September 2, 201

BSCC Holds Proposition 47 Executive Steering Committee Meeting 

The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) is holding a Proposition 47 Executive Steering Committee (ESC) meeting at the BSCC offices 2590 Venture Oaks Way, Sacramento on Wednesday, September 7. The purpose of the meeting is to develop the framework for the Proposition 47 Request for Proposals (RFP). For additional information please visit http://www.bscc.ca.gov/s_mtgprop47esc090716.php.

PPIC California County Jails Fact Sheet

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) recently released a fact sheet on California’s County Jails. The fact sheet outlines the types of jails in California, population make up of jails, the effect that realignment has had on county jails, and Proposition 47 and its impact on jails. Please click here to read the full report.

CDCR Releases 2016 Annual Recidivism Report

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) released its latest annual recidivism report. The report shows the total three-year return-to-prison rate for all offenders released during fiscal year 2010-2011 is 44.6 percent, down from 54.3 percent last year. The rate at which people return to prison has consistently trended downward since fiscal year 2005-2006 when the rate was 67.5 percent. For the first time, more people released in one year stayed out of prison than returned. In the report, CDCR also examines the return-to-prison rates of offenders who received in-prison substance abuse treatment and community-based substance abuse treatment programs. View the entire report here.

Judicial Council Approves Process for Awarding $25 Million for Court Innovations

The Judicial Council adopted a process to award $25 million in grant funding to promote innovative and efficient programs in the courts at their August 25^th meeting. The grant funding was included as part of the Budget Act of 2016, and calls for the council to administer a competitive grant program designated for the state’s trial and appellate courts. Funding for courts will be available beginning fiscal year 2016-17, and will support innovative programs in areas such as technology, collaborative courts, self-help, and family and juvenile courts.

Judicial Council Approves “Complete Next Step Then Hold” Plan for New Courthouses

At its August 26^th meeting, the Judicial Council approved recommendations from its Court Facilities Advisory Committee that the schedules of active new courthouse projects be modified and put on hold until adequate funding can be restored. Construction fund redirections made by the Governor and Legislature during the state’s fiscal crisis—and a decline in funds from reduced case filings and traffic amnesty—have dramatically cut funds available to replace substandard court facilities.

The council’s action follows a recent facilities committee meeting where 16 local courts gave presentations on the current state of their inadequate and unsafe facilities in an effort to preserve their local “immediate and critical need” courthouse projects. The recommendations approved by the council also call for its continued advocacy for the restoration of funding for these important and desperately-needed new courthouses.

Other items on the August 26 council meeting agenda included:

Budget Proposals for Judicial Branch: The council approved 18 fiscal year 2017–18 budget change proposals and their corresponding priority ranking for the judicial branch.

Funding for Courthouse Modifications and Repairs: The council approved a recommendation from its Trial Court Facility Modification Advisory Committee to allocate the $65 million appropriated by the Legislature for trial court facility modifications in the fiscal year 2016–2017 State Budget.

Study Says Risk and Needs Assessments Work: The council received a report on the California Risk Assessment Pilot Project. The project explored how evidence-based practices, including the use of risk and needs assessment information, can reduce recidivism and improve public safety.

Numbers from Criminal Justice Realignment: The council received data collected from trial courts on the implementation of the 2011 [Criminal Justice] Realignment Legislation.