BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1913
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Date of Hearing: March 28, 2000
Chief Counsel: Bruce E. Chan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Carl Washington, Chair
AB 1913 (Cardenas) - As Amended: March 23, 2000
SUMMARY : Allocates funds for juvenile prevention, treatment,
and truancy programs. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $5 million,
reasonable expenses for relocation shall be made available to
persons who are either victims of criminal street gangs or
witnesses to gang-related crimes. Local law enforcement must
determine if there has been a credible threat of physical harm
made against a victim, witness, or immediate family members.
Local law enforcement shall operate the program at the county
level and seek reimbursement from the state.
2)Provides that all minors eligible for a program of diversion
shall be required, as a condition of program participation, to
enroll and attend an appropriate accredited school program, be
placed on a probation officer caseload of no more than 35
assigned cases for at least six months, undergo a
comprehensive social history assessment, and be provided with
substance abuse, school, and mental health counseling.
3)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $30 million,
county probation departments shall allocate funds on a request
for proposal (RFP) basis to community-based mental health and
substance abuse agencies to provide services to minors
participating in diversion programs.
4)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $75 million,
the state shall make available funds to support local juvenile
crime diversion and gang prevention programs. The funds shall
be administered by the Board of Corrections (BOC) and
distributed through a RFP process. A local law enforcement
agency shall be the lead applicant.
5)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $10 million,
the state shall make available funds for local school district
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police departments to develop school-based juvenile crime
diversion programs. The funds shall be administered by the BOC
and distributed through a RFP process. Eighty percent of the
funds shall be allocated for law enforcement personnel costs
and the remainder for services and support and for computer
technology.
6)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $25 million,
the state shall make available funds to support local juvenile
crime diversion and gang prevention programs for
pre-delinquent youth. The funds shall be administered by the
BOC and distributed through a RFP process. A local law
enforcement agency or probation department shall be the lead
applicant.
7)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $20 million,
the state shall make available funds to probation departments
to develop or expand gender-specific programs for female
offenders. These programs shall include, but not be limited
to, crime diversion, gang prevention, and juvenile offender
camps. The funds shall be administered by the BOC and
distributed through a RFP process. A probation department
shall be the lead applicant.
8)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $8 million,
the state shall make available funds to support local female
juvenile crime diversion and gang prevention programs. The
funds shall be administered by the BOC and distributed through
a RFP process. A local law enforcement agency or county
probation department shall be the lead applicant.
9)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $6 million,
the state shall make available funds on an annual basis for
the Abolish Chronic Truancy (ACT) program, operated by the Los
Angeles County District Attorney and School District.
10)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $6 million,
the state shall make available funds on an annual basis for
the Communities In Schools (CIS) program. The funds shall be
administered by the BOC.
11)Requires counties that participate in a "Repeat Offender
Prevention Project" (ROPP) to evaluate the need for
gender-specific programs.
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12)Provides that contingent upon an appropriation of $220
million annually, the ROPP shall be made available to every
county probation department in this state unless a county
elects to not participate.
13)States that it is the Legislature's intent to appropriate $25
million in the Budget Act of 2000 to fund the Challenge Grant
program. Up to 5% of the amount appropriated in the Budget
for the program shall be transferred to the BOC to administer
the program, provide technical assistance, and to develop and
monitor the evaluation component of the program.
EXISTING LAW :
Witness Protection
1)Provides for a witness protection program administered by the
Attorney General (AG). The AG may reimburse state and local
agencies for the costs of providing witness protection
services. Priority is given to matters involving organized
crime, gang activities, drug trafficking, and cases involving
a high degree of risk to the witness. Special regard shall
also be given to the elderly, the young, battered, victims of
domestic violence, the handicapped, and victims of hate
incidents. (Penal Code Section 14020 et seq.)
2)Provides that the AG, as part of its witness protection plan,
may reimburse state or local agencies for any of the
following: armed protection or escort by law enforcement,
physical relocation to an alternate residence, housing
expenses, documents to establish a new identity, transporting
or storing personal possessions, basic living expenses, and
other needed services. (Penal Code Section 14024.)
3)Requires the AG to issue appropriate guidelines and
regulations for the operation of the witness protection
program and to issue an annual report to the Legislature.
(Penal Code Sections 14027, 14031.)
Informal Probation
4)Permits the probation department to place a minor on informal
probation for up to six months to adjust the [minor's]
situation without the filing of a petition to declare the
minor a ward of the court. The court may extend the period of
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informal probation upon the recommendation of the probation
department. (Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 654,
654.2.)
5)Provides that certain minors may not participate in a program
of informal probation unless the juvenile court finds in the
interests of justice that the minor's case is unusual.
Excluded minors include those who have committed a felony
offense when the minor was 14 years of age or older, dealt or
possessed drugs at school, committed a gang-related offense,
previously been declared a ward of the court or participated
in a program of informal probation, or have committed any
offense where the restitution exceeds $1,000. (WIC Section
654.3 (h).)
Prevention Programs
6)Establishes a three-year pilot project known as the ROPP. The
project operates in Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Orange, San
Diego, San Mateo, San Francisco and Solano Counties unless the
board of supervisors of a county declines to participate. The
program identifies the juvenile offender population as having
the potential to become repeat serious offenders, using the
findings of exploratory studies conducted in Orange County.
The primary goal of the project is to develop a multi-agency,
multi-disciplinary program that targets youth displaying
behavior that may lead to delinquency and recidivism. (WIC
Section 743.)
7)Provides that the ROPP is administered by the BOC and each
program is under the on-site administration of the chief
probation officer in the county. Existing law also enumerates
program participation factors, minimum standards, and
recommended intervention strategies. (WIC Section 744 et
seq.)
8)Establishes "The Juvenile Crime Enforcement and Accountability
Challenge Grant Program" administered by the BOC. Funding for
the Challenge Grant program for grant awards made before July
1, 1998 shall be provided from the Budget Act of 1996. (WIC
Section 749.27.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
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1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "AB 1913 is
essential to complete the reform of the juvenile justice
system. AB 1913 is a necessary counterpart to Proposition 21,
recently passed by the voters. AB 1913 would provide needed
support and reform of the juvenile justice system. It would
reduce the public safety problems associated with juvenile
delinquency in California by implementing programs proven to
reduce recidivism among juveniles."
2)The Repeat Offender Prevention Project: Two studies of repeat
juvenile offenders conducted in Santa Ana, California, by the
Orange County Probation Department in the 1980s revealed that
a small proportion of juvenile offenders (8%) are responsible
for more than one-half of the repeat offenses committed by
juveniles in Orange County. These studies also indicate that
a large proportion of the minors who go on to become chronic
offenders can be identified when they are first referred to
the criminal justice system for an alleged crime.
In response to these findings, the Probation Department
designed "The 8% Early Intervention Program" in 1994 with
assistance from the National Institute of Corrections and
Temple University in Philadelphia. The program focuses on
minors ages 15 or younger at the point of their first or
second probation referral for alleged crimes.
These youth have been declared wards of the Juvenile Court and
are under probation supervision. In addition, they have three
or more of the profile factors from the 8% studies which place
them at great risk of becoming chronic offenders. Those
factors include:
a) Significant family probation (abuse, neglect, criminal
family members, and/or a lack of parental supervision and
control);
b) Significant problems at school (truancy, failing more
than one course, or a recent suspension or expulsion);
c) A pattern of drug and/or alcohol use; and
d) Delinquent peers, chronic runaway or pattern of
stealing.
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The 8% Early Intervention Program focuses not only on
high-risk youth, but extends to the minor's entire family.
The parents' inability to adequately supervise and support
their children was found to be a common factor among 8%
minors.
1)Challenge Grants: The Juvenile Crime Enforcement and
Accountability Challenge Grant Program was established in
Fiscal Year 1996-97 with the goal of reducing serious, repeat
juvenile crime in California. Fourteen counties were selected
to undertake juvenile crime intervention projects in the first
round of Challenge grants. (A separate series of Challenge
Grant II projects were funded through legislative action in
Fiscal Year 1998-99).
Overall, the 14 county projects involve some 29 different
programs. As of June 30, 1999, nearly 3,000 juveniles were
active participants in Challenge Grant I programs and more
than 1,500 had completed their program intervention. Since
these programs are family-based, the actual numbers served are
likely two or three times as great when considering the
siblings and parents of the target youth. More than 39,500
volunteer hours were accumulated by the 14 projects as of June
1999.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association
California State Sheriff's Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
Children Now
City Attorney, City of Los Angeles
District Attorney, Los Angeles County
Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association
Latino Children's Action Council
Latino Republican Coalition
Los Angeles County, Chicano Employees Association
Mexican-American Correctional Association
People Who Care Youth Center
Probation Managers Association
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Opposition
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None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Bruce Chan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744