Sacbee — Gov. Jerry Brown based his recent overhaul of the state corrections system in part on the idea that having those convicted of lower-level crimes supervised by county probation officers instead of state parole agents when they are released would help them stay clean, find jobs and avoid committing new crimes.
A cornerstone of the law's success is housing, yet county probation officers throughout the state say homelessness continues to undermine their ability to help ex-cons rehabilitate, get drug treatment and find jobs. Some California counties report that up to one in five of the parolees they supervise under the governor's realignment law is homeless.
"You've got somebody and ... they're gang-involved, you want to get them in classes, but they live under a bridge," said Andrew Davis, an analyst with the Santa Cruz County Probation Department. "They're not going to show up; they don't know what day of the week it is."
Counties across the state are dealing with the problem in different ways. Many are trying a patchwork of solutions as they adapt.
In Marin County, probation officers sometimes pick homeless parolees up at the prison gates and pay for motel rooms until they can find a bed. Santa Cruz County has contracted with local homeless shelters, a move that stirred controversy last year.
Homeless parolees in Riverside County are required to check in at an electronic kiosk and have their photo taken daily. In San Diego County, where nearly 400 former prison inmates are reporting as homeless, there's a plan to spend $3 million to add 150 shelter beds. Parolees who say they are homeless must check in weekly with probation. continue reading...
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