(a) (1) The Department of Corrections shall establish three pilot programs that provide intensive training and counseling programs for female parolees to assist in the successful reintegration of those parolees into the community upon release or discharge from prison and after completion of in-prison therapeutic community substance abuse treatment programs.

(2) The Director of Corrections shall determine the counties in which the pilot programs are established.

(b) (1) The services offered in the pilot programs may include, but shall not be limited to, drug and alcohol abuse treatment, cognitive skills development, education, life skills, job skills, victim impact awareness, anger management, family reunification, counseling, vocational training and support, residential care, and placement in affordable housing and employment opportunities.

(2) Ancillary services such as child care and reimbursement of transportation costs shall be provided to the extent necessary to permit full participation by female offenders in employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, and other program elements.

(3) The pilot programs shall include a case management component to assess the social services and other needs of participating in the social services, education, job training, and other programs most likely to result in their recovery and employment success.

(c) With respect to a female parolee who violates her parole, the Board of Prison Terms may order initial or continued participation in a program under this section, in lieu of revocation pursuant to Section 3060, provided the department approves the program participation, the parolee meets all eligibility criteria for the program, and the parole violation was nonviolent.

(d) (1) The Department of Corrections shall prepare an informational handout explaining the pilot programs created by this section.

(2) A copy of this informational handout shall be given to each female inmate eligible for any of the pilot programs and to each female parolee eligible for any of the pilot programs pursuant to subdivision (c).

(e) Subject to appropriation of funds, the department is authorized to enter into contracts, or amend existing contracts, for community residential treatment services for offenders and minor children in an offender’s custody in order to carry out the goals stated in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

(f) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the programs demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of providing the enhanced services described in subdivision (b), based upon an annual evaluation of a representative sample of female parolees, in order to determine the impact of these services upon the criminal recidivism, employment, and welfare dependency of the offenders and their families.

(2) The department, with the assistance of an independent consultant with expertise in criminal justice programs, shall complete a report evaluating the cost-effectiveness of the pilot programs in regard to the effect of the programs (A) on the recidivism of participating female offenders compared with a comparable nonparticipating group of female offenders and (B) on the employment of female offenders and the welfare dependency of a female offender’s family. The report shall be provided to the Governor and the Chairperson of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the chairpersons of the fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature by January 1, 2002.

(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 619, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.)