A.B. 1007 (P.R.O.M.I.S.E.) Act (2020)

CJCJ co-sponsored Assembly Bill 1007 (Jones-Sawyer), the Promoting Reinvestment and Oversight Measures for Individual Success and Empowerment (P.R.O.M.I.S.E.) Act. This bill would ensure the effective investment of Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) grant dollars, which are intended to support youth locally and limit involvement in the justice system.

For the past twenty years, the state has approximately $100 milllion annually on the JJCPA grant program without adequate oversight or accountability, resulting in poor spending decisions. Youth arrests declined by over 95 percent between 2000 and 2018, leaving far more vulnerable youth whose needs can only be met in the community. However, the majority of JJCPA funds have been spent on probation department staffing with most counties spending little to none on CBOs.

A recent state audit confirmed long-held concerns about poor JJCPA spending, decision-making, and reporting. AB 1007 would address these chronic shortcomings and serve as a stimulus for the public health, education, and CBO sectors. This legislation would:

• Reinvest JJCPA dollars into communities by requiring counties to distribute at least 95 percent of allotted JJCPA funds to CBOs and/​or public agencies that are non-law enforcement agencies.
• Ensure equal community representation in decision making by requiring counties’ Juvenile Justice Coordinating Councils, which decide how JJCPA funds are allocated, to allocate 50 percent of seats to community members.
• Strengthen county reporting and evaluation processes by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) to include critical evidence regarding youth served and program effectiveness.

As a state, we must confront the legacy of policy choices that have resulted in disparate impacts on youth of color and damage in our communities. With AB 1007, we can ensure that state funds no longer feed a system that has consistently failed youth and communities of color. Instead, we can invest in critical services run by schools, public health agencies, and CBOs to support at-promise and justice-involved youth.

Author: Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer

Co-Sponsors:

• ACLU-California
• Alliance for Boys and Men of Color (ABMoC)
• Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC)
• Children’s Defense Fund-California (CDF-CA)
• Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ)
• MILPA Collective
• W. Haywood Burns Institute
• Urban Peace Institute
• Youth Justice Coalition — Los Angeles (YJC)

Status: Inactive

Resources:

AB1007 JJCPA Fact Sheet final

Annotated AB 1007 Bill Text audit references 6 27 2020