SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:(a) Every year, more than 125,000 inmates are released from California prisons. Of those released, more than half will return to prison within two years, and more than 70 percent will return within three years.
(b) The cost of incarceration alone has risen to a staggering forty-six thousand dollars ($46,000) per inmate per year, which does not include the costs of inmates participating in programming to address substance abuse, mental health treatment, or educational and vocational training.
(c) Due to the fiscal crisis in California, funding for state prison programs was significantly reduced, resulting in fewer programs, including closure of restitution centers.
(d) Successful reentry models combine a continuity of services before and after release from prison and real incentives to hold former offenders accountable for using those services.
(e) The most successful models for preventing recidivism include public-private partnerships among law enforcement, government agencies, business and labor associations, private employers, and community-based organizations formed to create living wage employment opportunities for eligible former offenders and to take advantage of existing programs and incentives for hiring former offenders.
(f) The restitution center concept is a model where inmates serving time for nonviolent, nonserious offenses can fulfill obligations to pay restitution and other court-related fines and fees in addition to obtaining and maintaining employment.
(g) Being employed is a key factor ensuring a lower recidivism rate and thus reducing taxpayer burdens.