Senate Bill 823 - DJJ Realignment Implementation
For nearly two decades, California has enacted a series of legislative and voter-approved measures designed to reduce commitments of youth to the state juvenile and adult systems by reducing reliance on incarceration and expanding community-based options for youth. To further reach this goal, the state has aligned the responsibility for managing all youth under the jurisdiction of the juvenile courts pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 to local jurisdictions.
To support the successful implementation of this transition and on-going programing and interventions, the State established effective July 1, 2021, the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) within the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS). OYCR will be responsible for (1) developing a report on youth outcomes; (2) identifying policy recommendations for improved outcomes and integrated programs and services to best support delinquent youth; (3) identifying and disseminating best practices to help inform rehabilitative and restorative youth practices, including education, diversion, re-entry, religious and victims’ services; and (4) providing technical assistance as requested to develop and expand local youth diversion opportunities to meet the varied needs of the delinquent youth population, including but not limited to sex offender, substance abuse, and mental health treatment. OYCR will also fulfill statutory obligations of an Ombudsperson. For more information, go to the Office of Youth and Community Restoration page.
The BSCC will continue to establish regulations and inspect county facilities holding people under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to the California Welfare and Institutions Code sections 209, 210, 875, & 885.
Senate Bill 92 (Chapter 18, Statutes of 2021) requires counties proposing to establish a secure youth treatment facility (SYTF) to notify the Board of State and Community Corrections of the operation of the facility in a format designated by the Board.
Secure Youth Treatment Facility Formopens PDF file
Submitted SYTF Forms
SYTF Regulations
Beginning July 1, 2022, the BSCC will conduct inspections of each SYTF. By July 1, 2023, the BSCC will review and establish standards for SYTF; until then, the BSCC will review STYF operations using standards in existing Title 15 and 24 regulations.
Background
On September 30, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 823, which began the closure of the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice, realigning those state functions to county governments. Under SB 823, DJJ intake closed for most youth on July 1, 2021, and counties became fully responsible for housing, programming, and treatment of youth who can no longer be committed to DJJ.
As part of SB 823, $9.6 million was set aside for the Board of State and Community Corrections to “award one-time grants, to counties for the purpose of providing resources for infrastructure-related needs and improvements to assist counties in the development of a local continuum of care.
Request for Applications (RFA)
In April 2021 the BSCC released the Youth Programs and Facilities Grant Program - Application Packageopens PDF file to all 58 California Counties.
Applications Submitted in Response to the YPFG RFA
Part A Applications:
| El Dorado County Application*opens PDF file | Fresno County Applicationopens PDF file | Sonoma County Applicationopens PDF file |
* El Dorado County subsequently relinquished its award. The counties of Fresno and Sonoma are moving forward with implementation.
Part B Applications:
Youth Transitional Housing Program (YTHP)
Background
On June 30, 2022, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 178 (Chapter 45, Statutes of 2022) which requires the BSCC to contract with one or more public or private organizations, including, but not limited to, nonprofit organizations and state or local government agencies, to secure and fund up to one year of transitional housing for youth who will be discharged from DJJ by the Board of Juvenile Hearings (BJH) during Fiscal Year 2022-23 and who are at risk of homelessness. To be eligible to receive transitional housing services youth must be 18 years of age or older, and have been discharged by BJH between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. The funds for transitional housing services are available for encumbrance or expenditure through June 30, 2024.
As part of AB 178, $3 million was set aside to the Board of State and Community Corrections for the purpose of providing transitional housing for up to one year. Transitional housing services does not include an extended shelter stay. But rather it includes:
- transitional housing,
- transitional housing placement services,
- and rents and service fees paid for cost of the transitional housing
Amity Foundation (Amity) has been selected to provide transitional housing services for youth who are discharged from the Division of Juvenile Justice by the Board of Juvenile Hearings (BJH) as required under Assembly Bill (AB) 178 (Chapter 45, Statutes of 2022). Through collaborative efforts with County Probation Departments and Specialized Treatment for Optimized Programming (STOP) regional contractors throughout the State of California, Amity will coordinate appropriate transitional housing for youth (18 years of age or older) for a period of up to one year from the date of discharge. Building on the success of the Returning Home Well (RHW) initiative, the RHW-DJJ project harnesses the power of stakeholder collaboration and leverages the existing network of community-based service providers to align the housing needs of youth and the resources of the community. Amity Foundation is pleased to support the custody-to-community transition for youth who are at risk of homelessness as they are discharged from DJJ facilities, positioning Youth for successful outcomes as they re-enter the community.
To coordinate a placement, please contact: Sandra Borrego. Her email address is: djjplacements@amityfdn.orgcreate new email and phone number is 323-449-1258.
Probation departments may also seek reimbursement for placing youth directly from the BSCC with the application below.
Funds for Probation Departments
The BSCC has also set aside funding so that county probation departments may contract directly with the BSCC to provide transitional housing services to youth and seek reimbursement from the BSCC. Probation departments may apply for these funds at any time using the application below. It is strongly recommended that interested applicants apply as soon as possible, even if the exact number of youth participants is not known at this time. Once funding is exhausted, no additional funding will be provided.
YTHP Applicationopens WORD file
Email the application to: AB178@bscc.ca.govcreate new email.
Any questions concerning the application should be submitted by email to AB178@bscc.ca.govcreate new email or Michael.Shores@bscc.ca.govcreate new email.
Resources
Assembly Bill 178opens PDF file