SECTIONS 749.5-749.95 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 749.5-749.95

749.5. This article shall be known and may be cited as the Juvenile
Justice Community Reentry Challenge Grant Program.

749.6. It is the intent of the Legislature to support the
systematic and cultural transformation of the Division of Juvenile
Justice into a rehabilitative model that improves youthful offender
outcomes and reduces recidivism. As a key component of meeting these
goals, it is further the intent of the Legislature to support the
development of local infrastructure that provides comprehensive
reentry services for juvenile parolees. These services shall be
complementary to, and consistent with, the long-term objective of
providing a continuum of state and local responses to juvenile
delinquency that enhance public safety and improve offender outcomes.

749.7. (a) The Juvenile Justice Community Reentry Challenge Grant
Program shall be administered by the Division of Juvenile Justice, in
consultation with the Corrections Standards Authority, for the
purpose of improving the performance and cost-effectiveness of
postcustodial reentry supervision of juvenile parolees, reducing the
recidivism rates of juvenile offenders, and piloting innovative
reentry programs consistent with the division's focus on a
rehabilitative treatment model.
(b) This program shall award grants on a competitive basis to
applicants that demonstrate a collaborative and comprehensive
approach to the successful community reintegration of juvenile
parolees, through the provision of wrap-around services that may
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) Transitional or step-down housing, including, but not limited
to, group homes subject to Section 18987.62.
(2) Occupational development and job placement.
(3) Outpatient mental health services.
(4) Substance abuse treatment services.
(5) Education.
(6) Life skills counseling.
(7) Restitution and community service.
(8) Case management.
(9) Intermediate sanctions for technical violations of conditions
of parole.
(c) To be eligible for consideration, applicants shall submit a
program plan that includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) The target population.
(2) The type of housing and wrap-around services provided.
(3) A parole and community reentry plan for each parolee.
(4) Potential sanctions for a parolee's failure to observe the
conditions of the program.
(5) Coordination with local probation and other law enforcement
agencies.
(6) Coordination with other service providers and community
partners.

749.8. (a) The Division of Juvenile Justice, in consultation with
the Corrections Standards Authority, shall award grants that provide
funding for three years on a competitive basis to counties and
nonprofit organizations.
(b) A minimum of 75 percent of the grant award shall be for
providing program services to individuals on parole from the Division
of Juvenile Justice. The remainder of the grant award may
additionally be used for providing program services to youthful
offenders under the jurisdiction of the county or local juvenile
court who are transitioning from out-of-home placements back into the
community.
(c) The division shall award grants in a manner that maximizes the
development of meaningful and innovative local programs to provide
comprehensive reentry services for juvenile parolees.
(d) For any grant award, the division shall work with the juvenile
court and the probation department of the county or counties in the
grant service area to identify state and local case supervision
responsibilities that are appropriate for the effective operation and
management of the reentry programs supported by the grant. These
responsibilities shall be incorporated into a case supervision plan
for the grant that shall describe the role of local courts and
probation departments in facilitating individual reentry plans, in
assigning or removing parolees from grant-funded programs, and in
meeting evaluation criteria for the grant.

749.9. The Division of Juvenile Justice, in consultation with the
Corrections Standards Authority, the Chief Probation Officers of
California, and experts in the field of California juvenile justice
programs, shall establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and
procedures for awarding grants, which shall take into consideration,
but not be limited to, all of the following:
(a) The size of the eligible population.
(b) A demonstrated ability to administer the program.
(c) A demonstrated ability to develop and provide a collaborative
approach to improving parolee success rates that includes the
participation of nonprofit and community partners.
(d) A demonstrated ability to provide comprehensive services to
support improved parolee outcomes, including housing, training, and
treatment.
(e) A demonstrated ability to provide effective oversight and
management of youthful offenders or young adults who have been
committed to a detention facility, and parolees that require reentry
supervision and control.
(f) A demonstrated history of maximizing federal, state, local,
and private funding sources.

749.95. (a) Each grant recipient shall be required to establish and
track outcome measures, including, but not limited to:
(1) Annual recidivism rates, including technical parole violations
and new offenses.
(2) The number and percent of participants successfully completing
parole.
(3) The number and percent of participants engaged in part-time or
full-time employment, enrolled in higher education or vocational
training, receiving drug and substance abuse treatment, or receiving
mental health treatment.
(4) The number and percent of participants that obtain stable
housing, including the type of housing.
(b) The Division of Juvenile Justice, in consultation with the
Corrections Standards Authority, the Chief Probation Officers of
California, and experts in the field of California juvenile justice
programs, shall create an evaluation design for the Juvenile Justice
Community Reentry Challenge Grant Program that will assess the
effectiveness of the program. The division shall develop an interim
report to be submitted to the Legislature on or before March 1, 2009,
and a final analysis of the grant program in a report to be
submitted to the Legislature on or before March 1, 2011.