Policy Victories

Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR). Strengthens OYCR to have the tools and support they need to protect youth from harm.

Workforce Development reentry funding for $50 million

Expands the eligibility pool of AB 2147 to include those who also served in institutional firehouses.

This bill seeks to reduce barriers to employment for those who have completed supervision by streamlining the process of obtaining a certificate of rehabilitation.

Juvenile dismissals

This bill seeks to sunset criminal convictions and proposes expanding record sealing to all sentences following completion of terms of incarceration, post-release supervision, and an additional period of time - provided the person has completed their sentence without any new felony convictions and has no new charges pending.

Gives youth in county juvenile facilities 'Youth Bill of Rights' to replace the one that will no longer exist when the State of California closes the Division of Juvenile Justice.

Increases the age and education requirements for law enforcement.

Provides due process protections for those at risk of being charged with a gang enhancement.

Grants the courts judicial discretion to give an opportunity to formerly incarcerated people that have successfully participated in fire camp programs and deemed qualified to apply for expungement upon release.

Eliminates 23 administrative criminal justice related fees, such as probation supervision fees, and provides relief to counties to cover the cost of revenue lost as a result of the repeal.

Creates an Office of Youth & Community Restoration (OYCR) within Health and Human Services to provide leadership, oversight, and accountability for Youth Justice.

Restores the right to vote to people on parole.

Expands the provisions under SB 395 requiring youth 15 years of age or younger consult with legal counsel before waiving their Miranda rights to youth 17 years of age or younger and indefinitely extends their operation.

Allows an incarcerated person eligible for a youth offender parole date to earn credits under Proposition 57

Requires any county that uses a risk assessment tool in a pretrial setting to collect data regarding the tool’s input and outcomes, and expresses the Legislature’s intent to minimize disparate results and bias based on race, gender, economic circumstances, or disability status.

Keeps families together by authorizing the superior court to establish a pretrial diversion program for primary caregivers of minor children.

This bill allows for the diversion of those with mental health issues into a diversion court that specifically addresses mental health disabilities for those who are involved in low level crimes.

Established the Pre-Release Construction Trades Certificate Program in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in order to increase employment opportunities by providing students the option of earning industry recognized education credits that, upon release, lead to union jobs in the construction trades.

This measure would establish a minimum age for prosecution in juvenile court in California, protecting children under 12 years old from the harms and adverse consequences of justice system involvement and encouraging more effective alternatives to court involvement.

prohibits a person from being denied a license solely on the basis that he or she has been convicted of a nonviolent crime.

Ensures that people are not held in dangerous, overcrowded jails after an arrest simply because they cannot afford to post bail.

Prohibits youth who were under the age of 16 at the time of their crime from being transferred to adult criminal court, instead keeping them in the juvenile system where they can get the help they need.

Creates more fair and equitable sentencing practices by limiting the application of the Felony Murder Rule.

Improves the treatment of women who are incarcerated and reduces potential for trauma by implementing policies that enforce gender specific practices.

Expands eligibility for Youth Offender Parole Board hearings under SB 260/ SB 261 to those under the age of 26.

Requires that a youth 15 years of age or younger consult with counsel prior to a custodial interrogation and before waiving their Miranda rights.

Restores a youth’s ability to seal his/her juvenile court record, and therefore increase their chances of finding and maintaining stable employment and other opportunities.

Ends the harmful, unlawful, and costly assessment and collection of administrative fees against families with youth in the juvenile system.

Ends life without the possibility of parole for people under the age of 18 at the time of their crime and reduces their sentence to 25 years to life, after which time they will be eligible for a Youth Offender Parole Board hearing.

Approved with over 65% of the vote, this proposition strengthens California’s justice system and increases public safety by expanding rehabilitative programming in prisons and limiting the ways that youth may be transferred to adult criminal court.

Expands age eligibility for Youth Offender Parole Board hearings under SB 260 to those under the age of 23.

Ensures that young people under the age of 22 at the time they enter prison are less likely to be placed on the most dangerous prison yards and more likely to have access to rehabilitative programs and services.

Allows people who were tried as adults for offenses they committed under the age of 18 to be eligible for a Youth Offender Parole Board hearing.

Offers people sentenced to life without parole as juveniles an opportunity for a new sentence with the possibility of parole.