The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved funding to implement the first phase of a program that will help Prop 36 Third Strikers get back on their feet and increase their chances of successfully reintegrating back into the community, according to a press release.
The County’s Reentry Housing Plan is designed to assist former inmates sentenced under California’s Three Strikes Law, which changed in Nov. 2012 thanks to Prop 36. The new legislation “restored the original intent of the Three Strikes Law by requiring life sentences only be imposed for serious or violent crimes,” and made it so that repeat offenders currently serving life sentences for non-serious, non-violent crimes can apply for new sentences. Those new sentences can be granted if a judge decides it does not pose an unreasonable risk to public safety.
The new Reentry Housing Plan includes:
-A Rental Assistance Program to serve Proposition 36 Third Strikers
-Funding of intensive case management services with housing for offenders who are homeless
-The Custody Health High User Program, which provides indefinite tenant-based rental assistance to high users of Custody Health Services. Clients are likely chronically homeless with serious mental illness and/or severe chronic medical condition.
-The Rapid Re-housing Program for families with children
-The Regional Community Re-Integration Initiative, which establishes partnerships with north, south and central county collaborations to address the housing needs of offenders who are homeless or chronically homeless, and who significantly impact County, State or local resources
-The Homeless Prevention and Emergency Assistance, which provides one-time and short-term financial assistance to prevent households from becoming homeless.
The Board of Supervisors set aside $4 million in reserve funds in its Fiscal Year 2014 budget to use for housing projects for reentry clients. State AB 109 funding, derived from a portion of State sales tax revenue and Vehicle License Fees, offsets county costs for assuming responsibility for low-level offenders as the State meets court orders to address its prison overcrowding, the press release states.
“When voters approved Proposition 36, changing the Three-Strikes Law, no funding was included for its implementation,” said Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith. “We are putting AB 109 funds to good use, because data shows that housing is a decisive factor related to an individual’s successful integration to society.”
