California's Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) spends a whopping $234,000 a year to lock up each youth. Youth in California's prison system serve the longest sentences in the nation -- an average of nearly 3 years1 -- which costs taxpayers more than $700,000, while causing immeasurable harm to the young people inside.
One third of the time spent in DJJ is based on "time adds" -- a disciplinary measure that extends a youth's time in prison.
Books Not Bars has teamed up with Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) to sponsor a bill to change this. AB 999 proposes to eliminate time adds and reduce the amount of time youth spend in the DJJ.
It will implement an incentive program that would allow youth to go
before the parole board earlier, based on good behavior and positive
program participation.
2010: The Fight Continues.
Our bill has gone farther in the California legislature than any other bill to eliminate time adds. We passed the Assembly, and we appear poised to pass the Senate. We have decided, however, that our best bet is to hold the bill until the 2010 legislative session.
Families for Books Not Bars members have called for an end to time adds since we started this campaign 5 years ago. While we've seen youth prisons closed, time adds remain. Ultimately, taking direction from families and with the support of Assemblymember Skinner, we decided not to compromise our stance on the need to eliminate time adds. Instead, we decided to hold the bill until early next year.
With the budget crisis getting worse and California lawmakers unable to make real, sound corrections cuts, we believe that our humane, effective and cost-cutting bill should have its best chance of passage and signature by the Governor early next year. Stay tuned for when we resume the fight in early 2010.
Background on AB 999
Incentives -- not punishment -- have been proven to increase
institutional safety and reduce recidivism2. Adult prison systems around
the country have long used a time-reduction-for good-behavior model,
but California's youth prisons do the opposite -- adding time as a
disciplinary tool. AB 999 will fix this. Specifically, AB 999 will:
- Eliminate the use of time adds as a disciplinary measure
and encourage rehabilitative practices -- rather than punitive ones --
to address misconduct.
- Implement an incentive program
where youth can earn program credits based on their behavior and
participation in programs. The program credits will help advance a
youth's appearance before the parole board.
In a time of historic budget deficits, time adds are costly, harmful and just don't make sense. Locking
up youth for a long time with no real opportunities for rehabilitation
is poor policy and an inefficient use of our money. We need a change.
Updates
April 28, 2009: AB 999 Passes Assembly Public Safety Committee in a 5-2 vote
May 7, 2009: Books Not Bars Rally in Sacramento for AB 999
May 13, 2009: AB 999 Passes Assembly Appropriations Committee in an 11-5 vote
May 21, 2009: AB 999 Passes Assembly 45-30
June 23, 2009: AB 999 Passes Senate Public Safety 4-2
September 8, 2009: AB 999 Converted to 2 Year Bill
Take Action
AB 999 will dramatically improve the lives of thousands of young people and their families. Take action now to help make it law:
Learn More
Support
The following organizations have endorsed AB 999:
References
- California Department of Corrections, Office of Research. (2008) Fall 2008 Population Projections.
- Nelson, Michael, George Sugai and Carl Smith. (2005.) Positive Behavior Support Offered In Juvenile Corrections. National Association of State Directors of Special Education.
