The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) recently named two existing board members to develop and lead program criteria for the agency’s future Proposition 47 grant opportunities.
The board elected Scott Budnick, founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which leads advocacy support services for previously incarcerated men and women. The state Assembly appointed Scott Budnick to be its representative to the BSCC on June 27, 2014.
Leticia Perez has served as Kern County Board of Supervisor since 2013 and previously was an attorney at the Kern County Public Defender’s office. She has worked to advance economic development and employment opportunities in the region and serves as an advocate for formerly incarcerated individuals. They will lead the limited-term Executive Steering Committee that will develop grant program criteria for final Board approval. Governor Jerry Brown appointed Leticia Perez to the BSCC on August 26, 2015.
At the meeting the Board also voted to begin accepting statements from members of the public interested in serving on the Executive Steering Committee. That process began Nov. 16, 2015 and ends Feb. 15, 2016.
A limited-term Executive Steering Committee appointed by the Board will develop the grant program criteria for final Board approval. The BSCC is calling on diverse community members from California to provide variety of perspectives, backgrounds, professional expertise, life experiences and geographic representation.
The voter initiative reduced from felonies to misdemeanors the penalties for some low-level offenses. Proposition 47 called for spending the state court and incarceration savings on treatment programs. Assembly Bill 1056 provides additional programmatic priorities for the types of recidivism-reduction services that would be funded, such as reentry housing assistance for offenders who have served their sentences and have been released from incarceration, and employment-related services such as job skills training.
The Department of Finance will determine a preliminary estimate of the state savings by January 2016. The proposition voters approved established that public agencies will be the lead agencies applying for Prop 47 grants. These public agencies can work in cooperation with local service providers.
The BSCC is a multi-faceted organization that provides assistance to the counties on community corrections issues. The agency annually administers competitive grants designed to reduce recidivism, sets standards for the training of local corrections officers and the operations of local corrections facilities, and administers the current lease-revenue bond process for local jail improvements.
To submit a statement of interest for the ESC please visit www.bscc.ca.govand click on the Executive Steering Committee icon on the right side of the page. For more information please contact Tracie Cone at tracie.cone@bscc.ca.gov or at (916) 322-1054.
For information about the CDCR, please call Albert Rivas, Deputy Chief, Office of External Affairs at (916) 445-4950.