CHAPTER 9.4. Substance Abuse Community Correctional Detention Centers [6240. - 6246.]

Cal. Penal Code - PEN 9.4.

in effect

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6240. Section 6240.

The Legislature finds and declares the following: (a) The number of people in state prisons whose primary commitment offense was for drug law violations represents approximately 24 percent of the inmate population. Based on a representative sample study of new felon admissions during 1988, it is estimated that approximately 76 percent of the new commitment admissions to prison have a known history of drug abuse. The number of parole violators returned to prison for drug violations increased 2200 percent from 1980 to 1988. In fiscal year 1988–89, drug charges were a known contributing factor in over 64 percent of parolees returned to prison for parole violations. (b) The relationship between public safety, recidivism, and substance abuse is undeniable and significant. (c) As pointed out by the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Inmate Population Management in its January 1990 report, both state and local correction systems are presently lacking sufficient programs and strategies to intervene with substance abuse and other behaviors that contribute to criminality. Judges and parole authorities lack the options of community correctional facilities and programs with substance abuse intervention and treatment when managing parole violators, probationers, parolees, and nonviolent offenders with a history of substance abuse. (d) There presently does not exist a model for a state and local center to house substance abusers, increase employability skills, provide counseling and support, and make treatment programs available to intervene and treat substance abuse, to reduce the crime problem and the social costs which these offenders bring upon society, themselves, and their families. It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to provide for the establishment of substance abuse community correctional centers and programs to be operated locally in order to implement state-of-the-art rehabilitation programs commensurate with public safety considerations. It is further the intent of the Legislature to focus these efforts in local communities in order to blend state and local efforts to achieve a higher success rate and lower recidivism, and to reduce the number of substance abusers and offenders who are currently being sent to state prison. It is also the intent of the Legislature that these programs and housing facilities be built and operated in a manner providing maximum safety to the public commensurate with the purpose of the programming, and that the facilities be kept drug-free by whatever legal means are required. The facilities and the programs shall be designed and operated in joint efforts by the state and counties, with primary funding from the state for construction of the facilities. It is the intent of the Legislature that funds disbursed pursuant to this chapter be used to construct the maximum possible number of community beds for this purpose commensurate with public safety requirements.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6240.5. Section 6240.5.

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Substance Abuse Community Correctional Treatment Act.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6240.6. Section 6240.6.

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply: (a) “Board” means the Board of Corrections. (b) “Department” means the Department of Corrections. (c) “Center” means a substance abuse community correctional detention center. (d) “Construction” means new construction, reconstruction, remodeling, renovation, or replacement of facilities, or a combination thereof. (e) “Facility” means the physical buildings, rooms, areas, and equipment used for the purpose of a substance abuse community correctional detention center.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6241. Section 6241.

(a) The Substance Abuse Community Correctional Detention Centers Fund is hereby created within the State Treasury. The Board of Corrections is authorized to provide funds, as appropriated by the Legislature, for the purpose of establishing substance abuse community correctional detention centers. These facilities shall be operated locally in order to manage parole violators, those select individuals sentenced to state prison for short periods of time, and other sentenced local offenders with a known history of substance abuse, and as further defined by this chapter. (b) The facilities constructed with funds disbursed pursuant to this chapter in a county shall contain no less than 50 percent of total beds for use by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (1) Upon agreement, the county and the department may negotiate any other mix of state and local bed space, providing the state’s proportionate share shall not be less than 50 percent in the portion of the facilities financed through state funding. (2) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the county from using county funds or nonrestricted jail bond funds to build and operate additional facilities in conjunction with the centers provided for in this chapter. (c) Thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) in funds shall be provided from the 1990 Prison Construction Fund and the 1990–B Prison Construction Fund, with fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) each from the June 1990 bond issue and the November 1990 bond issue, for construction purposes set forth in this chapter, provided that funding is appropriated in the state budget from the June and November 1990, prison bond issues for purposes of this chapter. (d) Funds shall be awarded to counties based upon the following policies and criteria: (1) Priority shall be given to urban counties with populations of 450,000 or more, as determined by Department of Finance figures. The board may allocate up to 10 percent of the funding to smaller counties or combinations of counties as pilot projects, if it concludes that proposals meet the requirements of this chapter, commensurate with the facilities and programming that a smaller county can provide. (2) Upon application and submission of proposals by eligible counties, representatives of the board shall evaluate proposals and select recipients. To help ensure that state-of-the-art drug rehabilitation and related programs are designed, implemented, and updated under this chapter, the board shall consult with not less than three authorities recognized nationwide with experience or expertise in the design or operation of successful programs in order to assist the board in all of the following: (A) Drawing up criteria on which requests for proposals will be sought. (B) Selecting proposals to be funded. (C) Assisting the board in evaluation and operational problems of the programs, if those services are approved by the board. Funding also shall be sought by the board from the federal government and private foundation sources in order to defray the costs of the board’s responsibilities under this chapter. (3) Preference shall be given to counties that can demonstrate a financial ability and commitment to operate the programs it is proposing for a period of at least three years and to make improvements as proposed by the department and the board. (4) Applicants receiving awards under this chapter shall be selected from among those deemed appropriate for funding according to the criteria, policies, and procedures established by the board. Criteria shall include success records of the types of programs proposed based on nationwide standards for successful programs, if available, expertise and hands-on experience of persons who will be in charge of proposed programs, cost-effectiveness, including cost per bed, speed of construction, a demonstrated ability to construct the maximum number of beds which shall result in an overall net increase in the number of beds in the county for state and local offenders, comprehensiveness of services, location, participation by private or community-based organizations, and demonstrated ability to seek and obtain supplemental funding as required in support of the overall administration of this facility from sources such as the State Department of Health Care Services, the Office of Emergency Services, the National Institute of Corrections, the Department of Justice, and other state and federal sources. (5) Funds disbursed under subdivision (c) shall be used for construction of substance abuse community correctional centers, with a level of security in each facility commensurate with public safety for the types of offenders being housed in or utilizing the facilities. (6) Funds disbursed under this chapter shall not be used for the purchase of the site. Sites shall be provided by the county. However, a participating county may negotiate with the state for use of state land at nearby corrections facilities or other state facilities, provided that the locations fit in with the aims of the programs established by this chapter. The county shall be responsible for ensuring the siting, acquisition, design, and construction of the center consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code. (7) Staff of the department and the board, as well as persons selected by the board, shall be available to counties for consultation and technical services in preparation and implementation of proposals accepted by the board. (8) The board also shall seek advice from the State Department of Health Care Services in exercising its responsibilities under this chapter. (9) Funds shall be made available to the county and county agency which is selected to administer the program by the board of supervisors of that county. (10) Area of greatest need can be a factor considered in awarding contracts to counties. (11) Particular consideration shall be given to counties that can demonstrate an ability to provide continuing counseling and programming for offenders in programs established under this chapter, once the offenders have completed the programs and have returned to the community. (12) A county may propose a variety of types and sizes of facilities to meet the needs of its plan and to provide the services for varying types of offenders to be served under this chapter. Funds granted to a county may be utilized for construction of more than one facility. Any county wishing to use existing county-owned sites or facilities may negotiate those arrangements with the Department of Corrections and the Board of Corrections to meet the needs of its plan.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6241.5. Section 6241.5.

Because of the difficulties of finding locations for programs described in this chapter, the state shall assist in making state-owned lands available to counties for purposes of this chapter, so long as those efforts do not impede an agency’s operations or planned expansions and are commensurate with public safety requirements.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6242. Section 6242.

(a) The county shall assume full responsibility to administer and operate the center and program consistent with the criteria set forth in this chapter and those established by the board. This shall include maintenance and compliance with all codes, regulations, and health standards. (b) The county shall select a local governmental department to operate the facility in accordance with the standards and oversight provided for in this chapter. The facility shall be owned by the department for the duration of the payment of the bond used to finance construction of the facility. Upon completion of bond repayment, ownership of the facility shall be vested in the county. Ownership of a county facility renovated with funds awarded pursuant to this chapter shall be by the department for the period of bond repayment, after which ownership shall revert to the county. The department shall retain the option to lease from the county no less than 50 percent of inmate beds after completion of bond repayment. If a county willfully terminates its participation in this act prior to completion of bond repayment or if its grant is terminated by the board for noncompliance with program regulations, ownership of the facility shall remain vested in the department. The department shall retain the option to lease as provided in this subdivision. (c) Counties or the department shall operate all services and programs in secure facilities pursuant to this chapter with only county or state merit system employees, except that private nonprofit providers or individual professionals with demonstrated expertise and community experience also may be utilized to provide substance abuse treatment programs. Treatment programs outside secure facilities pursuant to this chapter may be provided only by county or state staff, by private nonprofit providers, or by individual professionals with demonstrated expertise and experience in providing services to this population of the community. (d) Custody in secure facilities shall be provided by peace officers, as defined in Sections 830.1, 830.5, and 830.55, or custodial officers, as defined in Sections 831 and 831.5, who have satisfactorily met the minimum selection and training standards for corrections officers, as prescribed by the board under Section 6035. (e) Parolees, parole violators, and state prisoners shall remain under overall supervision of state parole officers. (f) The department shall contract to reimburse the county for allotted bed space and programming for state offenders based on actual cost plus a reasonable fee, but in no instance shall that amount exceed the average cost of housing an inmate in a state prison facility, as determined annually by the director. (g) A county may bill the state for services provided to state parolees pursuant to this chapter on a pro rata basis of the cost of providing the programs and services, if requested by the department. (h) The department and the board, as well as participating counties, shall seek funding from the federal government and from private foundation sources to help meet the costs of the programs outlined in this chapter. (i) It shall be the responsibility of the board, the department, and the design and implementation panel to keep abreast of improvements in programs of the types established by this chapter, and to attempt to revise and update programs as state-of-the-art advances develop. (j) Requests for proposals shall be ready for submission to eligible counties within nine months after the effective date of this chapter. Eligible counties shall submit proposals within six months after the request for proposals is submitted. (k) An amount totaling no more than 1 1 2 percent of the total amount of funds to be disbursed under this chapter is hereby appropriated from the 1990 Prison Construction Fund and the 1990–B Prison Construction Fund to the board to be used for administrative costs. ( l ) Following formal acceptance of proposals submitted by counties, the board shall have authority to modify, expand, or revise county programs, if requested by counties, or if the board concludes that changes should be made to improve, expand, or reduce the scope or approach of programs. This shall be done after formal notice to a county of proposed changes and opportunity for a county to submit evidence. The board also shall be able to recommend additional or reduced funding for a program, if funding becomes available upon appropriation by the Legislature.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6242.5. Section 6242.5.

(a) The board shall establish minimum standards, including security requirements, for the construction of facilities pursuant to this chapter. (b) The board shall develop an architectural program describing the functions which the facility will be expected to serve, but which deemphasizes the correctional and detention nature of the exterior of the facilities in order to ease the difficulty in finding acceptable sites. (c) Counties may substitute renovation of an existing structure for new construction, but renovation costs per bed shall not exceed the cost of new construction based on initial cost and useful life of the facility, and shall meet the program design standards established by the board. However, participation by a county or use of existing facilities for programs under this chapter shall not be utilized by a county to avoid meeting its needs for jail-bed construction and housing of jail inmates. (d) Per-bed cost of secure facilities proposed by a county shall not exceed the cost of current similar construction by the department. (e) The county shall lease the site on which the facility is located to the state for a term of not less than the period of bond repayment. The department shall pay to the county as lease the sum of one dollar ($1) per year beginning the first month after the first payment for the repayment of the bond to continue through the duration of the bond used to finance construction of the facility.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6242.6. Section 6242.6.

(a) The board shall provide evaluation of the progress, activities, and performance of each center and participating county’s progress established pursuant to this chapter and shall report the findings thereon to the Legislature two years after the operational onset of each facility. (b) The board shall select an outside monitoring firm in cooperation with the Auditor General’s office, to critique and evaluate the programs and their rates of success based on recidivism rates, drug use, and other factors it deems appropriate. Two years after the programs have begun operations, the report shall be provided to the Joint Legislative Prisons Committee, participating counties, the department, the State Department of Health Care Services, and other sources the board deems of value. Notwithstanding subdivision (k) of Section 6242, one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) is hereby appropriated from the funds disbursed under this chapter from the 1990 Prison Construction Fund to the Board of Corrections to be used for program evaluation under this subdivision. (c) The department shall be responsible for the ongoing monitoring of contract compliance for state offenders placed in each center.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6243. Section 6243.

Primary offender groups to be dealt with in the programs established by this chapter shall be probation or parole violators who would otherwise be returned to jail or prison. The following standards for selection shall apply: (a) The Director of Corrections, or his or her designee, together with local parole officials, shall select offenders committed to state prison for placement in not less than 50 percent of the program beds established by this chapter. Eligible offenders shall be parole violators and felons committed to state prison who, after credit deduction for presentence incarceration and pursuant to Section 2933, would otherwise have served an actual term of six months or less in state prison. Offenders selected shall have a demonstrated history of alcohol or controlled substances abuse, or both, but shall not include any of the following: (1) Offenders convicted at anytime of a violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 whether in California or any other jurisdiction for an offense with the same elements. (2) Offenders who have lost work credits while currently in prison for an offense listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 2932, except for assault with a deadly weapon or a caustic substance. (3) Offenders currently convicted of burglary of an inhabited dwelling. (4) Offenders convicted on two or more separate occasions of violations of Section 11351, 11351.5, 11352, 11353, 11370.1, 11370.6, 11378.5, 11379, 11379.5, or 11379.6 of the Health and Safety Code for selling or transporting for sale, manufacturing for sale, processing for sale, importing for sale, or administering any controlled substance listed in these sections, or for attempting to commit any of these offenses for those purposes and who has served at least one term in prison for violating one of these sections. (b) The maximum period of participation in a center program shall not exceed the maximum period for which the offender could have been incarcerated in county jail or state prison. Upon release from a center, a state offender shall be subject to the parole provisions of Section 3000. Local offenders shall be subject to all conditions of probation, if probation was imposed at the time of sentencing. (c) The parole of an offender placed in a center following revocation of parole shall remain revoked during the period of participation in a center. (d) Individuals eligible for this program who are deemed unfit for participation by either custodial or program staff at any time shall be transferred to a state prison or county facility to which they would otherwise have been committed and shall serve their remaining sentence minus the time served at the center. (e) Except upon agreement between the county and the department, placement of state offenders in a center is limited to parolees on parole in that county and new commitments sentenced from that county. (f) The county shall select local offenders for placement in up to 50 percent of the program beds established by this chapter. These offenders shall be persons convicted and sentenced to county jail, whether or not as a condition of probation, and who have a demonstrated history of abuse of alcohol or controlled substances, or both. (g) State prisoners participating in these programs shall be eligible for work credit time reductions under provisions applicable to state prisoners committed to state prison. (h) Primary emphasis in this program shall be toward parole violators and persons sentenced to prison or jail for short terms and for whom rehabilitation efforts should be provided. (i) The department shall regularly notify the sheriff’s department and the probation department of a participating county of offenders placed into the program or released from the program established by this chapter. The county shall likewise regularly notify local parole officials of persons placed into or released from its programs set up by this chapter. The sheriff’s department, probation and parole officials, and the Board of Prison Terms shall be permitted to recommend for or against placement of persons into these programs, as shall the judiciary of the county. (j) Facilities may not serve as housing or parole or probation offices for offenders not a part of programs set up by this chapter.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6245. Section 6245.

In submitting a proposal, a county’s plan shall include at least all of the following elements that meet standards established by the board in its request for proposal, and demonstrate that its program will have strong links to the community organizations involved in providing those elements, and that those community organizations have helped in designing the proposal: (a) A rigorous program of substance abuse testing. (b) A drug-free environment. (c) Substance abuse treatment. (d) Employment services. (e) Basic education services. (f) Mental health services and family counseling. (g) A strong linkage to probation and parole.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 6246. Section 6246.

Each recipient county shall set up a program oversight committee, under rules and guidelines the Board of Corrections formulates, which shall include representatives from the following groups: (a) Parole officials. (b) Probation officials. (c) Sheriff’s department officials. (d) County alcohol and drug abuse officials. (e) Program contractors. (f) Local judiciary personnel. (g) Social welfare agency personnel. (h) Local labor and employment representatives. Responsibilities of the program oversight committee shall include, but not be limited to, regular reviews of program operations and criteria for offenders being placed into it, discussion and resolution of problems that may arise, costs, and other duties that may be assigned it by the Board of Corrections.

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