AB 918

Under current law, the Department of Justice administers a program that

provides grants to counties to work with persons, other than violent offenders, who

have been charged with or convicted of crimes and who abuse alcohol or drugs with

the goal of providing them alternatives to incarceration such as deferred prosecution

and counseling based on the principles of restorative justice. Under current law, a

violent offender is one who has one or more prior convictions for a felony involving

the use or attempted use of force with the intent to cause death or seriously bodily

harm and is now being charged with, or has now been convicted of, a similar offense.

A county receiving a grant must provide persons participating in the program

with social services, including treatment for substance abuse, mental health

treatment, and assistance in finding employment and housing. Under current law,

a county must provide matching funds that are equal to 25 percent of the amount of

the grant for the program, and a person participating in the program must pay a

reasonable amount for any substance use or mental health treatment he or she

receives in the program, based on his or her income and available assets.

This bill creates a similar grant program to be administered by the Department

of Veterans Affairs for veterans who have been charged with or convicted of crimes

and who are not violent offenders. Under this program, the veteran participating in

the program need not abuse alcohol or drugs in order to be eligible.