Bill Text: CA AB620 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Prisoners: trauma-focused programming.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2018-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB620 Detail]
Download: California-2017-AB620-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 20, 2017 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 16, 2017 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION
| Assembly Bill | No. 620 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Holden (Coauthor: Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer) |
February 14, 2017 |
An act to add Section 3055 to and repeal Section 3055 of the Penal Code, relating to prisoners.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 620, as amended, Holden.
Prisoners: trauma focused trauma-focused programming.
Existing law authorizes the Board of Parole Hearings to establish and enforce rules and regulations under which inmates committed to state prisons may be allowed to go upon parole outside the prison buildings and enclosures when eligible for parole. Existing law requires the board to meet with each inmate before the inmate’s minimum eligible parole date, as specified, for the purposes of reviewing and documenting the inmate’s activities and conduct pertinent to parole eligibility. Existing law charges the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with administering the state prisons.
This bill would require the department to provide a meaningful opportunity for the successful release of a qualified inmate, as defined, by providing effective trauma focused programming, as defined, by a clinical social worker, psychologist, violence peer
counselor, as specified, or other qualified professional to a qualified inmate during the 5 years preceding his or her parole hearing date upon, his or her request. If the state prison does not have one of the aforementioned professionals available to provide trauma focused programming to a qualified inmate, the department shall contract with a nonprofit organization that meets specified requirements to provide this service. The bill provides that, among other purposes, “meaningful opportunity” means access to therapy to address traumatic experiences that lead to substance abuse, criminal behavior, and violent actions. to implement a 4-year pilot program at 4 state prisons to offer trauma-focused programming, which includes, among other things, programs that provide tools for coping and dealing with trauma and individual therapy, to qualified incarcerated persons during the 5 years preceding his or her parole date. The
bill would require the department, by July 1, 2018, to convene a stakeholder group, as specified, and develop trauma-focused programming for use in the pilot program. The bill would authorize the department to contract with a nonprofit organization to provide trauma-focused programming if a state prison participating in the pilot program does not have a clinical social worker, psychologist, or other qualified professional to provide trauma-focused programming. The bill would authorize the board to consider a qualified inmate’s incarcerated person’s participation in and completion of trauma focused trauma-focused
programming as a performance milestone for purposes of credit reductions from the inmate’s incarcerated person’s term of confinement. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2023.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 3055 is added to the Penal Code, to read:3055.
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the design and activities of an effective(1) Restorative justice, reconciliation, and accountability principles.
(2) Enhanced interactional communication skills and interpersonal relations.
(3) Self-efficacy and empowerment.
(4) Trauma healing approaches and methods.
(5) Eliminating or reducing traumatic symptoms and triggers.
(6) Creating a safe environment.
(b) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)“Meaningful opportunity” means all of the following are available, if needed, to the qualified inmate:
(A)Access to trauma-focused parole assistance during the five years preceding the qualified inmate’s parole hearing date.
(B)Access to trauma therapy that seeks to heal and rehabilitate responses to trauma that are often related to substance abuse, criminal behavior, and violent actions.
(C)Access to activities, information, and tools that can be practiced by the qualified inmate in an individual or community setting as a form of
continuing care for traumatic experiences.
(2)
(1) “Qualified inmate” means an inmate incarcerated person” means a person who was convicted of a controlling offense crime committed before he or she attained 25 years of age and who is at a moderate to high risk for trauma.
age.
(3)
(2) “Trauma” means emotional distress caused by a damaging event or repetitive events that exceeds an individual’s ability to cope with, or integrate emotions from, the experience causing the emotional distress, which may lead to destructive symptoms and behavior.
(4)“Trauma focused program” means
(3) “Trauma-focused program” or “trauma-focused programming” means programming that includes all of the following:
(A) Access to and information about trauma-specific therapy programs that helps a qualified inmate participant manage the effects of trauma exposure.
(B) Therapy that increases Trauma-informed
programs that increase understanding of how and why trauma affects the qualified inmate participant and ways to minimize the impact.
(C) Mental health care that provides Programs that provide tools for coping and dealing with trauma.
(D) Screening and assessment tools that help identify a qualified inmate
incarcerated person experiencing the effects of trauma.
(E)Utilization of peer review best practices and an expanded focus on trauma informed and trauma-specific behavioral health supports.
(E) Collaboration with a mental health professional to offer individual therapy that will assist with emotional guidance, understanding of the trauma that led to the participant’s crime, and coping methods, and that will help the participant understand, and communicate about, the trauma that led to his or her negative actions and manage the impact of the trauma. Individual therapy
shall only be a component of a trauma-focused program to the extent that a participant voluntarily agrees to participate in this component.
(F) Cognitive-behavioral treatment that places trauma at the center of the treatment in order to foster an understanding of the impact of trauma, dealing with triggering effects, and furthering insight in a group setting.
(G) Assistance in understanding and regulating trauma in order to enable a participant to make cognitive-behavioral improvements and articulate his or her progress successfully during his or her parole hearing.
(c) (1) (A) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall implement a four-year pilot program to offer trauma-focused programming to qualified incarcerated persons at four state prisons in order to
provide necessary assistance to participants in understanding and regulating their trauma symptoms so they can effectively articulate their rehabilitation before the Board of Parole Hearings, increase their accountability, and positively influence their cognitive behavior.
(c)(1)The
(B) As part of the pilot program implemented pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall provide a meaningful opportunity for successful release for a qualified inmate by offering him or her
a qualified incarcerated person information about and access to effective trauma focused trauma-focused programming by a clinical social worker, psychologist, violence peer counselor as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 13957.9 of the Government Code, or any other qualified professional, as determined by the department. The
or other qualified mental health professional.
(C) The department shall, upon a qualified inmate’s request, the request of a qualified incarcerated person who is housed at a prison participating in the pilot program described in subparagraph (A), provide him or her with access to trauma focused programming trauma-focused programming, access
to trauma therapy that seeks to rehabilitate, increase understanding, and minimize responses to trauma that are often related to substance abuse, criminal behavior, and violent actions, and access to activities, information, and tools that can be practiced by the incarcerated person in an individual or community setting as a form of continuing care for traumatic experiences during the five years preceding his or her parole hearing date.
(2)The effective trauma focused programming shall be a peer reviewed program that represents best practices for that program.
(D) The effective trauma-focused
programming may be integrated with existing cognitive-behavioral programming at a prison participating in the pilot program described in subparagraph (A), if the existing programming meets the definition of a trauma-focused program.
(3)
(E) The department shall provide information on trauma, trauma informed care, and the trauma focused programming to a qualified inmate trauma-informed care, and the trauma-focused programming to a qualified
incarcerated person who is housed at a prison participating in the pilot program described in subparagraph (A), at his or her parole consultation.
(d)
(F) A clinical diagnosis is not required for access to the trauma focused program, as defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b).
trauma-focused programming offered as part of the pilot program described in subparagraph (A).
(2) The department shall convene a stakeholder group to assist in developing the trauma-focused programming that will be offered to qualified incarcerated persons as a part of the pilot program described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1). Stakeholders shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Nonprofit organizations with experience in restorative justice advocacy or programming.
(B) A representative of the department.
(C) A representative of the Board of Parole Hearings.
(D) A psychologist or licensed clinical social worker.
(3) The department shall convene the stakeholder group described in paragraph (2) and develop trauma-focused programming for use in the pilot program by July 1, 2018.
(e)If the state prison
(d) If a state prison participating in the pilot program implemented
pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) does not have a clinical social worker, psychologist, violence peer counselor as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 13957.9 of the Government Code,
or other qualified professional to provide trauma focused trauma-focused programming to a qualified inmate, incarcerated person, the department shall may contract with a nonprofit organization to provide this service. A nonprofit organization shall comply with all of the following requirements to be eligible for a contract to provide trauma focused
trauma-focused programming:
(1) The nonprofit organization shall have training in trauma informed trauma-informed practices and in providing trauma focused trauma-focused programming to individuals with trauma.
(2) The nonprofit organization shall have an application process for volunteers.
(3) The nonprofit organization shall provide a
psychologist who is an accredited marriage and family therapist (MFT) to supervise volunteers. or mental health professional to supervise volunteers and oversee implementation of a trauma-focused program.
(4)The nonprofit organization shall have a credit reduction program under the department for performance milestones or any program recognized as a “best practice” for prisons.
(5)
(4) The nonprofit organization shall meet all other requirements for contracted nonprofit organizations and services required by department policy.
(f)
(e) The trauma focused trauma-focused programming described in this section is an expansion of rehabilitative programming offered to inmates and is not intended to offset or displace any current or future wait list of individuals who do not meet the criteria of a qualified inmate as defined in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b). are not qualified incarcerated persons.
(g)The Board of Parole Hearings
(f) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may consider the qualified inmate’s incarcerated person’s participation in and
completion of trauma focused trauma-focused programming as a performance milestone for purposes of credit reductions from the qualified inmate’s incarcerated person’s term of confinement.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2023, and as of that date is repealed.
