BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2316
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Date of Hearing: April 4, 2000
Counsel: Angelo Butler
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Carl Washington, Chair
AB 2316 (Mazzoni) - As Amended: March 28, 2000
SUMMARY : Authorizes a research project to study the children
of parents who are incarcerated in state prisons. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires that the California Research Bureau (CRB) in the
California State Library design and conduct a study of the
children of the parents who are incarcerated in state prisons.
The purpose is to identify a control sample and to obtain
outcome information about the status of the children.
2)Appropriates $99,000 from the General Fund to the CRB for the
study.
EXISTING LAW :
1)The California Institution for Women was established for the
punishment, treatment, supervision, and custody and care of
women convicted of felonies. (Penal Code Section 3200.)
2)The California Department of Corrections (CDC) is required to
establish and implement a community treatment program for
women sentenced to state prison who have one or more children
under the age of six years. CDC shall have as a prime concern
the establishment of a safe and wholesome environment for the
participating children. (Penal Code Section 3411.)
3)CDC shall be guided by the need to provide programs geared to
assure the stability of the parent-child relationship during
and after participation in the program. (Penal Code Section
3412.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
AB 2316
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1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Mothers are the
primary caregivers of children. AB 2316 would provide an
in-depth study of children of women in state prison through
survey forms and interviews. The survey and interviews will
gather the ages, names, location, type of support, school
status, medical history, and other relevant information on the
children. A subgroup of these children will be surveyed to
determine the risk factors associated with this group of
children. AB 2316 gives us a better understanding of the
impact on children of incarcerated parents."
2)Background : The Legislature and Governor created the CRB
within the California State Library in the 1991 Budget Act.
The CRB provides objective, non-partisan, timely and
confidential research to the Governor's Office, the
Legislature, and other state constitutional officers. The CRB
provides these clients with research, policy assistance
through written reports and other documents, consultations,
seminars, and other training and assistance in preparing
legislative proposals.
The California State Library is the main research library for
state government, providing reference and information services
to all state government and specialized objective and
non-partisan research services to the Legislature, Governor's
office, and other state constitutional officers.
3)Statement in Support : According to Centerforce, "While we
know that there are over 22,000 children impacted by their
mothers' incarceration, we do not know where or with whom they
are residing; we do not know their health status; we do not
know their school progress; we do not know who is paying for
their care. Most importantly, we do not know the combination
of risk factors that leads too many of these children into
intergenerational involvement in the criminal justice system.
"Last year we served over 7,600 visiting children in
California's five women's institutions. If we had an accurate
picture of their demographics, we could begin to design
programs that would guide these children down a road to
success rather than incarceration. It just makes good sense."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB 2316
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Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Centerforce
Attorney General's Office
Opposition
None on File
Analysis Prepared by : Angelo Butler / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744