SACRAMENTO (Nov. 12, 2015) – The Board of State and Community Corrections appointed two of its members to lead the agency’s efforts in developing program criteria for the grants that will be awarded under Proposition 47.

Scott Budnick is founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which provides support and advocacy for previously incarcerated men and women; Leticia Perez, a Kern County Supervisor, is a former public defender and is active in developing employment opportunities in the region, especially for the formerly incarcerated. They will lead the limited-term Executive Steering Committee that will develop grant program criteria for final Board approval.

At the meeting the Board also voted to begin accepting statements from members of the public interested in serving on the Executive Steering Committee. That process begins Nov. 16, 2015 and ends Feb. 15, 2016*.(*The date for statements of interest was extended to Feb. 29, 2016)

A limited-term Executive Steering Committee appointed by the Board will develop the grant program criteria for final Board approval. The BSCC will be looking for people who are representative of California’s diverse population who bring a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, professional expertise, life experiences and geographic representation.

The voter initiative reduced from felonies to misdemeanors the penalties for some low-level offenses. Proposition 47 called for spending the state court and incarceration savings on treatment programs. Assembly Bill 1056 provides additional programmatic priorities for the types of recidivism-reduction services that would be funded, such as reentry housing assistance for offenders who have served their sentences and have been released from incarceration, and employment-related services such as job skills training.

The Department of Finance will determine a preliminary estimate of the state savings by January 2016.

The proposition voters approved established that public agencies will be the lead agencies applying for Prop 47 grants. These public agencies can work in cooperation with local service providers. The BSCC is a multi-faceted organization that provides assistance to the counties on community corrections issues. The agency annually administers and awards millions of dollars in grants designed to reduce recidivism, sets standards for the training of local corrections officers and the operations of local corrections facilities, and administers the current lease-revenue bond process for local jail improvements.

To submit a statement of interest for the ESC please visit www.bscc.ca.gov and click on the Executive Steering Committee icon on the right side of the page.

For more information please contact Tracie Cone at tracie.cone@bscc.ca.gov or at 916-322-1054.