Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 1174. Section 1174.
This chapter shall be known as the Pregnant and Parenting Women’s Alternative Sentencing Program Act.
CHAPTER 4.8. Pregnant and Parenting Women’s Alternative Sentencing Program Act [1174. - 1174.9.]
Cal. Penal Code - PEN 4.8.
in effectCal. Penal Code - PEN § 1174.1. Section 1174.1.
For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)
“Agency” means the private agency selected by the department to operate this program.
(b)
“Construction” means the purchase, new construction, reconstruction, remodeling, renovation, or replacement of facilities, or a combination thereof.
(c)
“County” means each individual county as represented by the county board of supervisors.
(d)
“Court” means the superior court sentencing the offender to the custody of the department.
(e)
“Department” means the Department of Corrections.
(f)
“Facility” means the nonsecure physical buildings, rooms, areas, and equipment.
(g)
“Program” means an intensive substance abusing pregnant and parenting women’s alternative sentencing program.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 1174.2. Section 1174.2.
(a)
Notwithstanding any other law, the unencumbered balance of Item 5240-311-751 of Section 2 of the Budget Act of 1990 shall revert to the unappropriated surplus of the 1990 Prison Construction Fund. The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) is hereby appropriated to the Department of Corrections from the 1990 Prison Construction Fund for site acquisition, site studies, environmental studies, master planning, architectural programming, schematics, preliminary plans, working drawings, construction, and long lead and equipment items for the purpose of constructing facilities for pregnant and parenting women’s alternative sentencing programs. These funds shall not be expended for any operating costs, including those costs reimbursed by the department pursuant to subdivision (c) of
Section 1174.3. Funds not expended pursuant to this chapter shall be used for planning, construction, renovation, or remodeling by, or under the supervision of, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, of community-based facilities for programs designed to reduce drug use and recidivism, including, but not limited to, restitution centers, facilities for the incarceration and rehabilitation of drug offenders, multipurpose correctional centers, and centers for intensive programs for parolees. These funds shall not be expended until legislation authorizing the establishment of these programs is enacted. If the Legislature finds that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has made a good faith effort to site community-based facilities, but funds designated for these community-based facilities are unexpended as of January 1, 1998, the Legislature may appropriate these funds for other Level I housing.
(b)
The Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation shall purchase, design, construct, and renovate facilities in counties or multicounty areas with a population of more than 450,000 people pursuant to this chapter. The department shall target for selection, among other counties, Los Angeles County, San Diego County, and a bay area, central valley, and an inland empire county as determined by the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The department, in consultation with the State Department of Health Care Services, shall design core alcohol and drug treatment programs, with specific requirements and standards. Residential facilities shall be licensed by the State Department of Health Care Services in accordance with provisions of the Health and Safety Code governing licensure of alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities. Residential and nonresidential programs shall be certified by the State Department of Health Care Services as meeting its standards for perinatal services. Funds shall be
awarded to selected agency service providers based upon all of the following criteria and procedures:
(1)
A demonstrated ability to provide comprehensive services to pregnant women or women with children who are substance abusers consistent with this chapter. Criteria shall include, but not be limited to, each of the following:
(A)
The success records of the types of programs proposed based upon standards for successful programs.
(B)
Expertise and actual experience of persons who will be in charge of the proposed program.
(C)
Cost-effectiveness, including the costs per client served.
(D)
A demonstrated ability to implement a program as expeditiously as possible.
(E)
An ability to accept referrals and participate in a process with the probation department determining eligible candidates for the program.
(F)
A demonstrated ability to seek and obtain supplemental funding as required in support of the overall administration of this facility from any county, state, or federal source that may serve to support this program, including the State Department of Health Care Services, the Office of Emergency Services, the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of State Hospitals, or any county public health department. In addition, the agency shall also attempt to secure other available funding from all county, state, or federal sources for program implementation.
(G)
An ability to provide intensive supervision of the program participants to ensure complete daily
programming.
(2)
Staff from the department shall be available to selected agencies for consultation and technical services in preparation and implementation of the selected proposals.
(3)
The department shall consult with existing program operators that are then currently delivering similar program services, the State Department of Health Care Services, and others it may identify in the development of the program.
(4)
Funds shall be made available by the department to the agencies selected to administer the operation of this program.
(5)
Agencies shall demonstrate an ability to provide offenders a continuing supportive network of outpatient drug treatment and other services upon the women’s completion of the program and reintegration into the
community.
(6)
The department may propose any variation of types and sizes of facilities to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(7)
The department shall secure all other available funding for its eligible population from all county, state, or federal sources.
(8)
Each program proposal shall include a plan for the required 12-month residential program, plus a 12-month outpatient transitional services program to be completed by participating women and children.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 1174.3. Section 1174.3.
(a)
The department shall ensure that the facility designs provide adequate space to carry out this chapter, including the capability for nonsecure housing, programming, child care, food services, treatment services, educational or vocational services, intensive day treatment, and transitional living skills services.
(b)
The agency selected to operate the program shall administer and operate the center and program consistent with the criteria set forth in this chapter and any criteria established by the department. These responsibilities shall include maintenance and compliance with all laws, regulations, and health standards. The department shall contract to reimburse the agency selected to operate this program for women who would otherwise be sentenced to state prison based upon actual costs not provided by other funding sources.
(c)
Notwithstanding any other law, Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code shall not apply to any facility used for multiperson residential use in the last five years, including, but not limited to, motels, hotels, long-term care facilities, apartment buildings, and rooming houses, or to any project for which facilities intended to house no more than 75 women and children are constructed or leased pursuant to this chapter.
(d)
Proposals submitted pursuant to this chapter are exempt from approval and submittal of plans and specifications to the Joint Legislative Committee on Prison Construction Operations and other legislative fiscal committees.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 1174.4. Section 1174.4.
(a)
Persons eligible for participation in this alternative sentencing program shall meet all of the following criteria:
(1)
Pregnant women with an established history of substance abuse, or pregnant or parenting women with an established history of substance abuse who have one or more children under six years old at the time of entry into the program. For women with children, at least one eligible child shall reside with the mother in the facility.
(2)
Never served a prior prison term for, nor been convicted in the present proceeding of, committing or attempting to commit, any of the following offenses:
(A)
Murder or voluntary manslaughter.
(B)
Mayhem.
(C)
Rape.
(D)
Kidnapping.
(E)
Sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person.
(F)
Oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person.
(G)
Lewd acts on a child under 14 years of age, as defined in Section 288.
(H)
Any felony punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison for life.
(I)
Any felony in which the defendant inflicts great bodily injury on any person, other than an accomplice, that has been charged and proved as provided for in Section 12022.53, 12022.7, or 12022.9, or any felony in which the defendant uses a firearm, as provided in Section 12022.5, 12022.53, or 12022.55, in which the use has been charged and proved.
(J)
Robbery.
(K)
Any robbery perpetrated in an inhabited dwelling house or trailer coach as defined in the Vehicle Code, or in the inhabited portion of any other building, wherein it is charged and proved that the defendant personally used a deadly or dangerous weapon, as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 12022, in the commission of that robbery.
(L)
Arson in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 451.
(M)
Sexual penetration in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 289 if the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person.
(N)
Rape or sexual penetration in concert, in violation of Section 264.1.
(O)
Continual sexual abuse of a child in violation of Section 288.5.
(P)
Assault with intent to commit mayhem, rape, sodomy, oral copulation, rape in concert with another, lascivious acts upon a child, or sexual penetration.
(Q)
Assault with a deadly weapon or with force likely to produce great bodily injury in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 245.
(R)
Any violent felony defined in Section 667.5.
(S)
A violation of Section 12022.
(T)
A violation of Section 18745.
(U)
Burglary of the first degree.
(V)
A violation of Section 11351, 11351.5, 11352, 11353, 11358, 11359, 11360, 11370.1, 11370.6, 11378, 11378.5, 11379, 11379.5, 11379.6, 11380, or 11383 of the Health and Safety Code.
(3)
Has not been sentenced to state prison for a term exceeding 36 months.
(b)
Prior to sentencing, if the court proposes to give consideration to a placement, the court shall consider a written evaluation by the probation department,
which shall include the following:
(1)
Whether the defendant is eligible for participation pursuant to this section.
(2)
Whether participation by the defendant and her eligible children is deemed to be in the best interests of the children.
(3)
Whether the defendant is amenable to treatment for substance abuse and would benefit from participation in the program.
(4)
Whether the program is deemed to be in the best interests of an eligible child of the defendant, as determined by a representative of the appropriate child welfare services agency of the county if the child is a dependent child of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(c)
The district
attorney shall make a recommendation to the court as to whether or not the defendant would benefit from the program, which the court shall consider in making its decision. If the court’s decision is without the concurrence of the district attorney, the court shall specify its reasons in writing and enter them into the record.
(d)
If the court determines that the defendant may benefit from participation in this program, the court may impose a sentence of imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 with the recommendation that the defendant participate in the program pursuant to this chapter. The court shall notify the department within 48 hours of imposition of this sentence.
(e)
The Director of Corrections shall consider the court’s recommendation in making a determination on the inmate’s placement in the program.
(f)
Women accepted for the program by the Director of Corrections shall be delivered by the county, pursuant to Section 1202a, to the facility selected by the department. Before the director accepts a woman for the program, the county shall provide to the director the necessary information to determine her eligibility and appropriate placement status. Priority for services and aftercare shall be given to inmates who are incarcerated in a county, or adjacent to a county, in which a program facility is located.
(g)
Prior to being admitted to the program, each participant shall voluntarily sign an agreement specifying the terms and conditions of participation in the program.
(h)
The department may refer inmates back to the sentencing court if the department determines that an eligible inmate has not been recommended for the program. The department shall refer the inmate
to the court by an evaluative report so stating the department’s assessment of eligibility, and requesting a recommendation by the court.
(i)
Women who successfully complete the program, including the minimum of one year of transition services under intensive parole supervision, shall be discharged from parole. Women who do not successfully complete the program shall be returned to imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 where they shall serve their original sentences. These persons shall receive full credit against their original sentences for the time served in the program, pursuant to Section 2933.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 1174.5. Section 1174.5.
The department shall be responsible for the funding and monitoring of the progress, activities, and performance of each program.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 1174.8. Section 1174.8.
(a)
The department shall adopt regulations pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) to implement this chapter.
(b)
Notwithstanding subdivision (a) and any other law, and except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter, until July 1, 1996, the Director of Corrections shall have the power to implement, interpret, and make specific the changes made in this chapter by issuing director’s criteria. These criteria shall be exempt from the requirements of Articles 5 (commencing with Section 11346) and 6 (commencing with Section 11349) of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) and shall remain in effect until July 1, 1996, unless terminated or replaced by, or readopted as, emergency regulations pursuant to subdivision (c).
(c)
On or before July 1, 1995, the department shall file emergency regulations to implement this chapter with the Office of Administrative Law. These emergency regulations shall be considered by the office as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general welfare and shall remain in effect until July 1, 1996, unless terminated or replaced by, or readopted as, permanent regulations in compliance with Articles 5 (commencing with Section 11346) and 6 (commencing with Section 11349) of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) pursuant to subdivision (d).
(d)
The department shall file a certificate of compliance with the Office of Administrative Law to adopt permanent regulations on or before May 15, 1996.
Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 1174.9. Section 1174.9.
A program facility administered by the Department of Corrections pursuant to this chapter is exempt from the requirements and provisions of Chapter 3.4 (commencing with Section 1596.70), Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 1596.90), and Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 1597.30) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026