" in existing policy relating
to at-risk youth, young adults, and wards under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system.
26)Names the following individuals to the Board:
a)The Director of the Office of Criminal Justice Planning
(OCJP);
b)The Director of the Department of Health Services;
c)The Director of the Department of the California Youth
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Authority;
d)A chief probation officer to be appointed by the Governor;
e)A local law enforcement officer to be appointed by the
Governor;
f)A health professional with expertise in violence, crime or
gang prevention issues to be appointed by the Director of
OCJP;
g)A social or health practitioner having expertise in
violence, crime or gang prevention to be appointed by the
Director of OCJP;
h)A criminologist or juvenile justice expert having
specialized knowledge regarding violence, crime or gang
prevention issues to be appointed by the Director of OCJP;
i)A representative of a school district or county office of
education that has implemented a collaborative,
school-based violence, crime or gang prevention program, to
be appointed by the Director of OCJP;
j)Representatives of no less than three community-based
organizations that follow the public health model approach
in preventing or reducing youth violence, crime, or gang
activity to be appointed by the Director of OCJP;
aa) Two youth members under 25 who have experience in
programs, services, or activities relation to preventing
violence, crime or gangs;
bb) Two members who shall be former youth offenders or
former gang members who are presently working in a
community-based setting to prevent youth from engaging or
continuing the cycle of violence, crime, or gangs, to be
appointed by the Director of OCJP;
cc) A representative of the community-based organization
that provides alcohol abuse education, prevention, or
treatment services to be appointed by the Director of OCJP;
and,
dd) A representative of the community-based organization
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that provides substance abuse education, prevention, or
treatment services to be appointed by the Director of OCJP.
27)Creates the Youth Violence, Crime, and Gang Prevention Fund
in the State Treasury as the deposit for funds received from
private, state or federal sources, and authorizes the Office,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, to use these funds to
carry out the purpose of this bill. Moneys received will also
be used to fund the Runaway Youth and Families in Crisis
Project, and the California Gang, Crime and Violence
Prevention Partnership Program.
28)Mandates that funds for the Office shall increase annually
between 5 to 10% until the operating budget of the Office
equals the operating budget of the Department of the Youth
Authority.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Gang Violence Suppression Program within the
OCJP to assist law enforcement agencies, school districts and
community-based organizations primarily engaged in the
suppression of gang violence. (Penal Code Section 13826 et
seq.)
2)Establishes the California Community Crime Resistance Program
whose broad goal is to initiate or expand crime prevention
efforts, including gang violence reduction programs, among
others. (Penal Code Section 13840 et seq.)
3)Establishes the Suppression of Drug Abuse in Schools Program
within the OCJP. (Penal Code Section 13860 et seq.)
4)Establishes the California Gang, Crime, and Violence
Prevention Partnership Program to be administered by the
Department of Justice and whose goal is to reduce gang
activity, crime and youth violence in specified communities
across the state. (Penal Code Section 13825.1 et seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement. "While recognizing the need to punish
those who commit crimes in California, there is also a need to
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try and prevent crime, violence, and gang activity among
California's youth. AB 565 will help ensure greater
efficiency in our juvenile crime prevention efforts by
consolidating existing programs into one office. AB 565
differs from other juvenile crime prevention bills by
providing a clear definition of 'at-risk youth,' allowing the
Office of Violence, Crime and Gang Prevention to take a
proactive approach in
juvenile crime prevention and intervention."
2)How Much Funding for Such a Large Undertaking? This bill is
an expanded version of AB 235 (Kuehl) which was held in
Appropriations. AB 235 appropriated $375,000 "to support the
staffing, research, and operations of the authority from
January 1, 2000 to June 30, 2000." This bill does not set a
precise figure for its operations. How much will this Office
cost?
3)Why Should This Operating Budget Grow to Match the Youth
Authority Operating Budget? Although this Office by
definition will oversee numerous state-operated programs
dealing with youth and gang violence, the terms of this bill
provide that the Office's operating budget will eventually
equal the operating budget of the Youth Authority. The
operating budget of the Youth Authority for 1999-2000 is
$426.9 million, which includes $19.9 million in local
assistance and $26.7 million in capital outlays.
4)Related Legislation. AB 235 (Kuehl) is currently on the
Assembly Inactive file.
5)Prior Legislation. SB 483 (Schiff) and SB 822 (Lockyer) of
the 1997-98 Legislative Session were vetoed.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
YMCA Community Services
Center for Non-Partisan Public Policy Development
Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission
Fresno Barrios Unidos
Boys & Girls Clubs of Fresno County
Hollywood Community Services
Community Development Institute
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Familias Unidas
Round Valley Indian Health Center, Inc.
Los Padrinos Youth Services
SafeHouse
Libreria del Pueblo, Inc.
Three Private Citizens
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Harry Dorfman / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744