ARTICLE 18.6. Repeat Offender Prevention Project [743. - 749.]

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC 18.6.

in effect

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 743. Section 743.

Contingent upon the appropriation of funds therefor, there is hereby established a three-year pilot project which shall be known as the “Repeat Offender Prevention Project.” This project shall operate in the Counties of Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, and Solano, and the City and County of San Francisco, unless the board of supervisors of one or more of these counties adopts a resolution to the effect it will not participate in the project, each of which shall either design, establish, implement, and evaluate a model program to meet the needs of a juvenile offender population identified as having the potential to become repeat serious offenders utilizing the findings of exploratory studies conducted in Orange County between 1989 and 1993 by the research staff of the Orange County Probation Department and which identified certain minors who were designated as the “8 percent” population. The main goal of this program is to develop and implement a cost-effective multiagency, multidisciplinary program which targets youth displaying behavior that may lead to delinquency and recidivism.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 744. Section 744.

(a) The Repeat Offender Prevention Project shall be administered by the Board of Corrections and each program shall be under the onsite administration of the chief probation officer in the county selected for participation in the project or under a consortium of chief probation officers representing each participating county. (b) Pursuant to this article, a chief probation officer or the regional consortium, with the approval of the appropriate board or boards of supervisors, may apply to the Board of Corrections for funding to implement a program meeting the criteria specified in subdivision (b) of Section 745. The goal of each program shall be to develop and demonstrate intervention strategies which will end each participating minor’s escalating pattern of criminal and antisocial behavior, a pattern that leads to chronic delinquency and, potentially, to adult criminal careers. These strategies shall be provided within the parameters of community protection and offender accountability. Application for program funding shall be made in accordance with written guidelines established by the Board of Corrections in consultation with chief probation officers throughout the state.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 745. Section 745.

The Board of Corrections shall establish goals and deadlines against which the success or failure of the program demonstration projects may be measured. The board shall also develop selection criteria and funding schedules for participating counties which shall take into consideration, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) Size of the eligible target population as defined in Section 746. (2) Demonstrated ability to administer the program. (3) Identification of service delivery area. (4) Demonstrated ability to provide or develop the key intervention strategies described in Section 748 to the eligible target population and their families. (5) A formal research component utilizing an experimental research design and random assignment to the program.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 746. Section 746.

A minor shall be selected for participation in a program established pursuant to this article based upon the following factors: (a) The minor is 15 1 2 years of age or younger, has been declared a ward of the juvenile court for the first time and is to be supervised by a probation department selected for participation in this project. (b) The minor has been evaluated and found to have at least three of the following factors, that place the minor at a significantly greater risk of becoming a chronic juvenile or adult offender: (1) School behavior and performance problems. This shall include at least one of the following: attendance problems; school suspension or expulsion; or failure in two or more academic classes during the previous six months or comparable academic period. (2) Family problems. These shall include at least one of the following: poor parental supervision or control; documented circumstances of domestic violence; child abuse or neglect; or family members who have engaged in criminal activities. (3) Substance abuse. This shall include any regular use of alcohol or drugs by the minor, other than experimentation. (4) High-risk predelinquent behavior. This shall include at least one of the following: a pattern of stealing; chronic running away from home; or gang membership or association. (5) The minor matches the at-risk profile for becoming a chronic and repeat juvenile offender according to the criteria developed by the Multi-Agency At-Risk Youth Committee (MAARYC).

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 747. Section 747.

The Board of Corrections shall adopt written minimum standards for project implementation, operation, and evaluation which shall include a written commitment by a county or region to the following objectives: (a) Teamwork on the part of all treatment and intervention agents involved in the project including the family, the professionals, and any community volunteers. (b) Empowerment of the family to recognize and, ultimately, to solve the problems related to their minor’s delinquent behavior and their involvement as an integral part of the treatment team and process. (c) Creation of a multiagency, multidisciplinary, and culturally competent team so that the program can effectively draw on the professional knowledge, skill, and experience of many treatment disciplines in areas including, but not limited to, the following: education; job preparation and search; job skills and vocational training; life skills; psychological counseling; mental health services; drug and alcohol treatment; health care; parenting skills; community service opportunities; building self-esteem and self-confidence; mentoring programs; restitution programs; gang intervention; crime prevention; recreational, social, and cultural activities; and transportation and child care as needed.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 748. Section 748.

Each county or region shall, in implementing their respective programs, provide the following key intervention strategies to ensure the following: (a) Adequate levels of supervision, structure, and support to minors and their families both during and after the intervention and treatment process, in order to accomplish the following: (1) Ensure protection of the community, the minor, and his or her family. (2) Facilitate the development of new patterns of thinking and behavior. (3) Eliminate any obvious stumbling blocks to the family’s progress. (4) Facilitate the development of enhanced parenting skills and parent-child relationships. (b) Accountability on the part of the minor for his or her actions and assistance to the minor in developing a greater awareness and sensitivity to the impact of his or her actions on both people and situations. (c) Assistance to families in their efforts to ensure that minors are attending school regularly. (d) Assistance to the minor in developing strategies for attaining and reinforcing educational success. (e) Promotion and development of positive social values, behavior, and relationships by providing opportunities for the minor to directly help people; to improve his or her community; to participate in positive leisure-time activities specially chosen to match his or her individual interests, skills, and abilities; and to have greater access and exposure to positive adult and juvenile role models. (f) Promotion of partnerships between public and private agencies to develop individualized intervention strategies which shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) Delivery of services in close proximity to the minor’s or the minor’s family’s home. (2) Community case advocates to assist in building bridges of trust, communication, and understanding between the minor, the family, and all treatment and intervention agents. (g) Provision of a continuum of care with strong followup services that continue to be available to the minor and family as long as needed, not just on a crisis basis.

Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 749. Section 749.

(a) The Board of Corrections shall be responsible for monitoring demonstration project and expansion program implementations in accordance with an annual program plan submitted by the participating counties or regions. Written progress and evaluation reports shall be required of all participating counties pursuant to a schedule and guidelines developed by the Board of Corrections. (b) The success of each funded demonstration project shall be determined, at a minimum, by comparing a control group, consisting of juvenile offenders who were not selected for participation in the project, to an experimental group, consisting of juvenile offenders who have participated in the project. Juveniles in each group shall be evaluated at 6-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month intervals, according to the following criteria: (1) The number of subsequent petitions to declare the minor a ward of the juvenile court, pursuant to Section 602, and the subject matter and disposition of each of those petitions. (2) The number of days served in any local or state correctional facilities. (3) The number of days of school attendance during the current or most recent semester. (4) The minor’s grade point average for the most recently completed school semester. (c) The Board of Corrections, based on reports provided pursuant to subdivision (a), shall report upon request to the Legislature on the effectiveness of these programs in achieving the demonstration project and program goals described in this article. (d) The Board of Corrections shall determine county or regional eligibility for funding and, from money appropriated therefor, the board shall allocate and award funds to those counties or regions applying and eligible therefor and selected for project participation. (e) The Repeat Offender Prevention Project shall be implemented within six months of the appropriation of funds therefor and shall terminate at the end of three years from that appropriation. (f) Five percent of the funds allocated each fiscal year for the Repeat Offender Prevention Project shall be set aside for the administrative expenses of the Board of Corrections.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026