AB 2217

Existing law establishes the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) pilot program, which is administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections, to improve public safety and reduce recidivism by increasing the availability and use of social service resources while reducing costs to law enforcement agencies and courts stemming from repeated incarceration. Existing law requires the board to award grants, on a competitive basis, to up to 3 jurisdictions to establish LEAD programs and requires the board to establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants. This bill would rename the program as the Alternatives to Arrest (ATA) pilot program. The bill would require the board to additionally award a grant to the public health agency administering qualifying programs in the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles, as well as in up to 3 jurisdictions. Existing law allows a person to be referred to services through a program by a law enforcement officer as an alternative to arrest, and through a social contact referral by a law enforcement officer if they believe the person is at high risk of arrest in the future for specified crimes relating to controlled substances and prostitution. Existing law requires those social contact referrals to meet specified criteria, including, among other things, verification that the individual has had prior involvement with low-level drug or prostitution activity and that the individual does not have a pending case in drug court or mental health court. This bill would remove these requirements for social contact referrals and instead authorize them if the officer believes the person would benefit from case management services and is at high risk of arrest in the future. The bill would expand the offenses eligible for referral to include, among other things, specified disorderly conduct crimes, shoplifting, or other violations identified by the local jurisdiction with agreement of the police chief or sheriff and the implementing public health or behavioral health agency administering case management services. Existing law requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to contract with a nonprofit research entity, university, or college to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, as specified. Existing law also authorizes the board to contract with experts for the purpose of providing technical assistance to participating jurisdictions. Existing law appropriated $15,000,000 from the General Fund for the program, and authorized the board to spend up to $550,000 for the purposes of the evaluation contract and technical assistance. This bill would repeal those provisions, and would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature for these programs, that the funds be granted to the entity responsible for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion in the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles and public health or behavioral health agencies in jurisdictions to be identified by the board. The bill would additionally authorize the board to spend a portion of those funds on contracts with experts on the implementation of ATA or similar programs in other jurisdictions for the purpose of providing technical assistance to participating jurisdictions. The bill would require the board to report to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program on or before January 1, 2031.