Opportunity Yard Pilot Project.

Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee the state prison system. Existing law requires the department to establish parole reentry and assessment programs and education and training programs for inmates. This bill would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish the Opportunity Yard Pilot Project in 5 prisons, as specified. The program would implement promising and evidence-based practices and programming in a separate, special purpose prison housing unit setting designed to strengthen the ability of eligible inmates to successfully reenter society upon completion of their prison sentence. The bill would require the department to set criteria for selecting inmates to participate in the program, select staff for the program, and establish program criteria. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2021.